Yesterday, I went on another trip through a tour group called EcoChile. Once again, a guide met me and a friend of mine at our apartments early in the morning, this time in a small, white nondescript car, faulty seat belts and all. You would think, if you were a tourist new to Chile that the start of this tour could be a little sketchy, especially as we kept pulling over to the side of the road without explanation so Mario, our guide could get CD’s and other things out of the trunk of his car. But, having already gone to the mountains with this group, I knew it was just their “way.”
The thing I like about this tour company is that they are completely different than any other tour I’ve been on. For one, most tours are a little more formal, at least in the United States. There is usually a van with the tour company name, some kind of introduction prepared, maybe some information about safety precautions. So that said, I wouldn’t even exactly call this a tour, rather you feel like you are just hanging out with your friend who is excited about showing you his favorite spots. But the “friend” you are “hanging out with,” you feel has a love of the land and also has a lot of knowledge not only about the details of the plants you are seeing or the history of the area, but also of how to gage peoples’ need for space in each place. All of this is projected in a very genuine way rather than from scripted words.
Most tours I have ever been on are sort of overwhelming. I can never wait till I have time away from the guide. And there’s usually too much information, too much standing in one place. But, so far, these guys have given me so much time to enjoy and explore each place without having to be reminded that we are on some schedule. And, I think that’s their thing. They want you to have your own experience of these natural places and they want you to have a very spiritual experience as well. So, in the appearance of them seeming amateur, this actually adds to the character of the trip.
So, this time we were headed for the coast. It took about an hour and a half of driving through grape fields and struggling to listen to Mario’s Chilean reggae music over the sound of his rickety car.
Our first stop was the town of Quintay. Quintay is a tiny fishing village south of Valparaiso. Really beautiful. Had the weather not been so dreary yesterday, I’m sure it would have been even better in the sunshine.
Apart from the beauty of this place, is the fact that this used to be the biggest whaling station in Chile until 1967 when all countries with the exception of Japan and Norway (who claim “Scientific Investigation” as their sole purpose) signed a treaty to end all whale hunting. In its most lucrative year, the whaling company in Quintay killed approximately 1,600 whales for oil and baleen to be used for the production of soaps, combs, detergent and other products. I was told that the sea was once completely red with blood and the odor from the town was unbearable. Today, the remains of the whaling company look like an abandoned concentration camp. There is just an eerie skeleton of a warehouse left.
The rest of the warehouse has been transformed into a museum showing photos of its whaling days along with information put out by the International Whaling Committee about wildlife conservation. Coincidentally, the old man selling tickets for entrance into the museum was a former worker of the whaling company.
EcoChile likes to call this trip “The Whale Soul Trip,” which could easily fool you into thinking you were going to be seeing live whales. I don’t know if it was the overcast weather yesterday, but after learning about what this place was once used for and hearing the stories of how people would put explosives in the mouths of the whales to blow them up…the place just seemed sad. So I can see how you could feel the “soul” of the whale as you try to imagine how much life was wasted and disregarded in this place and how during that time people were probably just ignorant of their actions?
Aside from the ex whaling company, the coast was amazing. Just as in Santiago, there were so many stray dogs looking for affection. One followed us along our hike and sat with us on the rocky cliff.
The coast for me looked a lot like Big Sur in Northern California.
Further down the coast, we drove to a few other beaches…still waiting for the sun…
Surrounding the beach is a forest of Pine and Eucalyptus trees (not native to Chile) and Mario took us to a natural tree house that felt like you were in one of the Lord of the Rings movies.
Finally, we ended up in a town further South called Algarrobo where there were more sandy beaches. The sun barely came out at the end of the day. We commented on how we were busy climbing on all the rocks while Mario meditated. Again, not your typical precautionary tour guide.
We finished the day with gelato before heading back to Santiago. When I was home, I made a tea with some mint leaves that I collected from the forest.
Muy relajante!
