El Quisco

Anna and I were recently invited to an overnight house party at the beach, in a little town directly west of Santiago called El Quisco. The house was just a couple of blocks up from the ocean and it was a great chance for us to socialize with some Chileans and fellow foreigners, and to practice a little Spanish. We had a great time chatting with people and sipping a variety of flavored pisco, a liqueur produced in Peru and Chile, with some debate over which country it originates from.

Pisco Sour, the citrusy national drink of Peru and Chile. Also available in other fun flavors, like mango, pineapple and lucuma!

El Quisco is a pretty typical small coastal town. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Southern California, with its palm trees and rocky beaches and lots of stucco and red-tile houses. It used to be a popular holiday destination from Santiago, since it's only about two hours away from the city by bus. It's lost some of its popularity over the recent years, but it still makes for a nice get away from the Santiago smog and it's not nearly as crowded as the more popular coastal cities, like Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.

The best part was wandering around the rocky beach, peeking into the tide pools and climbing up the cliff at the point. It was a great escape from the city and a nice glimpse of the world outside the urban bubble, of the nature that makes Chile so charming.