March 11th to 13th 2015

We take a mini bus direct from Valparaiso to Horcon, it’s final destination, caught along the main road  of Valparaiso which winds along the coast with the help of a friendly bus stop attendant.  We climb on, store our bags at the front and back of the bus, and I pay the 2,000 CLP per person fare (4CAD) and settle into the crowded half bus.

The nice side of buses. is they provide a free tour as they get you to where you want to go.  This one is no exception as we leave the coast behind and wind up through the ritzier half of the area Vina Del Mar full of resorts Casinos and international cuisine, before leaving the city behind and winding through the increasingly barren country side, through tiny windswept coastal towns, and a few slightly bigger cities. Roughly two hours later the once crowded mini bus is mostly empty as it pulls up into a small dirt terminal atop a hill.  The last stop, Horcon, and our home for the next 2 days.  Also the place I’ll look back on as the days that kickstarted the trip.

We have no reservation here, the place barely exists on the internet and most lodging options are cabins and apartments rented out by locals.  In the summer it can be quite busy and expensive, but we’re a month removed from the height of summer and the town is empty meaning there are bargains to be had.

As we walk down into the centre of town we’re approached by a few locals peddling apartments, they drive me up the hill to them and show off their properties but we’re ideally looking to be closer to the ocean so despite prices varying between 20,000 and 30,00 pesos between the four of us we turn them down and head down the extension of the main street right along the coast.

We find a hotel out of our price range but the kind lady at reception calls her friend next door who shows us a lovely 2 bedroom Cabin right on the ocean for just 30,000 (60 CAD).  It’s exactly what we’re looking for and why there are lots of occasions when it pays not to make a reservation online.

We spend the rest of the day exploring some lovely if unimpressive beaches to on the right side of town enjoying the vast array of Sea birds and the friendly locals.  We also find some truly delicious empanadas for lunch at a restaurant called La Picadura de Arana (or something similar)  a place we come to know well in the short time afforded to us in this small coastal village.  If you’re in Horcon do not miss them.  Certainly more tempting than this ASS sandwich they speak of next door.

We sleep well, the ocean air and gentle sound of waves rolling in through our open window a happy change from the drunken revellers and talkative dogs in the streets of Valparaiso and Santiago.

I wake up the next morning to my father’s beckoning voice, they’re bringing in the morning catch and it’s quite a scene to behold.  I stumble out into the morning grey, bleary eyed and stumbling, but as we head out to the beach together I’m quickly woken up by the life all around me.  Sea birds surround the boats as they come in as well as those on the beach.  They flit magically through the air a symphony of sound, and swim through the water hoping for the fisherman to throw them some scraps.  A daily routine for the pelicans gulls and even the occasional boobie.

Here the locals have worked out quite a clever way to get the boats from the bottom of the beach to the top safe from the tide.  Two huge draft horses are tethered to the boats, one man riding atop one of them and they then pull up the sizeable fishing boats which make me wonder just how strong these horses are.  I’m certainly nervous walking close to them, should they take a dislike to me.

Russell and Clara join us as we head over to a fish gutting station close by where locals will clean and prepare any purchase you make, tossing the remnants to the crazed flocks of birds.  The battles for the pieces of fish are quite something to behold.

We head back to the beach and see some more boats brought in and also stumble upon a sharks carcass on the beach.  Later on some gulls will enjoy the rotting meat.

The scene diminishing as the fishermen head back home we head off towards some pretty looking rock formations just a few minutes walk past our cabin from town.  We cross a lovely bridge to some rocks and watch the waves roll in before momentarily leaving my dad alone to enjoy the beauty and clambering up over rocks and through ankle deep water to get a better view of the window like formation in the distance.

We get there but find a channel of water barring us from getting closer, currents of the waves whipping through it.  I can’t resist and carefully timing my dash I slide into the waist deep water sand cross to the other side, clambering up onto the slick rock and hurrying towards the beautiful formation which brings to my mind the Azure Window in Malta, the first country I visited in this long tip.  Hard to believe that was more than 18 months ago now.  Time flies and all that jazz.

After posing for the above pictures I hurriedly cross back and we return to my dad, enjoying  a few minutes of downtime in our lovely cabin before heading out to lunch for more delicious empanadas at La Picadura de Arana.  Then, following the advice of several different locals, we head up the hill and to the right on the path which will lead us to Cau Cau  beach, supposed to be the nicest beach in town.  Somewhere along the way we pick up a stray dog who follows us dutifully for almost the entire rest of the day.

The walk is a little long under the hot sun,  (weather in this coastal part of Chile seems to start grey and get sunnier as noon approaches.  We follow the dirt road, winding through the endless cabins atop the hill and get to a long set of roughly made steps down to the beach.  It’s not a simple walk down, but my father manages with aplomb, and the four of us are instantly rewarded by one of the nicest beaches I’ve seen since leaving the Caribbean coast of Colombia behind.

I ignore the not apt for bathings signs and plunge into the cold water (water gets colder the farther south you go, but this has nothing on what is to come in the following entries.)  and lose myself in playing with the huge crashing waves, some of the biggest I’ve tangled with for a long time.  The moment when a wave sweeps you off your feet and leaves you entirely out of control for just a brief instant is a feeling I truly love, and I can;t help but laugh with pure glee as I enjoy the wonders of the Pacific Ocean.  Our friend the dog seems to have picked up on my joy, sprinting in circles along the beach just aching to be played with.

Finally I climb out of the turbulent waters and we head along the beach for a brief walk to one end of the beach.  Some condos loom above the hill from us, but I have long since learned how to not let small blemishes on perfection bother me.  A key skill to develop when travelling.

We reach the rocky end of the sand beach and are about to turn around and go back when I spot a huge sleeping sea lion on one of the rock formations just a short distance further on.  I can’t help myself and climb down and cross through some water before climbing back up onto his rock for some views from the other side of the window like rock formation.  It’s beautiful and the water is roughing here, crashing into the rocks and exploding into the air in a foamy spray.

It’s chaotic and powerful yet somehow serene and peaceful all at once, kind of like waterfalls.  That sense of tranquility disappears as I’m returning to my family as the Sea Lion suddenly wakes up, notices my presence and makes a small move towards me.  These things can be vicious and the one maybe 20 feet from me now is a full grown male.  They are notoriously aggressive on land and I back off as fast as I can, hurrying down a small cliff and into water.  Thankfully he must have been having a good dream as rather than give chase he settle back down on the rocks and promptly goes back to sleep.

My hearts still racing by the time I get back to My father, My Brother, Clara and our new friend the dog.  My child’s mind very much in control I snatch up some seaweed thinking of how we used to chase my mother along the beaches of terrance bay with sea weed and jellyfish, I pose for some pictures.

We make the somewhat strenuous climb (not if you’re in shape)  and head back towards our cabin in the town.  I can’t help myself and stop in a small store and buy our new friend some food.  The lady selling me the food is quite amused. It also serves a purpose of saying goodbye in a nice way, as we don’t want to bring a stray back to the cabin.  

Dinner is more empanadas and we play some cards before settling in for another great ocean air aided sleep.  Tomorrow, after again observing the daily catch being brought in we will head back to Santiago for the big futbol game (covered here)  before continuing via night bus to Ancud on Chiloe Island about 13 hours south of Santiago.