We wake up early this morning as we have to prepare breakfast. We pack up our sleeping stuff and head off to the truck. As we pass Paolo's tent to make sure he is awake (he still has not replaced his broken watch), we look up and there is a fox wandering through the campsite only a few meters away. He gives us a quick glance, and the wanders on his way. Breakfast is a Spanish omelet.
While most of the group heads off to take a boat ride to the nearby island where you can see things such as sea lions and penguins, we hang out at the campsite and pack things away. We also take the opportunity to go for a short stroll on the beach. There are many birds flying overhead and hanging out on the rocks and sand at the beach. We are saddened to see a masked booby with a broken wing - he will not have too long to live. The fox will get him soon - maybe better than slowly starving to death.
Shortly after 10 AM, we are all back and ready to go and head off. We stop in the nearby town of Chanaral to do some cook group shopping. While the cook group does it's thing, we wander the streets. We also take the opportunity to pick up a few more bottles of wine. We get away around noon.
About an hour later we pull off the road and drive a short way down a peninsular to have lunch. As we stop and shut off the engine, we can hear the barks and bellows of a sea lion colony. While the cook group prepares lunch, we wander down to the beach to find them. They are further away then it sounded and in the end they lived on a nearby island so we could not get too close. But it was nice to see them.
Around 5:30 PM we pull off the road and drive in a ways to find a bush camp. It is an excellent spot for the night. We are surrounded by hills and there is no one there but a few donkeys grazing on one of the hills. We seem to interest them quite a bit. After setting up our tent, we decide to climb one of the hills to have a look around. It is not too difficult, but the lose shale and bottle of wine that we are carrying means that we need to take care.
It is a fantastic view from the top. We spend about an hour up there enjoying the wine and the views before heading back to the campsite. It is another relaxing night around the fire sampling the local wine, eating another excellent feast (barbeque!) and taking in the clear night sky.