Lap Child Diaries: Pablo Neruda's Isla Negra House

Since my Asian father made me study up on Chilean history on the plane ride over, I knew that their national treasure was the celebrity poet, Pablo Neruda.

But aside from being a beloved literary artist, he was also a pretty avid collector of all things interesting that his homes became museums. So my parents decided to have a Culture Day and spend it in search of Pablo Neruda's 3rd house in Isla Negra (the other 2 are in Santiago and Valparaiso).

On Wednesday morning, we rented a car (procured by W Santiago's concierge) that was delivered at 10AM to our hotel. Including GPS and taxes, it came to $105 USD for 1 day. Aside from a 19% extra charge for using a credit card and a 500 CLP/USD exchange rate, it made much more sense to just pay in US Dollars, though we did so after returning the car (so that if we had any accidents, we'd be covered under our credit card's car rental insurance protection). They also gave us the car with only 1/8 tank of gas. Thanks, Chilean Car Rental Company.

Getting from Santiago to Isla Negra is a pretty easy 90 minute drive (or so my father says), only 3 big roads and then a few twists and turns at the end. But make sure you go Tuesday-Sunday, because they're closed on Mondays.

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Before you try to make the drive though, make sure you have some cash on you because there's a bunch of tolls along the way after you leave Santiago - 3 to be exact. The first two tolls are 1,600 CLP each ($3.20 USD) and the 3rd toll is 1,150 ($2.30 USD). Then obviously, you need to pay all three tolls on the way back as well. This is in addition to the Santiago tolls but those are usually paid automatically by radio waves using an EZPass-like device in the rental car.

When you get to Isla Negra, you'll be surprised as how barren the town is. You're really in the middle of nowhere. There's one main road with a handful of restaurants and tourist shops along it. There were no signs, no tour buses, no lines of tourists. Nada! Being a small kid, I was pretty scared we were lost since there were no signs at all showing the way to the Pablo Neruda house.

But my father had been here 5 years ago so he knew where to go. Here's what you should remember if you decide to make the trip. First, the house is along the Pacific Ocean so you should focus on the side of the road that is closest to the water.

Second, the road you need to turn down should look like this dirt road here. You'll be able to identify it because there's a mural of Pablo Neruda down at the far end of the Cafe (see above the yellow car).

After you go down the road, you can make a left turn by telephone pole followed by a right at the benches you'll find in the path.

The other way is to just go straight down this first road and then turn left at the end until you reach the point where you're lost. Eventually you'll find some people walking to/from the Pablo Neruda house and can just ask directions.

When you do find the Neruda house, you'll walk into the boleteria (ticket office). Prices are 8,000 CLP ($16 USD) per person. Adorable babies (and even ugly kids under 7 years old) get in free. Students pay a discounted price but must flash their student ID.

When my father went 5 years ago, they had guided tours in English or Spanish and you had to wait for a specific tour time/guide. He had to wait about 45 minutes back then to get on the English tour, but it was worth it because you got a lot more color and context to the 19 different parts of Neruda's house.

But now, they just send you off alone with an audio device that you can hold up to your ear or plug your headphones into. I preferred actually to forego listening to the guide and rather to just run around trying to touch everything I could get my little baby hands on.

I learned that Pablo loved the ocean and made his house look like the interior of a ship (tight narrow doorways, curved ceilings, all rooms with windows facing the ocean). He also had a ton of paraphernalia he's been collecting and he collects EVERYTHING (butterflies, Chilean foot warmers, ships in glass jars, seashells, portraits of poets, Japanese and tribal masks).

All I wanted to do was just rip everything off the tables and play with them, but my mother didn't agree and kept me on lockdown during the tour. My father wanted to take some photos but you're are not allowed inside the house/museum. But you can take as many as you want outside.