Exploring La Serena: why Lonely Planet is sometimes wrong

Lonely Planet has always been my go-to travel bible. And when I travelled in Latin America for three months, I made no exception. The travel experts, however, don't always get it right. And I discovered just as much for myself when making my way down Chile's coast, travelling from San Pedro to Val Paraiso. The colonial town of La Serena, it turns out, is not worth the tip at all. Well, ‘Chilean paradise’ may be a bit of an overstatement… This is La Serena in Chile, and despite the ocean, and the pretty trees and the sand, it definitely was not paradise! I basically only stopped here in order to break up a monster journey from San Pedro Atacama desert to Val Paraiso. It was out of season and there was nothing to do and to make it worse, I kind of forgot that the more south you go in Chile in the winter, the colder it is. And the rainier it is. Hurrah! Although I’ll definitely return to Chile one day, chances are La Serena will not be on my return list. But this picture is nice enough.