By Marie Tyler
Grove City College
Three Saturdays ago, a group of International and Chilean students headed off to a Saturday trip at Isla Negra for a chance to learn and have fun together. They day was nice and after playing a game together learning each others names, we were free to walk the beach, look for shells, or play ball. Courtesy of the University, we were all treated to a nice meal at a local restaurant before heading off to have a tour of the actual house.
Pablo Neruda, one of the most beloved Chilean poets of all time, famously owned a number of interesting and eclectic homes in Chile. La Chascona is in Santiago backed up against an old zoo. La Sebastiana is in Valparaíso, sporting five stories and a view of the harbor. But the most famous house of them all is Isla Negra a few hours south of Valparaíso, and not on an island. Its on the coast. The house is filled with sea shells, Maoi and other indigenous art, ship decorations, portals, old maps, and other items form his personal collection. All three houses are filled with items of the sea and ships, a life long love of Neruda's.
The house was interesting, and one of the Chilean students found an object in the hourse donated by a relative, surprisingly enough. After the house tour, we all took pictures of the view of the sea from the house. One highlight was taking pictures with a concrete model of Pablo Neruda's head, propped on a large beach rock in front of the house. Some students played with the many dogs running around on the beach.
All in all, it was a great way to make new friends and see an eclectic piece of Chilean history, the house at Isla Negra, the brain child of a great poet and an interesting man, Pablo Neruda.
1 comment:
nice article!!
Post a Comment