Pichilemu, Chile--Surf Capital of the World

Last weekend, I left Santiago with a group of friends to enjoy two days of beach, seafood, BBQ's, and of course, wine. We escaped to Pichilemu, and it couldn't have been any better timing. Having the ability to simply drop everything and leave gives me a sense of liberation, and Pichilemu rejuvenated me.

We drove through the night and arrived in Pichilemu early in the morning. Tired, we all passed out to prepare ourselves for a fun weekend. In the morning, I woke up before everyone and decided to get lost in the town of Pichilemu. While wandering, I managed to buy bread from a guy on a bicycle, a box of crabs from a lady on the street, and fruit and vegetables from the local verdeluria. Total cost: approximately $6 USD or $3,000 Chilean Pesos. Amazing how far your $ can go when you buy locally.

Here's a picture of breakfast:

Pichilemu is known around the world for Punta Lobos (Point of Sea Wolves) for its incredible point break. The waves form a perfect "left", a surfer's dream. Basically a "left" wave means that the wave has an open face towards the left side if you were to be facing the beach. Of course, I had to see what it was all about, so my French friends and I headed over there to rent surfboards and wet suits.

No, that's not me nor my picture. That's Chilean pro surfer Ramon Navarro, a Pichilemu local! Winter is prime time for surfing, so unfortunately (or probably fortunately) the waves weren't nearly this big!

The climate in Pichilemu is identical to Pismo Beach. It is usually cloudy, but in the summer it is pretty warm. In terms of latitude, Pismo and Pichilemu are both at the 35 parallel, N and S respectively. This also results in having similar nature, ie. beaches. Even the waves match those in Morro Bay, where the waves come off the huge Morro Rock to form a very nice left.

I felt like I was in a time warp, and transplanted back to California in the 1970s! For example, a man set up a cafe out of his VW Bus:

To sum it all up, Pichilemu is a great surf town that welcomes "extranjeros" (foreigners) with open arms. They have great, cheap seafood, and incredible beaches. It is a perfect weekend getaway for Santiagans, and for travelers as well. Highly recommend staying at a surf hostel if one were to travel there!

More posts coming soon, apologies for not being as regular as I had promised!

- Jake