Following Pablo Neruda:  Chilean Poet--Loved Rummage Sales!

March 11, 2012

After our near disaster traveling to the South of Chile, we are warm and cozy, sitting by a fire burning in a large stone fireplace at the Inn La Candela, Isla Negra, Chile.  This is a lovely rustic place on the coast about two hours south of Valparaiso.  Leaving Pirque and Casa Calma Rita was nearly as difficult as getting there.  We got lucky after many wrong turns and just happened to be behind a guy in a truck (also lost) asking for directions.  We tailgated the truck all the way down a dusty road, turned around when he did, and got onto the highway only because he must have spoken the language.  Had we not followed this guy, whom we only guessed was headed for the highway, we would still be looking for the road.  Imagine a major highway so hidden that even the locals couldn’t find it.  When the truck turned onto this narrow one lane “alley” that went between two homes that looked like it led to a private driveway, we were scared but followed anyway.  For a few seconds we thought we were following him to someone's home.  My only advice when traveling in rural Chile-- take a guide!!

Being here on the coast, with tall pines, cool ocean air and the sound of the sea nearby, is heaven!!  The color of the water is breathtakingly beautiful and difficult to describe.  Greens, blues and foamy white mixtures that not even a photo can honestly capture.   And without really trying, we find ourselves following the poet, Pablo Neruda.  Even though he died of prostate cancer in 1973, we keep bumping into him wherever we go.  Our first encounter came when we visited his home in Valparaiso.  We were told, “If you don’t visit this 1971 Nobel laureate’s home, you haven’t seen Valpo!”   Then, at the inn Vendimia, our hostess suggested we stay at our current residence, La Candela.  Carla told us that “Isla Negra is muy, muy linda.” As it turns out, she was correct.   And it is so beautiful that Pablo Neruda decided to live here when he discovered it in the 1930’s, acquiring the property next door to La Candela.   This is where we had our second encounter with the poet.  It is in this home, originally just a small, stone cabin, where you feel his presence the most.  Pablo was an avid collector who loved searching throughout the world for things to add to his collections.  As his collections of things grew, so did his home.   Each wing was designed and built by him to capture the view of the ocean, which seems to reflect blue tones into every corner of the home. 

Pablo Neruda was a child at heart, we have been told, not once but twice.  Our third encounter with Pablo came as we entered La Candela.   Photographs of him are everywhere.  Our current innkeeper-owner of the hotel, Charo Cofre, was a close friend of the poet and his wife.  Our hostess told us that her husband was a television producer and filmmaker who was commissioned to film all of the stories of Neruda’s life. They traveled with them for years and became very close friends, and eventually neighbors.  Charo told me, “If he wanted something for his collection, he begged for it, offered a lot of money for it, and if he still could not acquire it, he waited, sometimes for years for that particular item to be available.”  As a Chilean diplomat, Pablo was known to frequent antique stores all over the world. 

As you might imagine, everything pertaining to the sea is on display at this home.  Neruda collected at least twenty mastheads-- gigantic ones that are made out of beautifully carved wood.  He loved colored glass and insisted that water and wine tasted best in them.  He had dozens of hats from around the world, and along with bits of clothing he collected, would have theme dinner parties where he invited the guests to dress accordingly.  I could relate immediately!  Though the rooms in the home are small, all his collections are placed in such a way that they fit beautifully as if they belonged and were made to fit into the space.  Pablo also had a butterfly and bug collection that Darwin would have been proud to own.  He also collected shells from beaches all over the world.  A whole wing of the house is dedicated to this collection.   Down one hall he had probably fifty ships in bottles on display, the light of the ocean reflecting through them.  Without all of his collections, the house would have been just a nice beach house, but with them, the home is definitely museum quality.   

Our hostess, Charo Cofre, is multitalented, too.  She is both a chef at the inn, artist, and well-known Chilean folk singer.  We had dinner here tonight, and I will say it was the best ceviche, warm spicy shrimp and fried fish I have tasted thus far.   The inn feels like it might have been a place that once accommodated large groups like boy scouts or brownies.  Perhaps groups came for fishing expeditions.  Maybe it was a haven for honeymooners.  There are long hallways, tall ceilings, and several large multipurpose rooms that seem to go on forever.  While I sat by the fire with a glass of wine, I could swear I heard the echo of voices and laughter of those who might have sat by this fire in the 1950’s.  Perhaps they drank a bit too much, knowing the children were happy and safe playing cards or board games in another room.   It has such a camp- like feel that I can imagine being awakened early tomorrow to a horn blowing revelie and join a group of kids lined up to have breakfast, wiping sleep from their eyes.  

Tonight, as we sat looking at the ocean from our table in the rustic restaurant where we were the only patrons, we had our fourth encounter with the poet.   Our waiter, Ramon, told us that he worked at the inn for fifty years and served Pablo Neruda, who often sat at this very table because it had the best view.   I believe that this is a good omen.  Maybe from this point on, we will no longer get lost.  We have many weeks yet to travel and many places to visit, but I feel certain the hardest part is behind us.   Tomorrow we will be back in Valparaiso, which so charmed us and stole our hearts that we decided to stay there again for two more days.