Pichilemu

Pichilemu is a small town on the coast of central Chile. It is southwest of Santiago, the country's capital. It is a small town known for its surfing. It is home to the Red Bull Quiksilver Ceremonial, South America's premiere paddle-in big wave surf competition. The waves off of Punta De Lobos, a small peninsula that has huge waves but also creates a safe area for less crazy surfers, have gotten over 35 feet tall. The husband of our surf teacher is a regular competitor in that event, and last year he almost got the winning run, but the force of the water snapped his board clean in half.The water there is supplied by the Humbolt Current, which brings water from Antarctica. This makes the surfing good but absolutely freezing cold. I am not particularly good at surfing, nor do I have much experience, but it was still a lot of fun. The only downside was the water temperature. Everywhere I have surfed is freezing cold, but this was the coldest. It took a 30 min shower, starting cold and slowly increasing the temperature, to regain any feeling.

The boy’s surf teacher competing on the red surfboard at the Red Bull competition