Saturday 14th July

A long drive today - about 500 km through the Atacama Desert (one of the driest deserts in the world). Fortunately the roads are good in Chile. We pulled off the road and set up camp just before dusk. There was a wonderful sunset over the mountains. David lit a campfire for us to sit round for dinner, and later there was the perfect opportunity for star gazing.

Sunday 15th July

Another 500 km drive to La Serena (the second oldest city in Chile). We´re camping near the beach on the outskirts of this trendy seaside resort (unfortunately its winter). We´re here for a couple of nights.

Monday 16th July

Walked along the beach into town, which was very quiet as it is a public holiday here. Good to be back in a country where children are well dressed and enjoy playing - not working. Our trip to the Observatory tonight was cancelled due to low cloud - hope to have better luck tomorrow.

Tuesday 17th July

Hired bicycles today and cycled along the beach to the fishing port of Coquimbo, where we explored the town and visited the "Cross of the Third Millenium" situated at the top of the hill giving great views of the bay. We made it to the observatory at Vecuna tonight.  We saw various planets and star clusters through the telescopes and learnt about the star gazing in the Southern Hemisphere.  We drive to Santiago tomorrow - another long drive!