Down south in Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

The pace of life is moves a little slower down here. The chilly mornings and the vino tinto being consumed most nights might be part of the reason. When we arrived Rich and I ran into Ian who said it´d be a miracle if he got into the surf before 10am. Rarely have I ever been so lazy but here, there´s just no need to rush. The left points are protected from the south wind that blows, and there´s no one here. This is a fishing village at heart. Eating a dinner of Paila Marina with the locals watching the futbol. No menu here. If you want to eat you´re served a beautiful seafood stew out of a huge steaming pot. A few pieces of buttered bread and beer. What else do you need???

One afternoon Rich and I walked out to surf the point in town. The fishermen were keeping busy folding nets and checking out their boats. As the sun began to drop to the horizon we were having a blast catching wave after wave, running back up the beach and jumping back in at the top of the point. After one wave dropped me off halfway down the point, I noticed the fishermen towing one of their boats out to the shorebreak with a team of oxen. It was crazy as they managed to coax the oxen into the shorebreak and through breaking waves to launch their boat. They launched about 20 boats with the oxen as Rich and I stopped surfing and watched. There is no harbor here. No breakwall. They go right through the surf. These guys are truly hardcore watermen!