La boca del cielo

Posted on Thursday, 28 June 2012 in Chile
Note: I originally wrote this blog entry for my old Spanish school in Australia (The Spanish Cat), hence the error in the date above.

Every now and then in your life you visit a place in which you feel transported to a period before humanity existed, where time stands still and the infinity of nature and the universe directly confront you, make you feel humble and small and your problems seem to fade away into non-existence. I had the good fortune to visit such a place last weekend.

Los Vilos, a few hours north of Santiago

It has been a few months since my trip to Uruguay, and I realised that that was the last time I left Santiago. While I love it here, there is always a part of me that needs to escape the city and rejuvenate in ´el campo´.

Front window view

A distinct coastline

I have been lucky to meet some amazing people on my travels, and none better than my friend Jose whom I met in Varkala, India. I´ve always felt that you can know someone for years in what you might call a ´normal situation´, failing to know them as well as you do when you are thrown together for only a few days out of your comfort zone. You find yourselfinan intense situation, in which intense friendships and personal connections develop where none of the usual hang ups of society exist and people can just be themselves. Whilst this is pretty normal whilst ´travelling´, what is special for me is when that connection remains and you meet that person again in another part of the world and you feel as if no time has passed since you parted. In this case, Jose was able to share with us a very special place for him, where he spent a lot of his childhood.

Amigos - Jose, Gabriel, Manuel and Alex

Indian cookup - Aloo Gobi

Manuel unleashing some creativity, fitting surroundings

Dining

Always a big interest of mine, the wildlife on the coast of Chile is refreshingly undisturbed. Being in such a place you feel connected with your surroundings and can watch birds and animals as they might be in a world without human disruption. Sometimes you feel if a dinosaur were to pass by it wouldn´t be a surprise.

Hawks passing by

Cool looking lizard

Some very interesting vegetation

Aside from that light house, one has to wonder, has it changed much in the last million years?

Cool looking crabby (yes it´dead sorry, I found it that way)

Passing Pelicans

We also had a chance to visit the nearest town ´Los Vilos´, quite beautifully coloured and interesting place with some very nice people. I always love meeting people in country towns, the vibe is so different from the city.

Los Vilos beach front

Beach

Contemplando la vida

Preparing for a surf

Colour

Just before leaving back to Santiago we decided to climb down the rocks and watch the sunset.

On the way down

Looking back up at the house

Aproaching the ocean

Subiendo

Sun salutation

Manuel contemplando la vida

United in the moment

Pelicans

Puesta del sol

Special guests

It´s moments like this, getting to know a new place which completely surprises you, sharing with people and learning about yourself that really make going out of your comfort zone and travelling across the world worthwhile. To leave you this week here is a short video I made of the place, the music is by Inti Illimani. And for those interested in their music, they are playing in Australia in October!