Just because it is so much fun to say, “pichidangui” pronounced “pee chee don gee.” We left Coquimbo before dawn with the hopes of making it to Punta Sierra. It was a long shot, but we really wanted to make it there before dark. An 80-mile trip at an average of 6kts should have taken us 13 hours. Which would have put us in right at dusk. However, we had very little wind and what wind we had was on our nose. We also had waves and a 1-1.5 kts current pushing us backwards. So, as it was we could not make it before dark so we decided to carry on to Pichidangui.
We arrived in Pichidangui after 143 nm over 27 hours with an average speed of 5.3 kts. Bright, beautiful, blue water, sun on our faces and a greeting committee. The Club de Yates team met us as we were circling for a good spot to anchor (kind of like a dog does to find the perfect place to pee). They offered us a “gratis” mooring which we gladly accepted.
We went ashore to do the formalities and check out this quaint little town. The check in process was relatively easy, strange as that has not been the case in previous ports. We signed in at the Club, they called the Armada, and we were good to go. Sweet.
Club de Yates Pichidangui
We walked the entire town in less than an hour. It is super small with two tiny “mercardos” a feria artesaneria (arts area where they sell to tourists, several dive shops and restaurants. We decided to grab lunch at the Club restaurant with the hopes of gaining access to their wifi.
Club de Yates lunch overlooking Sugar Shack
Humbolt Penguins
On the way back, we noticed a lot of people heading over Isla Locos a large rock off the anchorage. People were going over there in kayacks, SUPs and little tour boats. Hmmm. Calls for an investigation. We took sweetie over there and to our great surprise there penguins! What penguins in Chile? Yep, here is a great article on Chilean penguins. The ones we saw are Humbolt penguins and they did not disappoint!
Isla Locos looks like it is partially covered in snow – but in reality, it is lots and lots of bird poop. Way to ruin the illusion, right? However, it does have some beautiful vegetation which we have not seen in the northern parts of Chile.
Isla Locos home of the birds
Humbolt Penguins of Chile
Humbolt Penguins of Chile
Birds of Isla Locos
Awesome, Tranquil Bay!
When we got back to the boat, we settled in for the afternoon. About an hour later, the Armada stopped by. Not surprising as we called them when we arrived. They checked our paperwork and informed us we had to go to Los Vilos to check out. What, $hoot!
We decided we needed to go back to shore to try to find transportation to Los Vilos. It is about 30 kilometers away, too far to walk, no taxis and no uber. The team at CDY talked us through some options, which were slim. Luckily, one of the guys said his dad could take us and bring us back for 25 mil pesos (or about $39).
The next day, we met Joel who drove us 30 minutes to the Los Vilos Capitaneria. They were very nice, but exceedingly slow. An hour later, we were back in the car on the way to Pichidangui.
A little fatigued, we decided a walk on the beach would make us feel better. There is a 3.5 mile long beach that needed to be explored. The sand has bright, shimmery, gold flakes all over it which makes it mesmerizing.
Gold flakes on Pichidangui’s beach
We also walked up and around a hill and found a beautiful, little resort called Kon Tiki. We wandered around their fort which faces the ocean and captured some fun photos.
Kon Tiki view of Phicidangui
First shot is the pool at Kon Tiki and the other shots are of the long Pichidangui beach
Pichidangui Beach
Bought some local art for the boat – these are made from palm fronds
Pichidanguay art work and beach walk