Regatta at Vina del Mar - Chile

Ending up in Vina del Mar by accident, it turned out to be bustling and a brilliant day! Full of 18th Septiembre enthusiasm, we wanted to go to Valpariso (a UNESCO city 60kms down coast) but the roads were grid locked due to the celebrations so we aborted the plan after 2 hours on the bus and hopped off in Vina. Not on our list of places to go... but we weren't dissapointed. The city was awash with Chilean pride; party goers hanging off balconies, crowds enjoying the impressive Naval regatta and beautiful Cueca dancing and music in the squares. With Becks and Ben for great company, we blagged ourselves a table at a seafood place with views overlooking the ragatta and dancing on the doorstep, got some vino and soaked up the party atmosphere!

Bicentenario Celebrations at Ritoque - Chile

What can we say, it was amazing to be in Chile for the 200 years of independence celebrations (September 18th). At Ritoque Raices, Bicentenario weekend (or 4-days!) was one big party, as we were told by the locals it should be. Pisco, beers, vino tinto and meat, fish and salads were bought in bulk from Quintero before the national holiday started and the shops shut down. It was a constant communal feast! Houses, shops fronts and cars all flew the Chilean flag with pride in the run up and for weeks after.

We partied with a lovely crowd of travellers but also with the incredibly generous and fun Chilean friends of Angie's. It was pretty special, not only did they put on asados (bbqs) for us, they taught us to dance the Cueca and generally made us feel like honoury Chileans. I can't say Pete or I mastered the Cueca (traditional handerchief dance) at all, but it was fun trying. Auzzie Ben had the feet of a ballerina and we loved watching the pro's dance the day away. The men were all in their element with the amount of meat on the bbq!

We also celebrated the addition of little Paltita to Ritoque Raices, the gorgeous little puppy who adopted Angie on the beach and found herself a good home!

Chungungo spotting with NGO Chinchimen, Matencillo- Chile

After Angie found a poor little penguin covered in oil on the beach, she became friends with the local environmental NGO Chinchimen, who helped her nurse her penguin back to health. When they called up asking her if she'd be free to help with some Chungungo (Chilean sea otter) spotting off the coast, she asked us if we'd like to get involved. We had walkie talkies, grid sheets, binoculars and enthusiasm for spotting the rare Chungungo. Split into teams, Pete and I went with Angie to the top of the cliffs and spotted one straight away. Unfortunately after admiring him splashing around on his back, we lost him as he went round the headland. Oppps! We didn't see anymore that day, but we were very lucky to see one of these rare and very shy little creatures as we were told there are only 7 along the whole stretch of coastline. Chinchimen are a passionate group of people, out to protect the environment (which can take quite a bashing from loosely regulated industry) and they're doing an amazing job. Check them out on facebook and if you're going to this area of Chile you could always offer to help them spot an Chungungo or two. We all loved it and it was an honour to be invited to join in!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/chinchimen?v=wall

Horcon - Chile

Horcon is a magical little fishing village, the fisherman pull in their boats using big dray horses to heave the catch up the sandy beach to safety. The pelicans also wait on the fish in mass and make for perfect pictures. We took a trip to Horcon with the Hill family from Canada and Gabrielle and Elvira and their gorgeous grandchild Columbia. We drove down in convoy and enjoyed buying trinkets and jewlerry (well, the girls anyway) in the market, finding shells on the beach with the kids and buying scallops and huge fresh crabs for dinner for $1 each!!!

Concon - Chile

When the sun came out, we piled into the van and headed down the coast to Concon. Only a half an hour drive to beginner (ish) friendly waves and surfing with sealions (no joke!), we got some boards from the surf school Morris works at and headed into the ocean. With the big wave Chilean swell coming from the Antartic, the wet suits were not enough to keep the cold at bay but it was worth it to get back on a board again!