La Paloma

A decidedly down-scale destination compared to Jose Ignacio, but it’s perfect for us. We like a town where the surfers out front might actually live there.  This place was built around a naval station and light house ($1 USD to climb it) and eventually evolved into a surf destination.

When we first pulled in, I thought the town was a bit dumpy. But, it’s grown on us. It’s still off-season and most of the shops are closed.  In other towns, we’ve seen shopkeepers painting and cleaning and getting ready for tourist season. Not here. I think they just show up the day after Christmas and hang the Abierto sign. Two months later, they take it down and leave for 10 months.

There’s an overpriced campsite half-way to La Pedrera, but we decided we needed some wi-fi and a hot shower. It’s just barely good enough to bother paying for, but there is a nice trail that leads 1 km down to our own beach. The owner has warned us of a poisonous snake, so we’ll keep an eye out. We did find some sort of weird snake-worm thing that puzzled us for a while. It was huge. The weather has been cooler and it’s rained a few times – Spring is still here. And, we met a nice couple from Spain and have made plans to visit them somewhere down the line. You never know.