Bahia Inglesa, Chile 03-04.01.16

• How to get there: From Santiago to Bahia Inglesa is 894kms (9-11 hours). We got a night bus from Santiago to Copiapo taking 11 hours with Pullman bus company costing 16.000 CLP. The road is in perfect condition throughout the journey. From Copiapo take a bus to Caldera, takes 40 minutes to get there. If you go to the bus station in the morning, they will tell you how to do it. It costs 2.000 CLP per person. From Caldera to Bahia Inglesa we took a taxi that charged us 1.000 CLP each, takes 7 minutes to get to Bahia Inglesa.
• Arriving to Bahia Inglesa: Book your accommodation before you arrive, or camp at the beach if you like. Accommodation is expensive and for several days only. If you're in a tight budget, make sure you buy your food from a supermarket in Copiapo.

We stayed in a room that had a view to the sea, spacious, clean and comfortable. It cost 50.000 CLP per night paid cash. You can cook your own food at the place, so you don't need to eat out when you're here if you don't fancy spending that money.

The place looks more like a touristic area in the south of Spain than a Chilean coastal town, they live from the hundreds of people that gather here every summer to sunbathe and relax. We point out that summer here means December, January and February and as we arrived on a Sunday, it was as crowded as it gets.

Walking along the beach all you could see was the white sand and the reflection of it everywhere. The water is clear and clean, the avenue that stands beside it holds restaurants, shops and bars. By the road side, street stands sell hats, necklaces and toys that give you the true beach feeling.

The beach is empty every morning, when the clouds still cover the bright blue sky and the wind blows buoyant. When the clouds clear up, people seem to come out of nowhere and the beach becomes noisy and lively. The water remains bitter and bathing is not everybody's choice, withal it's still pleasant to sit by the sound of the sea.

We ate at Coral de Bahia, the menu is more international and it's in English and Spanish. Even though we are not very big fans of seafood, the choice of seafood is varied and appetizing. We both went for the Chicken Tikka Massala for 9.000 CLP each and had a couple of drinks. It all summed up to 24.000 CLP tip included.