Pelicans and sea gulls gobble up fish remains from the local fish market in Algarrobo. Photo by Kendal Montgomery.
I´ve said it before, and I´ll say it again: One of Santiago´s greatest attributes is its proximity to la playa, the beach!
Though Viña del Mar and Reñaca usually get all the limelight and hype, there are several great beaches in the region, my favorite being Algarrobo.
A quaint, little beach town, Algarrobo is the perfect place to inhale the salty air, enjoy delicious seafood and dig your toes into the sand. Relax.
Named after the algarrobo tree, found predominantly in central Chile and in parts of Peru and Argentina, Algarrobo has a very natural feel. Aside from a few five-star resorts—one, San Alfonso del Mar, having the largest pool in the world—it´s a town of cute little coastal houses and a few main, sandy roads. Only around 4,000 Chileans actually live there, but at peak summer season, up to 100,000 come to enjoy its shores.
There are several alluring beaches here, El Canelo often considered the most beautiful not just in the area, but in the country.
Unlike the wild nightlife of Viña, Algarrobo is quiet, peaceful. But there are still things to do. There are plenty of restaurants and shops, artesian markets and water sports. Also nearby is Isla Negra, the reason for Pablo Neruda´s love for the ocean, and the location of one of his three houses here in Chile.
Less than an hour and a half´s drive from Santiago, Algarrobo is perfect for a weekend getaway or a week´s vacation. You will leave refreshed and happy, and probably with a little sand still between your toes.
"I want to tell you the ocean knows this,
that life in its jewel boxes
is endless as the sand, impossible to count, pure,
and among the blood-colored grapes
time has made the petal
hard and shiny, made the jellyfish full of light
and untied its knot, letting its musical threads fall
from a horn of plenty made of infinite mother-of-pearl."
-Pablo Neruda, a piece taken from his poem Los Enigmas.
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