I just received word yesterday that I’ve been accepted to a volunteer teaching program in Colombia beginning in August. It will be a very different experience for me because I’ll be teaching English to children and assisting their teachers in developing an English curriculum – much different than teaching business English to professionals.
Over the past couple days, there have been two major earthquakes in the north of Chile, off the coast of Iquique. The first one, with a magnitude of 8.2, struck on Tuesday night. Last night, there was an aftershock of 7.8. Several other aftershocks over 5.0 have also been recorded.
Pichilemu is a laid back beach town in Chile known as one of the best surfing spots in the world, with the best year-round surfing in South America. It’s about three and a half hours by bus from Santiago’s Terminal Alameda.
Located just a half hour outside Santiago, the village of Pomaire is a nice little escape from the city. It’s famous for pottery and authentic Chilean food, and most of what’s worth seeing is along a five block stretch of the main road in town. It’s super touristy, but still charming and pleasant enough to enjoy a nice afternoon.
Inland from La Serena is one of the most beautiful valleys in Chile, the Elqui Valley (Valle del Elqui). There are several small towns scattered throughout the valley that I wanted to visit, along with some astronomical observatories.
The peaceful city of La Serena has a few nice colonial churches to visit. Some of them date back to the 16th century. All of them are located within walking distance of Plaza de Armas in the city center.
La Serena is a peaceful city on the Chilean coast, about six hours drive north of Santiago. It’s free of high-rises and traffic, small and compact, and cheap compared to Santiago. In the city, there’s not much left from the colonial days, but enough things to see to keep someone occupied for more than half a day.
