From Snow to Surf

Less than three weeks after heading up into the Andes for the snow, I headed down to the beach town of Pichilemu for the surf. My friends Mike and Caren, Stoddie, who was visiting me for the week, and I, rented a cabaña right on the beach where some of the best surfing in Chile goes down. The town of Pichilemu was all but dead, it being mid-week and the off-season, but the surf school down the road was ready and waiting for us. We slipped (or rather, struggled) into our necessary but unflattering wetsuits and headed first to the sand, where we learned the technique, and then the icy cold and rough water. The 10 mil peso ($20) surf lesson was well worth it; if it weren't for our instructor Pablo pushing my board when a wave came up I doubt I would have been able to get up. But, as long as I didn't have to do the hard part--the paddling--I was able to ride a few. I think my experience with yoga helped a lot with the movement and stance, though doing a spin-off of warrior pose is a lot tougher while balancing on a moving piece of fiber glass. It was a lot of fun, though by the end of our hour in the water I was completely beat from struggling with the waves.

We unwound with an asado (cookout) of choripan, Chile's (more delicious) version of a hotdog, and some vino and watched the sunset from our deck.

 

In Pichilemu, I became more aware than ever of what Pablo, our surf teacher summed up as "Santiago no es Chile" (Santiago isn't Chile). It's amazing how different the lifestyle and feel is in this little beach town than in the capital city. The people are more friendly, there's less U.S. influence, and the pace of life seems slowed by about three times (and that means about 5 times slower than what we're used to in the States). Granted, it's a tourist town, and we were visiting in the equivalent of March, but even so, there just wasn't that much to the city. It made me think of the beaches at home, like Bethany and Rehoboth, but what I imagine they were like fifty years ago. It's an awesome place to spend a weekend, and its chill atmosphere kind of draws you in--after two days I wasn't to stoked to head back to bustling Santiago.