Figureheads
Carved wood.
Rodrigo Fernández — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vavillegash — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Molinarts — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Molinarts — CC BY-SA 3.0
Pablo Neruda's favourite house, on a rocky shore pounded by the Pacific at Isla Negra, the «black island», though it is not an island. He bought it in the 1930s as a small stone cottage and extended it over the years until it grew long and winding like a ship moored on the shore. Inside are the poet's strangest and largest collections: colourful wooden ship figureheads hung on the walls, bottles of every shape and colour, model ships, rare seashells, maps and masks, all reflecting his love of the sea, on which he rarely sailed. In the garden over the waves are a huge anchor and sculptures, and the grave of Neruda and his wife Matilde Urrutia, facing the sea as he wished. An audio guide in several languages tells the stories of the objects and poems. It makes a day trip from Santiago or Valparaíso, sometimes combined with La Sebastiana. Numbers are limited in high season, so book ahead.
Carved wood.
Bottles and shells.
An anchor by the sea.
Rocky coast at Isla Negra, El Quisco, about an hour and a half from Valparaíso
No, it is a village on the rocky coast whose name means «black island»; visitors arrive by bus or car.