Blogs from Pichilemu, O Higgins, Chile, South America

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South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu November 13th 2018

So our first Chilean road trip did not start off well. About two and a half hours into the drive, as we drove down the main street of a little town called Litueche, the alarm sounded...except well, it wasn't an alarm, it was an "uh oh she's barfing", and it was said very matter of fact, although I can't quite remember who said it, but pretty sure it was Steph's mom who was sandwiched between the two girls car seats in the back. And I turned around and well, I can spare you the growing details (let's just say some people in the car may never look at fishy crackers the same), but my eyes soon confirmed that yes, poor Maelle was barfing. And so we quickly pulled over, got her calmed down and a change ... read more
Infiernillo Beach, Pichilemu
Beach walk to breakfast
My little surfer girl

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu March 10th 2018

And so somehow we came to find ourselves in Pichilemu, the surfing capital of Chile, on the Pacific coast. Not the most obvious place for us to be as the last time we had attempted to surf (11 years ago) we had agreed that there was nothing wrong with being unable to do something. One of the many things I love about Pete is his indefatigable optimism. What had been impossible 11 years ago could very likely have become possible in the intervening years, with the additional wisdom and agility gained in the intervening time..... And as I dropped him at surf school and headed out to enjoy the sunshine and the fishing boats, I knew he would be a star.... (Pete; actually I’ve improved immensely from 2 seconds standing up to a full five seconds ... read more
I'm pretty sure this one's Pete....he's doing rather well don't you think?
Returning victorious, my surfer dude hero.....
Pete has really caught the sun.....

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu December 28th 2015

Neither one of us was ever a manager of a hostel before but now we can check that off our list of things to do. Upon arriving at our next workaway experience we were sent a picture from the owner of the hostel, Oliver, with a hand pointing to a key and a message that read I will not be there when you arrive but let yourself in, this is where the key will be. So that's what we did, we let ourselves into the place we would run for the next few weeks, without the real owner anywhere in sight. Our job was simple, clean and wash the sheets after every guest and make sure all the beds were made for any incoming guests. Keep the bathrooms cleaned and make sure the kitchen wasn't a ... read more
Sunset over the pacific
The view from one  Kristine's favorite places to do work.
Morning fog over Punta infernillo...one of the three point breaks in Pichilemu

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu November 19th 2012

In the true spirit of being a backpacker, when I was randomly invited away on an AFL end of season football trip over the weekend to Pichilemu I graciously accepted. The Santiago Saints are the only AFL club in Chile. About 10 years ago a local Chilian guy got into contact with the AFL in Australia and they sent him over some footballs and training kits. Since then it has grown and they have a couple of teams within the club that play against each other, so I guess either way; the club always wins. We set off on Friday night to make the supposed 3.5 hour drive south west to Pichilemu. However in true AFL fashion the guys were sinking cans on the bus which resulted in us needing to stop every 20 mins so ... read more
National ladies surf comp
Black sand
The boys lesson

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu April 7th 2012

With the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and being beside the beach you would think that I would be happy, but I wasn’t. Unfortunately, being happy was proving difficult at this moment as rather than lying on the beach or swigging a beer, I was in the back of a truck. Who’s truck? to this day, we still have no idea, but as Donna and Lisa sat inside the truck trying to tell these random people (who we had accidentally hitchhiked with) where our cabana was, I was being thrown all over the place on the outside of it. I was a tad miffed! To be fair, these people were amazingly friendly in giving us a lift even though they had no idea where our cabana was and after driving round aimlessly ... read more
Pichi beach
An empty bar in keeping with our rules of the crawl!
Waiting for the waves to roll in

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu September 1st 2011

The next chapter of our journey starts in Pucon right in the heart of Southern Chile. It's a very touristic town at the lake Villarica and close to a Vulcano, also called Villarica! The view is really impressive and also staying in tourist trap has its benefits, as there are European style supermarkets, nice restaurants and English speaking people. A visit to the famous Huerquehue National Park was also dedicated to our motto "mucho, mucho nieve"! This time though we didn't get stuck with the car on the way up. We aslo did a guided tour to some vulcano caves which was hm...yeah when you grew up in Austria you have seen more breathtaking caves, but the fact the they were vulcanic still made it worth it. All in all we had some quite relaxed days ... read more
Lago Villarica
Ojos de Caburga
National Park

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu April 6th 2011

So we set off aiming for Pichilemu, a coastal town a few hours south of Santiago, which is famed for holding the world surfing championships. The first trip to Villaricea and then to the next town was relatively esy. We then got off at the bus company's coach depot and found out that we neede to be on the other side of town for the buses going in the direction we wanted. After some garbled directions we eventually got a 'collectivo taxi' which reminded me of the ones in Ghana, more due to the concept as opposed to a reflection on how it was driven or the upholstery in the back. We arrived at the main coach station and made some enquiries. We boarded the late 1pm bus and were told that this would drop us ... read more
Some bad ass Surfer!
Trying to keep warm in the surf!
Pelican Alley!

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu January 26th 2011

Day 8 All aboard the bus.. early rise in Valparasio to catch the 6.30 bus back to Santiago to meet up with the Pacamama tour for 9am which we will be with for the next 2 days. Ivan who is from Villarrica will be our guide along with Daniel the driver, we are also joined by 3 Aussies (Ryan, Lisa, Ali) 2 Germans (Lars, Claudia) and 1 Irish (Lisa). First stop is the tiny town of Pomaire to allow us the chance to see a true traditional Chilean town where they sell lots of pots! Would be great to purchase but too heavy for our already overladen rucksacks. Then onto Pichilemu, which is a small, sleepy surf town. We arrive at our multi-coloured hostel (Hostel Bahia)and head out to the beach to kick back on the ... read more
Ivan
Stinky Starfish
The Team at Cani

South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu July 24th 2010

Pichilemu: mar, cielo y rock n´roll... read more
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South America » Chile » O Higgins » Pichilemu January 11th 2010

So yet another week has flown by down here in Chile. I am still very much enjoying the weather, the sun always shines here. I have continued to make new friends and check out the city. With a four hour language class every morning and a 3 hour MBA class 3 evenings a week, I am very glad I chose to drop my other MBA class. This last week was pretty exhausting, but I really learned a lot! My Spanish is improving quickly, I am getting around just fine now with the language. I absolutely love my Negotiations class through the MBA program. My professor is from South Africa and seems very knowledgeable and is quite entertaining, making our 3 hour classes go by quickly. I also enjoy the fact that for the exchange students this ... read more
ocean!
Sunset!
Photo 5




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