Travelling to Pelluhue: Christmas on the Coast of Chile

Fishing boats on the Chilean coast.

This Christmas, we wanted to get away from Santiago -- but not too far. We looked at going to the lake region again, or perhaps Chiloe, but a quaint little cabin in Pelluhue won out because it was an easy distance from Santiago in the car (unlike the others...) and because the calming seas called to us.

Surfers at sunset in Cuñaripe.

Our holiday days consisted of drinking coffee, swimming, taking naps, exploring and cooking dinner, which was really quite wonderful as the pace there was slow and the views of the ocean breathtaking.

Phaedra and Trip on the beach at sunset.

Pelluhue is a very small fishing village in the septima region (7th region/state) about 7 hours south of Santiago. To get there you take Route 5 south, and then you turn off and head for the coast. On the drive to the coast you travel through tiny towns that first specialize in making chicha (a local homemade and very potent wine), then making the beautiful tiles used in Spanish-style roofs, then logging and then fishing.

Fishermen

After you get off the main highway, the trip is actually pretty spectacular as the geography changes from dessert-like to thick forrests, mountains and then the sea. It's exciting to have driven up, up, up on these little roads, to then start the switch-backs down again and watch for when the forrest lifts its veil to reveal the ocean.

A beautiful and deserted valley

While it's hard to compete with Pucon (where we ventured last year for Christmas), this quiet area of Chile delivered relaxation and some pretty remarkable aaahhhh moments. 

Visiting Constitución

One day, we decided to take a little road trip from Pelluhue, and landed in Constitución, a coastal town  supported by tourism, a huge paper mill and logging. The town was destroyed by the earthquake and following tsunami in 2010, but the trail of giant rock formations remained.

Patrick and Trip on the beach in front of Elephant Rock.

We got to walk underneath the piedra del elefante, and its underbelly revealed a beautiful beach that was so peaceful and picturesque. We shared it with a couple of curious fishermen hard at work, but they just added to the experience, as the everday always seems to make the spectacular even more special in Chile.

The Troy family at a hidden beach in Constitución.

In the end, it was a very merry Christmas, and I'm sure it will be a happy new year!