Back in the boat, we headed to Isla Choros, about 30 minutes away.  Landing on the island was prohibited, so we had to do all our sightseeing from the boat.  Isla Choros is even more bleak that Isla Damas.  Gun metal gray rocks shoot straight from the surprisingly clear turquoise water.  The water was so clear, the white sand bottom beckoning, that you really wanted to jump right in. It looked like Caribbean water and I couldn’t resist pulling off my gloves and dipping my fingers in.   Not surprisingly it was extremely cold.  That was probably why the penguins and the sea lions liked it.   

                               

                                      

The boat captain did an excellent job of getting us extremely close to the rocky coast.  Close enough to see the wildlife, but just far enough to avoid crashing on the rocky shore.  Marceau, our guide, pointed out the various birds for us, such as the Cormants, but we were all holding our breath to see if we would spot the main attraction.  We didn’t have to wait long.  There, high above us on a ledge, trying to blend into the charcoal colored rocks, sat two of the most adorable penguins I have ever seen in my life.  Penguins!  Just sitting there. Not in a zoo, in real life, in my real life.  The whole boat was “OOHHing” and “AWWing”.  It was incredible.  We felt so blessed as our guide warned us that the tours don’t always see penguins.

 

 

 

 Humboldt Penguins are medium size, about 26 to 28 inches high and weigh about 13 pounds.  They are endangered, with less than 10,000 in the world now.  The first two we saw, I guess were a couple.  They were very cute.  Our guide did a great job holding the boat steady in one place so we could get a good long look. The penguins tired of us before we tired of them, and it was cute to watch them make their way up the rocks, hopping, scrambling, head down weight forward.   Our guide and boat drivers seemed to be enjoying it as much as we were.  The boat was maneuvered to another spot where we saw a few more penguins off in the distance, but none as close as the first pair we saw.  But that was alright.  We had gotten what we came for.

As we rounded to the other side of the island, we caught a glimpse of the elusive sea otter.  He was very shy, and blended into the reeds floating near the rocks. 

 

 

 A beautiful sea lion and her pup  were enjoying a break on top of a rock, seeming to pose for pictures. 

 

                

 

 

                                   

There was one more major surprise waiting for us.  As the boat headed toward land, off in the distance we could see dolphins and seals playing in the water.  So upon seeing the dolphins, I began my usual yelling and calling to get their attention, and my kids did the usual, “Mom, stop!  You’re embarrassing us!”  I don’t care.  Years ago, in Florida, we went on a dolphin  encounter boat.  Some dolphins were spotted in the distance and our guide said, “Dolphins love children.  Have the kids make as much noise as possible.”  Sure enough, we all made noise, especially the kids on board, and the dolphins came right over.  Ever since then, whenever I spot a dolphin, I yell, call, clap, make a lot of noise to let them know I’m happy to see them, and it always works.  They always come to the boat. So here, on this boat, in the Pacific, Tristan and Tessa were the only kids, so they needed my help.  “Here dolphins!”  “Dolphins, dolphins!”  I yelled and clapped and guess what.  They came.  The seals came with them.  Within moments we were treated to an incredible show.  Dolphins and seals were jumping up alongside the boat.  The more we yelled, the higher they jumped.  If possible, it seemed they were as excited as we were.  The seals were a bit on the shy side, but I think they were caught up in the moment.  One seal curious seal came very close to the boat, while the seals further away entertained us with dives in the water.  The dolphins were huge, the biggest we have seen.  They were so wonderful, trying so hard to get our attention, leaping from the water, as close to the boat as they dared.   You felt they wanted to see us as much as we wanted to see them.  Our show lasted at least 3o minutes, and our guides were gracious and wouldn’t move the boat until they were done.  At lunch later that day, I asked Marcel, our guide,  if it was true that calling to the dolphins helped and he said yes.  Of course I made sure Tristan and Tessa heard that.  He said dolphins are very good at reading the energy of the people on the boats, and the more excited the people are, the more excited the dolphins become.  But, he added, today was special.  In his 15 years of leading these tours, he had never seen them put on a show like this.  He was honestly and sincerely amazed.  I was vindicated.

 

 

  

 

        

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of all the tours we had done on this trip, this was definitely at the top of the list.  I can’t say enough good things about it.  It’s a great feeling to actually do something that you have only dreamed about.  And to share it with Dan, Tristan and Tessa, to see their enjoyment, nothing could have been better.  I’ll never forget it.

 

      

   

 

       

 

  

 

 

      

Penguins.  Who in their lifetime ever thinks they are going to see penguins in the wild?  We did!!

