I had been to
Algarrobo once before, a trip I wrote about on
my Year Abroad blog. I thought it was a lovely place, and some parts of that weekend were fun. However, there were other moments that aren't so nice to remember.
But I wanted to go back. Firstly, because it's summer in Chile at the moment, and I wanted to go to the beach at some point during my trip. Originally, my boyfriend suggested
Reñaca (which looks really nice actually; we'll have to go there too at some point in the future). However, there was one thing that made me want to go to Algarrobo in particular: penguins!!!
I read in my guide book that there's a small island there (Isla de los Pájaros Niños) where Humboldt penguins and other birds live between September and April, and that it's possible to go around the island on a little boat to see them more closely. My boyfriend was sceptical about the book's claim but also intrigued to see whether or not it was true!
So it was decided that we would go on a day trip to Algarrobo.
When we arrived, I was excited to see this palace-like building, which is actually a block of very expensive apartments!
We went for a walk along the beach, which was nice but surprisingly cold and windy given how hot the weather was in Santiago. My boyfriend explained that it never really gets that warm there, unfortunately!
We explored the town for a while after that. Then I saw a sight that took my breath away: pelicans! There's a group of them who live by a fish restaurant, and it's easy to get really close to them. They were so big! I was so impressed by them that I felt the journey to Algarrobo was already more than worth it, even if there were no penguins.
Then we went to the beach (Playa Pejerrey) where you can take the boat trip to see the penguins, or so I'd read online. We were really pleased to find out that it was actually true! The half-hour boat ride cost 3000 pesos per person, which is a good price. Before the boat set off, a photographer took a picture of us, which I bought afterwards for 2000 pesos.
I realise now that I'd seen the island before and even posted a picture of it on my blog after I first went to Algarrobo. I didn't know what it was at the time, as the birds are too small to see from a distance.
The boat ride was really fun! It was a small boat and the sea was choppy, so it felt like we were surfing. It was hard to keep balance, let alone take photos. But I made the effort to take some pictures, because there were indeed Humboldt penguins! There were also more pelicans, along with some smaller birds.
It was incredible to see them in the wild!
By the end of the boat trip, it was really cold in Algarrobo and neither of us could face swimming in the sea, as we'd planned to do earlier. So we got back into the car to go to Isla Negra (Black Island), one of the three houses of Pablo Neruda, Chile's most famous poet. His other two houses are in
Santiago and
Valparaíso.
I'm not sure why it's called Isla Negra, as it's not an island! But it's a very impressive house that was inspired by the sea, and the beach next to it is really nice too.
After that, my boyfriend drove me around some of the other seaside towns in the area, like Cartagena and San Antonio, which were interesting to see. Lastly, we made a stop in Santo Domingo, where there is a beach with volcanic black sand, to watch the sunset.
It was a brilliant day that I will never forget. Before I associated Algarrobo with quite negative emotions, but now I only associate it with happy feelings. It was brilliant to explore it again and see those amazing penguins and pelicans with my special someone.
We got back to Santiago late that night, and only had a few hours turnaround before heading off to the airport. The biggest adventure of my trip to
Chile was about to begin!
