A Journey of Surf and Stars in Chile

“Love is a journey with water and stars…” The great Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, wrote that. See, Pablo got it. He understood life and love and the way his homeland’s varied landscapes often could only be described by way of poetry. One such guide with a trip in Northern Chile that evokes the magic Neruda wrote about is Alex Otero. We picked his brain about this storied land (that, coincidentally holds a ton of world class waves).

Thermal: How did become an adventure guide in Northern Chile? You’re a professional photographer, no?

Alex Otero: I was born in Peru but grew up and lived most of my life in the Dominican Republic. Surrounded by water and waves it was pretty natural for me to be drawn to the ocean, which I did at a very young age. I stood up on the first wave I paddled for, and have never stopped. In high school, I went to an American school in DR and became fluent in English, and I also began taking my hobby of photography seriously, becoming the official photographer for my school’s newspaper. After school, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Administration and Tourism, but throughout my studies I continued to explore and evolve my photography. By the time I was done with my studies I was already an accomplished photographer, specializing mostly in fashion, music and advertising. Photography became my official profession in the late nineties and has continued until today. I am most comfortable working on off the path locations.

I met my wife (who is Chilean) while she was vacationing in Dominican Republic. We fell in love, got married and would visit her family in Chile a couple times a year. Every time we did, I would go on surf exploration trips and boy was I surprised to find the most perfect, long, powerful, uncrowded waves! We eventually moved our family to Chile, and did the vacations in DR. But, now, here I am, an explorer, a surfer, and a photographer who has years of experience organizing and producing film and photoshoots in exotic locations and who loves being a host myself.

Awesome. The waves around Northern Chile can look pretty serious. Are there easier waves for beginners, too? Which are your favorites?

Northern Chile has two very gnarly, powerful waves that should be on every experienced surfer’s bucket list. El Buey, which can handle large and extra-large swells, is similar to Maverick’s, and El Gringo is very similar to Pipeline. In fact, its nick-name is the Latin Pipe. Both of these waves exceed my surfing capabilities, so I settle for waves right in front of town like La Puntilla, which is for intermediate and even beginners. But to answer your question, this is a long coastline with waves for everyone and anyone. Just like Hawaii, it has huge breaks and small breaks, all at a comfortable driving distance.

Great to hear it. