Pichilemu October 4th - October 8th

Hey all, I have returned from our week at the ocean where we had very limited internet access. Here is some of the stuff from Pichilemu. Enjoy! There will be more to come.... including pictures soon.

Thursday October 4th:
They woke up early in the morning to enjoy their last ride on the bus with their driver, Pedro on the way to the airport in Calama. After an entertaining flight, filled with dancing and singing to classic rock, they arrived in Santiago and were greeted by Daniel and the staff from Posada Punta de Lobos to transport us to our surf lodge. The staff consisted of the owner Gonzalo, the kite surf instructor Gobin, and our driver/surf instructor Anjel. They stopped for lunch at a café and were treated to a great lunch where many local surfers stop on the drive to Pichilemu. Tommy got the autograph of the owner because she is featured in many advertisements in local surf magazines and is an important contributor to local surf culture. They arrived at the lodge an hour later and were astounded at the beauty of the lodge, huge windows over looking the ocean, a large campfire pit with bamboo seats, a pool and amazingly comfortable rooms. Gonzalo recently adopted two boxer-ish puppies that were a source of great entertainment for the entire group, they were so cute! The staff at the lodge treated us to a clam bake and fish fry, all locally caught, and the group met their head instructor for the week, Ramon Navarro. For those of you unfamiliar with surf culture, Ramon Navarro is the number one professional surfer in Chile and one of the most accomplished big wave surfers in the world. He was born and raised on the ocean and grew us as a waterman, fishing, swimming, and surfing, and now has many big name sponsors including Quiksilver and Etnies. He was very personable and was a great instructor but also a great friend, hanging out with the group every night, telling his big wave stories and giving them some great tips for their week of surfing that lies ahead.

Friday October 5th:
Today was the first day of surfing! Many of the group members have been looking forward to this day for a long time now, and were super excited to wake up and check out the surf. They unloaded at La Puntilla and, for the next thirty minutes, did the wetsuit dance trying to get outfitted for the frigid waters of South America. After getting their wetsuits on they went to the beach for an in-depth lesson and stretching session. After everyone got the general idea, they took off into the ocean for their first waves. Before the group even got to the lineup Tommy had paddled out and caught the first wave of Chile, thoroughly stoked to be surfing again, but this time in another country! While he stayed outside in the bigger waves, the group took turns getting pushed into waves to develop the feel of surfing and almost everyone was able to stand up and get a few rides under their belt. Unfortunately, Jen dislocated her shoulder paddling for a wave and was unable to surf with us anymore.
After they were thoroughly worn out, they returned to the lodge for a hearty pizza lunch and watched Anjels film. Anjel was our driver and instructor, but his real job is film producer. He works with the Saves the Waves Coalition and produces documentaries on development and pollution that is affecting local towns and areas where there is good surf. In the afternoon they went to a lagoon and started their first lessons in wind surfing and kite surfing.
Many people, Walker in particular, learned that is was pretty easy to get going on with the wind surfing, but found that the most difficult part was getting back to the beach! Walker got stuck on the opposite shore and had to do the “swim of shame” towing the board and sail all the way back to the shore.
After they returned to the lodge, Anjel took Tommy, Casey, Drew and Eric D. out to Diamond Head, a break close to Punta de Lobos, into some 8-10 foot surf! Only Anjel, Tommy, and Casey made it out to the break, Drew and Eric D. got stuck on the paddle out and had to return to the shore because of the crazy surf! Anjel caught one wave but Tommy and Casey decided that they were in a little over their heads and started the paddle to the shore, only to be caught in a huge set and pretty much dragged back to the beach. Let’s just say they were grateful to be back on solid ground after that experience! Claudia and Manuel came down from Santiago to be with us for a few days and the group enjoyed a great bar-b-q dinner with them and the staff that night. Some members wanted to go experience Pichilemu nightlife and wound up at a bar that was full of…nobody. Izzi was the only girl for a half hour! They returned late that night and were allowed to sleep in until 11, surf lodges understand the lifestyle and were very flexible to the groups desires!

Saturday October 6th:
After sleeping in, they woke up to another great breakfast at the lodge and suited up for more windsurfing and kite surfing lessons in the lagoon. Mark was the first one on a windsurfer and took off into the lagoon to finally conquer this sport! Many people cycled through the other board, taking turns with Gonzalo to get a feel for the board and to try windsurfing. Gobin went through kite surfing with a group on the beach, using a training kites so they could get a feel for the wind and the dynamics of the kite. These lessons took a few hours because these sports are very difficult to learn and require a lot of technical skills before you can get into the water and try. For these three hours that people were taking lessons on the beach, Mark was still far out in the lagoon, looking like he was stubbornly trying to perfect the sport. After he finally got back to the beach, they learned that for all three hours, he was only trying to get back to the beach and didn’t mean to spend three hours in the water! As I said before, the hardest part is getting back to the beach, but Mark finally made it and soon after was napping on the sand, thoroughly worn out from his struggle with the wind.
Today was also the first day that people started getting very sick, throwing up anything they ate and they were bed-ridden for at least 24 hours. Walker, Nick, and Josh were the first to have “the sickness” and spent the day at the hostel recovering. This is the start of something big…
In the afternoon the group returned to La Puntilla for a late afternoon/evening surf. They surfed until the sun went down and had another great day riding the wild surf. It doesn’t take recreation majors too long to pick up a sport and almost everyone was catching and riding good waves and having a great time. After surfing a group went into town to explore the surf shops and the local surf town culture. Dinner was lasagna at the lodge and the group went to bed early to prepare for their longest and toughest hike of the trip.

Sunday October 7th:
Today the group woke up early and got ready for a real adventure. They drove to a beach where they met up with their horses and rode along the coastline for about an hour. The group got a first hand look at Chilean horses; short and slow. But some of the group had nice horses and it was a lot of fun. Once they finished with their horses they started their trek on foot. Up and down and up and down, they hiked along the coast for hours. It was an incredible hike, but it was more than most people expected. For some of the time they walked along vast expanses of beach and other times they climbed into the hills and walked along cacti and Litre (a plant like poison ivy except it only harms you it a leaf snaps and the fluid gets on you). After four hours they stopped for lunch on a nice beach. When they were finished they started their trek again. It was five more hours until they would reach they ending place for they night. With about two hours left Jen rolled her ankle again, what a surprise. Finally, they ended their day at a local fisherman’s house and they were served an extravagant meal of seafood that the hosts caught themselves that day. It was incredible! During the meal they learned that they were the first large group to hike that trail ever! They set up their tents next to the ocean and slept with the sounds of the sea.

Monday October 8th:
They awoke the next morning and were treated to a hearty breakfast and a long stretching/yoga session from our guide Paloma. Even though they were aching from the long hike the day before, they packed up their daypacks and took off hiking for 3 more hours along a road that took them right to Topocalma Beach and their boards and wetsuits. Erik O. came down with the sickness and rode in the “sick lame and lazy” truck with Jen and Walker. Erik O. made his way back to the hostel to rest and Jen and Walker transferred to the van to meet the group at the beach. The hiking group beat the van with lunch to the beach and while many members rested for their afternoon of surf, Tommy, Eric D. and Albee went with Gobin to catch some of the amazing waves that were peeling off the point. After a great pre-lunch session, they joined the group for a quick lunch and then they all suited up and charged the waves! The waves were pumping and while some people may have been in a little over their heads, everyone still had a great time catching some bigger waves and getting pounded by the ocean. Unfortuntely, 20 people trying to catch one wave makes for some chaos in the water, and it resulted in Tommy getting cut on the corner of his eye by a fin on the surfboard during a collision, those things are sharp! The Pacific Aquarium was at the beach with us, releasing a sea leopard back into the ocean. He was very stubborn but eventually made his way into the ocean to be free again! As I said before, our pro Ramon is a very good waterman and grabbed a suckerfish off the exposed rock and placed it on his head to be his surfing buddy for the rest of the session. After the group was thoroughly worn out, they drove back to the lodge where a roast of lamb was waiting that had been slow-roasting all day. They ate like kings, again, and then went to sleep, exhausted from their last few days.