While I love living in a large city, it gets exhausting after a while. This last weekend I decided to take a much needed weekend getaway to Pichilemu. It is a coastal town of about 12,000 people and is considered to be one of the best surfing locations in all of South America. I took this trip with a friend of mine that I have met down here and while neither of us are great at making decisions, this was by far one of the best we have made so far here in Chile. We stayed at a hostel about 12 km outside of the main city called Surfarm; it was located on an actual farm and as close to the ocean as you could get without actually being on the sand itself. When we arrived at the bus station the hostel owner, Nico, picked us up and took us grocery shopping and then back to the hostel. At first, getting into a car with someone we didn’t know in a foreign country didn’t seem like the best idea ever but I pushed that to the back of my mind. Once we arrived at the hostel, we met the other travelers that were staying there – 2 Swedish guys, 2 French guys, 1 Italian guy, and a sprinkling of Chileans that were friends with Nico.
The first morning I woke up and immediately went to the beach, something about the ocean is so calming and peaceful while reminding me of how much else is out there in our world. The picture above is one of my favorites from the beach – it was a deserted beach so it was exactly what I needed for my relaxing weekend away. After a fun photoshoot on the beach and braving the freezing cold water we decided to make plans for the day. Horseback riding! There were horses on the farm so after they were “rounded up” Elsey, Emil, Diego, and myself went for a semi guided horseback tour along the beach, up into the cliffs, crossing over water coming in from the ocean (my horse HATED that, instead of crossing he started stomping in it), and eventually ended up at this lookout point that was breathtaking. Picture below : )
Elsey & I with my horse!
After horseback riding we celebrated a birthday at the hostel for one of the people staying there. Since we didn’t buy return tickets to Santiago we decided to stay until Monday morning. Sunday I spent a large portion of my day reading on the beach – it was a perfect activity in the perfect location. When we went into town to purchase our bus tickets we stopped at Punta de Lobos which is a popular surfing location. I was able to watch some people surf which is incredible! I had only every watched that in movies and on tv but to see it firsthand was mesmerizing; the ocean sort of scares me a bit so to see others look so comfortable in it was very cool.
Overall, I had an amazing trip and I cannot wait to go back. For so long I felt as if I could go back home soon and wouldn’t feel a need to come back, that I had gotten out of this country what I was going to, but after this trip I don’t think that is true. I cannot imagine not going back to Pichilemu and am starting to feel a sense of comfort in my life here in Chile. While I miss home, I don’t think about when I want to go home anymore – I just think about how I know ill go back at some point. There is still a lot here that I want to do & see and even more that I need to accomplish for myself.
Wanderlust 