Thu, Jul 4 - Zapallar

Our Breakfast Room

At nine we drifted into the dinning room and had a buffet of good coffee, eggs, fruit, and breads, and set out to explore Zapallar.  Bob, Hilary and I had been in Zapallar 14 year ago and remembered what a lovely town it is.  It was established in the late 1800s by a Chilean who had spent some time in Europe.  He bought the large chunk of land on the Pacific that makes up the town, and gave plots of land to friends and family who then had to promise to build villas similar to those on the French Riviera.  It remains the same today: a hillside dotted with one- and two-story houses.  The towns north and south have the usual high rises, but not Zapallar!   It is like a slightly Latin Carmel and very charming.

Fire-eyed Diucon

We walked down the steep hillside into an arroyo with a carefully swept dirt path, lined with beautiful succulents and found ourselves on the ocean.  

Although the beach is lined with houses and gardens, there is a wide public stone path all along the shore for miles, on the beach and climbing over rocky points, allowing everyone to enjoy the coast.

We walked out on a point covered with cacti and bromeliads, watched birds and the beautiful views.  We started back, climbing the steep hills to our hotel.  

Cait with Bromeliads

There is an famous fish restaurant, El Chiringuito, that we visited the last time we were here; our hotel manager found it is only open from 12:30 - 4:30 in the winter, so we decided to have lunch, much to Caitlin’s delight as she has been missing it; our routine is usually just having some snacks as we drive along. 

The restaurant is next to a cove of fishing boats  and so has really fresh marine life on its menu.  We sat outside in the sun with crushed sea shells for a floor and ordered premium Pisco Sours - even smoother than our ordinary ones.   Hil and I had Pastel de Jaiba, crab casserole and platters of salad - we should have split an order!  Cait had scallops in broth and Bob had grilled congrio eel.  With a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and the ocean and town in view, it was a magnificent meal!

We chatted with a couple and their 7-year old daughter who had come from NYC for the eclipse, but they had miscalculated the path of the sun and totality happened just after the sun had dipped below the edge of a hill!!!  Considering the severity of this event they seemed quite jolly!

We rolled out of there and drove down the coast a short ways to Isla de Cachagua, an island just off shore where Humboldt penguins can be seen.

American Oystercatcher

Humboldt Penguins

We had been promising Cait that she would see some penguins and hoped they would be there.  Thankfully they were, shuffling along, chatting with each other, and very endearing.

As it was getting dark, we returned to our hotel to start organizing our gear.  We are going to drop off our car tomorrow afternoon at the Santiago airport.  Bob and I are flying home while, Hilary and Caitlin spend two days in Santiago, exploring and visiting museums