We woke feeling refreshed today after a major relaxation day yesterday (I think we had needed it!) The plan was to hire bikes and cycle along the seafront to the next town along called Coquimba (which was originally a port in its own right but by now had pretty much merged with La Serena.) The hostel helpfully could organise bike hire for us so we had a half hour to spare to nip to the bus station to buy our bus tickets to Valpraiso for the following day.

The road bikes we hired we pretty funny - at first I thought they had no brakes, but the chap hiring them to us reassured me you only had to pedal backwards and the brakes kick in! Nonetheless it took a bit of getting used to. The weather was warmish but overcast (this seems to be the norm for La Serena which has a weird micro-climate and nearby cloud forest in the middle of the desert as a result!) I wouldn't say it was the most scenic bike ride - the Pacific ocean looked grey and angry in the windy overcast weather, and it struck us to be bit too similar to being by the coast in the UK on a fresh autumn day! However we enjoyed the slow amble on the tarmacked bike path and used the opportunity to have a good chat. I had been a bit absorbed in my most recent novel of late (since I found a 1 for 1 book exchange at the hostel which meant I could replenish my stores at no cost!) I'm almost reading a novel a day at the moment with all the bus journeys! I think Scott was pleased to drag me away from reading - which even I would admit would be pretty impossible on a bike!

As we approached the busy fishing port we could see swarms of Pelicans waiting for scraps and were delighted when we realised they were so tame we could get within metres of them! They were soaring just above our heads and I was struck by how huge their wing span was. We saw some people peering over some metal railings into the sea below and went to investigate what was going on - to our delight there were about 10-20 huge sea lions surfacing and rolling around in the waves - probably again waiting for fish scraps. After 10 mins or so we dragged ourselves away and set back on our bikes. Scott said he didn't like the place - apparently it had a unsafe feel about it and he said dodgy looking men kept staring at me! I was oblivious myself although I would say there is a contrast here in Chile compared to Peru or Bolivia - the men here seem to still take amazement at blonde hair or at least pay more attention to it than would be desired. I tie it back all the time but it doesn't really help...it reminds me a bit of India although not as bad, and it helps that I'm with Scott all the time.

Half way back to La Serena we stopped for a warming hot chocolate at one of the beachside restaurants that was open (over half were closed as I guess the real season doesn't kick off until December). We had to drop the bikes back at the chap's house which meant we had to try and find it (easier said than done when your map is next to useless!) However to Scott's credit he managed to get us there safely. We were pushing the bikes on foot as the streets were heaving and we weren't used to cycling on the right had side of the road - especially with the only way to brake by cycling backwards! The town seemed a different place to a couple of days previously when we had walked around it at 9am on a bank holiday morning, and everything had been closed. Now there was a throng of people going about their business and loads of school kids hanging around waiting for buses. On the way back to our hostel we found a supermarket and bought some supplies for dinner and for the next day. That night we had cooked chicken roasted in the supermarket, like you'd get in the UK, with potato salad and carrot and coriander. We felt proud of ourselves for being so self sufficient without kitchen facilities at the hostel. We vowed we'd book somewhere with a kitchen at the next stop as restaurant costs in Chile are not cheap.