Chile

We battle against the winds for a while and catch a few fun waves in the freezing waters that hit the Chilean coastline, before heading back, tired and satisfied to

home base. The forecast is for a bigger swell and continuing winds, so we will need our rest.

We rush back to Topocalma today, my sails having finally arrived from the airport: with an increase in the swell and slightly lighter winds, it could be really good. Unfortunately, a permit needs to be organised in order for us to access the beach in future. This is not a money making scheme, but an effort to control who goes in and out of the area in and attempt to preserve the spot. We therefore have to accept that until we get this, access is denied. This is really not a problem though, as we have plenty more spots to choose from, the coastline anything but limited.

We head to Matanzas, just to the north of Topocalma, and score some great fun jumping conditions, quite reminiscent in fact of what we will be competing in at Vargas in a month or so, but without the boulders! What's more, it's just the four of us …

Seemingly empty seaside towns like Matanzas just appear out of nowhere here, prompting us to question what the people do and how they survive. A maze of dust tracks link them to the outside world, but they seem somewhat detached and far from everything. We are told that they are primarily holiday villages, inhabited for the most part during the holiday season and on weekends, being just 3 ½ hours from Santiago. However, the small fishing community remains, leading a quiet, pure and simple life away from it all, definitely something to feel in some way envious of.

As if captivated by the wonders of what we have discovered at the end of the dirt tracks, we make the trek up to explore our new found 'treasure' day after day, every time experiencing a piece of Chilean magic both on and off the water. The vast difference in temperature between land and sea masses here creates the most astonishing thermic effect, giving us strong, but gusty winds each and everyday.

As long as it is clear, some kind of wind seems to blow, and although we never get to see a big swell hitting the perfect left-hand beach break of Topocalma, we nonetheless get to sail some great fun waves, reveling in the pure emptiness and beauty of our surroundings and the fact that it's just us!

Back at home-base (Pichilemu) one evening, we decide to paddle out at the point that we spotted as we drove in the first day, only to find seemingly flawless lefthanders peeling off into the large, open bay of Pichilemu.