La Playa

The natural beauty of Chile is something to behold. As soon as you leave a town or urban area you can expect to be blown away by the scenery. Rolling tree-covered hills, sparkling lakes, majestic rock formations, snowcapped volcanoes, and lush fields filled with color are par for the course here. It’s difficult to overstate the natural wonders I’ve been fortunate enough to see over the last five and a half months, but Zapallar/Cachagua is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.

Right before Christmas (which is in summer here!) our dear friend Sereno invited us to his family's beach house north of Santiago. Ivy wasn't able to go because she had a busy schedule of fieldwork in the city, but the kids and I jumped at the chance to travel to a new destination. We drove together for about 90 minutes on Ruta 5, listening as Sereno pointed out landmarks and filled us in on various bits of local history as we were passing through different areas. We stopped for provisions in a small village and reached the house at Chilean lunch time, about 2pm.

This home was built maybe 70-80 years ago, or possibly even more when you consider that the master suite used to be a horse stable. It is gorgeous and unique, especially compared to the new, bright, white boxes that dot the hillsides in the area.

As we gawked at the surroundings, our host immediately got busy in the kitchen with the supplies we had bought and

cooked up a fabulous lunch: a potato frittata and beautiful salad of lettuce, mashed avocados, sprinkled with lemon juice. We ate this lovely feast sitting on the patio overlooking the ocean. When you look at the picture of it you might think we’re at a fancy resort or restaurant, but nah, we were just chilling at Sereno’s house.

After lunch the kids changed into their swimsuits and started an exploration of the beachfront rocks. We all scrambled around on the rocks for a while until Sereno suggested we cross a narrow channel of water over to what he and his cousins called the “rock of mystery” or something when they were kids. This is a rock formation that Sereno had spent many of youthful summers climbing on so he knew how to stretch across, plant his feet, and help the kids across.

Before I attempted the crossing, I prudently wrapped up my wallet, phone, and watch in my shirt and put them to the side, which was a good idea because I promptly slipped and fell into the

ocean. I enjoyed the cool water for a couple of minutes while I figured out how to climb up out of the water and eventually hauled my big behind up on to the other rock formation. We looked at the multitude of sea creatures for a while before crossing back over with considerably less drama. The kids were able to identify a bunch of these creatures because they are fans of the awesome series "Jonathan Bird's Blue World."

There is a path that has been built along the sea that allows people to walk from the town of Zapallar to Cachagua, the next town over. So while we were out on the rocks we saw several people taking a leisurely stroll. The unintended consequence of building this walking path is that people stay on the path and rarely bother to climb around on the rocks. So when we were hanging out we went over to a depression in the rocks that only gets water in it when there is a large storm every couple of years. Apparently there hasn’t been a storm large enough to replenish the water

in the depression and we found a shallow pool where water had been evaporating for some time, so we were able to forage some naturally occurring sea salt. The salt was still somewhat wet, but totally clean and Sereno grabbed a handful and took it back to the house to finish the process of drying it out. That’s what we used to season our food for the next two days, real sea salt. It’s difficult for me to express how amazing this was and how grateful I was to share this experience with my children.

Finally we went back to the house to put on some dry clothes and go see one of Sereno’s friends, Correro, who keeps a greenhouse with several hundred varieties of cacti. We saw a cactus that was 400 years old, a peyote cactus, a cactus with soft spines, and a whole bunch of others too. Again, so cool and amazing to get to see something like that up close and personal.

Then we walked down to a little area that overlooked the ocean and a beautiful rock formation, the kids saw where the beach path continued, and we

decided to walk down to the path and to another beach.

Despite the fact that Io was wearing flip-flops, we clambered down the loose dirt-covered hillside and onto to a rock path, through the rock formation, and onto another stunning beach. There was no one there but us and the waves as the sun started to fall into the sea. Sereno and Idris braided a tangled rope of seaweed while Io and I just sat there and drank in the majestic sight of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. After the sun fell

below the horizon, we made our way back up to our truck via a different path and stopped for some empanadas and beers because it was already after 9 pm when we were heading back to the house.

By the time we had dinner it was after 10pm and the kids pretty much fell asleep right away because it had been a long day. Sereno and I stayed up for a while BSing and shelling these delightful fresh beans white beans that we had bought earlier in the day.

The next morning we slept in until almost 10am, which is pretty much unheard of for Idris. We had a light breakfast of fruit and the kids hassled me until I agreed they could go out in the kayak that was by the side of the house. It was a Tuesday, so I actually had a couple of meetings at work that I had to call into (while overlooking the ocean from the living room!). Luckily my first meeting wrapped up quickly and I was able to take the kids out while Sereno chilled. I didn’t even bother to change out of the shorts I had slept in the night before when I dragged the kayak down to the water.

