Cachagua

The cueca accompanied us two weekends ago on our micro trip through small, colorful, beachfront towns along the Pacific coast. An empanada vendor selling seafood empanadas boarded the micro. The smell was so tempting that Eva and I indulged ourselves in the best empanada we have tried thus far, but unfortunately, the smell of crab and seafood didn’t complement Tim’s motion sickness well.

We were on our way to Cachagua, which shares the reputation with neighboring Zapallar of being a popular vacation spot for Chile’s rich. Both towns are approximately an hour and a half north of Viña del Mar. Cachagua boasts a bird reserve that is home to Humboldt penguins, among other species. The reserve is slightly off the mainland on the Isla de Cachagua, and because it is protected, the beach on the mainland is as close as it gets, but you can still see the birds quite well. We got off the bus on the main road and followed a dusty dirt road to a beautiful beach. Unfortunately, we did not have any binoculars, and we were only able to positively identify one Humboldt penguin: it had been swept ashore, dead. The penguin was quite small, measuring approximately a foot and a half in length.

Along the Cachagua shore, a well-kept stone path traces a rocky terrain, framed by immaculate houses with ornate gardens. We walked for 3 hours and enjoyed the 15-20 foot waves and solitude. Small foot bridges ease crossing more difficult terrain. Tsunami evacuation route signs serve as a constant reminder that Chile has suffered several large earthquakes in the past 150 years that have severely damaged Chile’s economy.

We made our way to the main road again and hailed the next passing bus by doing the Chilean bus hail (basically, it consists of pointing your pointer finger towards the middle of the road and motioning up and down a few times) . This bus took us to Zapallar, which also has an incredible cove beach. There we enjoyed a late seafood lunch at a restaurant 20 meters from the sea beach before making our way back to Viña del Mar.

Loca(l)motion

Every weekend we try to explore a new part of the region. Our trips often entail a combination of the local metro, which takes us either to Viña del Mar or Valparaíso. From there, there are lots of connections to bigger bus companies or micros, small Chilean busses that take you along local routes. Riding a micro in Chile is an adventure in and of itself. Once you enter the bus and find a seat (if you are lucky), the micro driver lurches ahead, horn blasting for every imaginable minor traffic offense. There seems to be a timetable that only the micro driver knows — there are certainly no bus schedules posted anywhere — and he yells with clenched fists and screams through open windows at the other drivers who may be infringing upon their potential bus riding clients. As they try to overtake one another to reach the next customer and/or destination, you, the passenger, are jolted from side to side while trying to keep your last meal down. Depending on the music preferences of the driver, you might enjoy an hour of Chilean cueca (I suppose the best way to describe this would be Chilean country/folk), reggetón (Latin hip hop – reggae fusion), or some other local favorite. A sign hanging behind the driver’s head informs you of your right to ask the driver to turn off the music.