  La Serena countryside

 

  Clouds and cactus outside La Serena

 

Our driver was prompt at 8 am, and after stopping at a few other hotels to pick up other tourists, we were on our way.    La Serena is overcast/foggy at least 90% of the time, but about an hour out of town, the sky was clear, and we were again treated to desert landscape.  We were headed about 123 km north to catch a ferry that would take us out to Isla Damas and Isla Choros, where we hoped we would see penguins and dolphins.  Many times, due to bad weather and high seas the trip is cancelled, but the call from the coast was everything was fine.  At Caleta de Choros we met our ferry, a small wooden boat, that would take us out into the Pacific Ocean.

 

The ride was a bit cold.  The sky was very overcast, it was damp, but luckily no rain.  It was hard to believe we were headed into the Pacific Ocean to see PENGUINS!!!  Our first stop was Isla Damas a bleak, desolate island that we were allowed to explore for about thirty minutes, which was just long enough.  The island has a very small, rather pretty white sand beach, but the rest of the island was rocky, had a few birds, mostly vultures, and a lighthouse you can climb up to.

  Beach at Isla Damas        

  Walking on the island                    

 

  The boat that brought us here

 

                         Flora  and……

 

  Fauna

 

                 

 

         Lighthouse  wearing everything we have

 

                                

 

  Rocky coast 

 

 

   Boat ride to the island

La Serena is on the Chilean coast.  We awoke to the worst weather we have seen on our entire trip, overcast and foggy.  We would come to find out that this is the normal weather for La Serena.   Getting a taxi from the bus station was easy and we headed to Hotel Costa Real.  This hotel was more expensive, but it was close to the Plaza de Armas where most of the tourist information bureaus were located.  From there we could make our arrangements to see the Mamalluca Observatory and the highly anticipated Humboldt Penguin Reserve!

The taxi stopped in front of the hotel and as the bellhops came out to help with our luggage.    Of course we had no reservation, and didn’t even know if they would anything available.  I told Dan I would go inside and see about a room.  My plan was to talk to them before our ragtag, just off an overnight bus group with our ragtagbackpacks descended upon the lobby.  This afterall was not a hostel, but a businessman´s hotel.  We needed to have a sense of decorum.

I gave a friendly smile to the woman behind the desk.  ¨I´d like to see about a room.¨

She looked over my uncombed hair, my several layers of clothing, including the Peru sweater I had been wearing for nearly a month now.  I could see her looking over my shoulder, a bit alarmed as she saw Dan and the kids enter the lobby.

“Do you have a reservation?” she asked haltingly in English.

“No.”

Again the look of alarm on her face.  “Just a minute please.”  She called for backup.  The manager came to the counter, equally alarmed. Again I stated I needed a room.  Again she asked if we had a reservation.  Again I said no.  Again she looked distressed. 

“Do you have a room available?”  I mean really, reservation or not, you either had a room or you didn’t.  End of story.

Finally she came up with a room option.  A king size bed, they would bring in a rollaway bed, and there was a sofa in the room.  She gave me the room price, which included a breakfast buffet.  The price was very reasonable, considering the location and the fact this was listed as a five star hotel.  But I had to ask.

“Can you give me a discount?”

The manager looked at me as if I had asked if  could sleep in the lobby.  She said she could take $1o (US dollars)  off the price.  Sold! 

Our room was incredible.  First it was huge.  The biggest room we had yet.  Located on the second floor, it overlooked the small outdoor swimming pool.  The bathroom was large and beautifully tiled, we had a minibar.  But it was the sight of the stereo system and 48 inch flat screen TV that sent me scrambling for the phone to book another night. 

After showers, and dragging ourselves away from the TV, we walked toward the Plaza for lunch and to find a tourist office.  The guidebook suggested a cafeteria, near a really nice grocery store.  We feasted!  Roast beef, turkey, chicken, mashed potatoes, you name it.  It was like being in a US style cafeteria for about a quarter of the price.  We loved it.  Afterwards, we walked around the city, doing some window shopping. 

La Serena is Chile’s second oldest city.  Of course it has the usually beautiful tree lined, well enjoyed plaza, but we were also in a major shopping district.  Everyone was well dressed and I felt a bit out of plaza in our Peru attire.  The Chileans, for the most part, totally ignored us, as if we didn’t exist.  It was so surprising to us.  When you dealt with them one on one, they were mostly friendly and helpful, but out on the streets, the atmosphere was different.  We mostly wandered that first day, taking in the sights, enjoying the cool air, going to bed early.  The next day, we found El QuiValley tours, where our very friendly, English speaking tour guide, sold us the tour to the Humboldt Penguin Reserve and the Mamalluca Observatory. After another great meal at the cafeteria, we were in bed early as the van to the penguin reserve would arrive at 8 am the next morning.