I was slightly apprehensive because the beachfront was rocks rather than sand. Some of the rocks were covered in seaweed and more than a little slippery and the footing in general was kind of bad. I was also a little worried because we were in an inlet about 50 yards deep and then it’s straight into the Pacific, and I don’t know the currents or what the hell might happen if the kids paddled out too far. But I figured, if literally dozens of kids spent their summers there over the years it must

not be that dangerous, and my kids, while reckless when on their home turf, were suitably cautious in this new situation.

I dragged the kayak into the water and Io jumped in while I stood in waist-deep in cold Pacific water that I got used to in a surprisingly short amount of time. Io paddled around a bit and then was content to let Idris have a turn in the kayak while she played on the rocks on the shore. Idris stayed in the kayak for a good 20 minutes paddling out 20 yards and letting the waves bring him back to the beach before they both decided they had had enough, and I went back to the house to call into my next meeting.

Sereno made us a delightful potato and carrot curry for lunch and with our bellies full we headed out for more adventures. We took a detour to see a shrine and take a quick hike up a hill that overlooks the beach at Zapallar. Instead of taking the same path back down the hill, Sereno proceeded to lead us down the other side of the hill and over the rocks at the base because, “It’s boring

to go back the same way.”

When we left the house we hadn’t really planned on doing any hiking so, again, Io was wearing flip flops as we scaled these rocks. Then we came to a gap in the rocks. Sereno and I helped the kids over, but then I realized that I was going to have to pull myself up by my fingertips and throw a leg over a small rock cliff to get to where they were. I tried a couple of different hand grips to accomplish them, but then decided that I would climb down a little further near the water, go

over, and climb back up rather than fall and/or pull Sereno down trying to be the world’s heaviest rock climber.

With that little bit of drama behind us we made it off the hill and walked over to the beach, where I was surprised to see and hear other Americans. We splashed around in the water for a while, and Io noticed that it seemed like there were little flecks of gold in it. She said this was "really amazewow." She was right.

Then we started discussing dinner plans. I suggested that we stop by a fish market, but Sereno was having none of it. Instead, we went back to Correro’s crib so Sereno could borrow a wet suit and spear gun to go get some dinner.

I gave in and let Idris watch a DVD on my laptop while Io read on her Kindle and I did the dishes from lunch while Sereno got kitted up and headed into the ocean to get dinner. I put the beans we shelled the previous night on the stove with some onions and garlic and about 45 minutes later, we were sitting on the patio when we saw Sereno pop up out of the water. He motioned me down to the water to show me what he’d caught. I looked in the bag he was carrying and saw about a dozen sea urchins, some small snails, and two big snails. Then Sereno apologetically showed me a good size fish and asked if I thought it would be enough for dinner. We had a big pot of beans on and any seafood we had was bonus in my opinion, so I told him to get out of the water, grab the day’s catch and go back up to the house.

There’s a little patio out behind the kitchen where it’s obvious that thousands of meals of seafood and other culinary delights have been prepped. A freshly showered Sereno came out there and proceeded to get busy cracking open the sea urchins. From up on the hillside that overlooks the patio, the gardener saw us opening the sea urchins and came down to join us.

The kids squealed alternately with glee and disgust as Sereno pulled the top off of a sea urchin and showed us the little tongues of yellow fatty goodness that it contained. To my great surprise he pulled another part from the innards and squeezed out a little tiny crab, which is a parasite that lives inside of every sea urchin. To my even greater surprise the gardener took the tiny crab and popped it in his mouth, crunching it and then washing it down with a mouthful of Heineken.

I was instructed to dice an onion and get some toast ready, while Sereno skillfully retrieved the tongues from the rest of the sea urchins. So at this point, there was a pot of beans on the stove, another pot boiling all the snails, and a pan where I was frying up slices of bread in olive oil to make toast. While he was cleaning the fish he caught, Sereno also pulled out the roe and dropped it in the pan that was still hot from toasting/frying bread. If it sounds kind of hectic, that’s because it was, but it was that awesome kind of frenetic energy where everyone is laughing and enjoying themselves like you only can at the beach when you’re eating the days catch.

The five of us stood out on the patio eating varying combinations of roe, diced onions, sea urchins, and toast sprinkled with a bit of fresh sea salt. It was truly glorious. Then we started eating the snails, which were some of the best I’ve ever had. A lot of times small shellfish are kind of chewy, but not these snails. They were magnificent. They didn’t need butter or garlic or

anything other than a tiny pinch of salt as they almost dissolved in our mouths when we ate them. The big snails were sliced and served with just a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. They were like locos (Chilean abalone) only better. By the time we got done with that, I was already getting kind of full but there was still more food to eat.

Sereno perfectly cleaned and cooked the fish he caught in oil and garlic. We served it with the beans that were cooked down to a beautiful white paste, flecked with bits of carrot that I had added about an hour into cooking them. Too bad it was 10:30 pm when the entrée was finally served, but the kids hung in there and ate some beans before Idris laid across his chair and asked--yes, asked--to go to bed. Io wanted to stay up, but followed him to slumberland about ten minutes later. It was a great end to a couple of magical days at the beach.

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