The Coast for a Day -- El Quisco, Isla Nega and the Home of Pablo Neruda

A daytrip to the coast to visit Pablo Neruda's house and do some exploring started with an 8:45 am bus in Santiago.  Julia and I arrived in El Quisco around 10:30, a small, dull beach town about 2.5 miles north of Isla Negra (and Neruda's house). After a breakfast of turkey and cheese sandwiches on the beach started our way south along the rocky coast toward Isla Negra. The path included scrambling over large boulders and through marshy fields of flowers and brush, talking to some locals about how to get to Isla Negra, relaxing on a large rock to take in the sight of the powerful waves, and walking about a mile along the main, paved road until we arrived at the signs pointing to Neruda's house.  In between we stopped at a restaurant on the road to fulfill my desire for a steak and share a liter of beer.

Neruda's house (and the accompanying museum/gift shop) has a less-than-stellar review in the guidebook.  Visitors must take a tour to see the house, at a cost of 3,500 pesos (USD$7) for the English tour and 3,000 pesos for the Spanish tour.  We took the Spanish tour, which was led by our guide with a theatrical voice and presentation of the elements of the home.  The house was filled with trinkets and ship memorabilia, namely sculptures of women and other objects that were at one time affixed to the bows of ships.  There were also large collections of other unique objects, masks from Africa, musical instruments, a large bug collection (with some GIGANTIC bugs), shells and a life-size wooden horse for which Neruda threw a house-warming party.  The doors and hallways were very small (like a ship) and the views of the ocean and coast from the large windows were breathtaking (especially from the second-floor bedroom).

Overall it was a worthwhile trip, and the experience at Neruda's home far surpassed the lame review in our guidebook.

View from the bus, traveling east from Santiago.

Long walk along the rocky coast, very large waves here.

Artsy bus stop, made partly of glass bottles.

Helloooooo.

Path down to Pablo's house.

Neruda's house.  We weren't permitted to take photos inside.

The house, built like a ship with small doors and tight hallways, had an amazing view of the rocky coast and powerful waves.

Front of Neruda's house.

Fitting meal:  empanada with mushrooms, chicken and cheese. 

Cruising back to the bus station.