Pichilemu, Chile: Across the Country to the Beach

After our hike, we exited the mountain by following the signs ('salida' means 'exit'...and yes, there were literally exit signs on the mountain), then commenced our drive across the entire country of Chile.  The drive, which took about five hours, took us from an altitude of roughly 4000m, 50km from the eastern border of Chile, to an altitude of 0m, at the western border of Chile.  The landscape in between was varied and beautiful, from plains to vineyards to forests, and almost all the roads we took were winding two-ways, so we passed through lots of small towns.

We got to Pichilemu, our destination for the night, just in time to see the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.  Not a bad day's work!

This morning in Pichilemu was cloudy and a little chilly, which wasn't great beach weather.  Since we had to be back in Santiago by 4pm to return the car, we decided to make the most of our morning and fulfill one of Kim's life-long dreams...horseback riding on the beach!

For Kim, who has a horse, this was bliss, but I will admit I was a bit nervous, since I tend to be a little accident-prone and these horses were not the tame trail-horses we have in the USA.  However, it was totally worth it--riding a horse through the surf was incredible!  I even learned how to stay on when the horse was trotting and galloping!

Kim, of course, was in heaven, which made the rest of us really happy too.  You can see the town of Pichilemu behind her, along with the rest of the main beach (which is usually a great surfing spot, but the waves just weren't cooperating today).  After our ride on the beach and a cup of coffee, it was time for another pretty drive, though this time we ended up back in Santiago.  It was an amazing weekend, and I am so glad I got to see more of Chile!