July 1, 2019 - Eclipse Road Trip, Destination Two: Punta de Choros, Chile
After days one and two in Caldera, we got in quite late to our Airbnb in Punta Choros. Apparently, Punta de Choros is a smaller town than I anticipated, and our drive through in the dark was quite confusing. We kept missing our Airbnb and driving back and forth, eventually concluding that we would never find it or that we would and then would be locked in and murdered. When we finally found it, we honestly concluded the latter: it was one tiny cabin with nothing around it for miles in the sand dunes next to the pacific. However, as soon as we met the owners and saw the beautiful inside of the cabin our fears were assuaged. The owners were incredibly sweet and we couldn’t have asked for a better contrast to the last night’s kitchen and living space. We made a new kind of pasta (cooking again! adulting! yes!) and went to sleep early in anticipation of the next day’s adventures.
In the morning we woke up early to go visit Reserva Nacional Pinguinos de Humboldt. A well-known spot for dolphins, whales, and (obviously) penguins, this reserve consists of two islands just off the coast of the Punta Choros beach. We were somewhat taking our chances going at this time of the year, as there was a chance that the weather would make the ocean rough and that all of the penguins would be tucked away and that the whales and penguins would be elsewhere. On the contrary, we got the opposite! We instantly hopped on a boat when we got to the shore, heading first to Isla Choros and afterward to Isla Damas. As we approached Isla Choros, we found a pod of dolphins! They were so beautiful and graceful, some of the biggest dolphins I have ever seen. I was ecstatic. We then slowly crawled along the shore of Isla Choros, seeing penguins pop out here and there as well as some totally rad birds and sea lions!
We then zoomed over to Isla Damas, where we were allowed to disembark and hike around the island. We were dropped and told a time to meet back up at the pier, and set off to walk to the high point of the island. The terrain was absolutely unique: a perfect white sand beach with light blue waters juxtaposed with cacti, jagged rocks, and plants I have never before seen. This was such a gift to experience. Chile has so much diversity in its terrain, and this was the cherry on top of a lovely six months of travel.
We saw foxes on the way out!
