Ritoque was my heaven - a beautiful beach, sprawling sand dunes, big Chilean surf and incredible, lovely people. If you go to Chile, go stay on Ritoque at Ritoque Raices (Angie's very eco-hostel). We'd emailed Angie on a whim, wanting to put down some roots and get involved with a place for a month or so. When Angie said we could come stay, help her out at the hostel and have our own (well, virtually) beach house it was a happy day but we didn't know how much we'd love it until we got there!
After a couple of days at Ritoque, we'd felt like we'd been there forever. The nearest town Quintero is a 10 min ride away and has the most amazing ferias (markets). The fruit, veg and fish was so tasty and so cheap. We made some of the best food i've ever had, especially the big communal meals where everyone made a dish or 2. Quintero should also be famous for it's flee markets that sell everything and anything. Pick up a north face jacket or America Apparel hoodie for 50 cents... we did! September means spring time in Chile, sunny days but log fire nippy nights.
Ritoque attracts a different crowd of travellers (probably due to Angie's quirkyness) that was fab. We hung out with so many funny, great and inspriational people. From the Hill's who are world record holding outback skiiers with the most adorable kids; daredevil, chalet chef & NGO runner extrodinaire Claire; Greg who bought us Alaskan Salmon for the Bicentenario BBQ all the way from Alaska; Yoga master Noah who taught us how to smoke an apple; Ben & Beck from Auz who had just hit the road and were full of fun; Morris who was Chileans former no.1 surfer and a big fan of pisco; Chilean neighbours Elvira and Gabrielle who made us the most delicious fresh bread and cakes ever made; to local boy Christian who loved to talk Brit music and surfed for hours... but we never saw him catch a wave!
As well as enjoying ourselves with all these lovely people who loved Ritoque too, we got to work restoring the rambling garden which had got seriously over run following the Tsunami and made it ready for the summer season, collected the littler of the beach and got recycling, got involved with Chichimen a local wildlife NGO on their otter project and when we weren't hanging out (sunbathing!) or helping out, we went out exploring the coast in Angie's VW camper!
We were at Ritoque for the bicentenario celebrations and got spoilt by Angie's Chilean friends at parties, went surfing with sealions in Concon, took day trips along the coast to beautiful spots and took a memorable 4-day surf trip camping in Angie's VW van down to famous surf spots Puchelemo and Puertocillo. We were lucky to meet the amazing Angie, and can't wait to go hiking with her in Torres del Paine in December.
Think the pictures will say it all, I'll be going back to Ritoque... one day!
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