Exploration – Part 1: Cerro Grande

Our first weekend in La Serena, after the jet lag and culture shock had both started to fade, it was time to start exploring our surroundings. That’s Deb and Todd speak for “go for a hike”. So, we asked our wonderful Ex-Pats group on What’s App where to go. The first answer… Cerro Grande.

Cerro Grande means “Big Hill”. Yup. That’s what it is all right. If the sea is the front yard of La Serena, Cerro Grande is the back yard. At 550 meters (1804 feet) tall, it’s the logical site for all of the communications and television antennas. It’s also the local mountain biking and hiking hangout.

We drove up to the base of it and parked along with a lot of other hikers and bikers in a very dusty, rocky area that serves as the parking lot. No signs lead to the parking lot, so we almost turned around at one point. But, we made it.

For those who are familiar with Galbraith Mountain in Bellingham, there are numerous options for getting to the top of the tree-covered mountain. You could take the main gravel roads and pump your way to the top. Or you could take one of many biking/hiking trails that semi-gradually get you to your destination. Todd and I always preferred the trails to the gravel road. To both of us, the gravel road was a lot less interesting and seemed a lot harder to ride.

Unfortunately, those options don’t exist on Cerro Grande. Basically, there’s a gravel road to the top. You bike it or hike it. Period. There are more options for coming down by bike. (You really wouldn’t want to walk them because it would be hard to get out of the way of the bikes.) But, honestly, most of routes look pretty intimidating to me. Imagine extremely loose sand everywhere. No traction.

So, you haul your body and bike to the top by sheer will, then decide which death-defying route you’ll take down. Hmm. I guess we’ll have to see what I’m willing to do once our bikes get here (in May).

Anyway, for now, we’re limited to hiking. Accepting the fact that everything is brown and dark green with very few trees (as mentioned in my previous post), it was actually a pretty nice hike. There were a lot of people walking or biking and the views of La Serena and the Elqui Valley were pretty spectacular. Plus everyone was very friendly, saying various versions of hello or good day (“Hola hola”, “Buenos días”, “Buen día”, etc.) It took awhile to figure out the first one (hola hola), but it’s pretty commonly said around here.

Part way up the hill, there’s an option to turn right and go up a longer, taller hill called Cerro Corazón (Heart Hill). You also come back down to the parking lot via the lower part of Cerro Corazón. We tried part of this descent on the way back, thinking it might be a more do-able bike descent than some of the upper stuff on Cerro Grande. Unfortunately, it’s pretty steep and loose as well. Since I didn’t pack my hiking boots for the plane, I’m stuck with light weight, slippery sneakers for the time being. So, we had to bail on that descent for now.

Overall, a pretty good introductory hike. We decided that next time, we’ll pack more water, bring my hiking poles, and hike up to the top of Cerro Corazón.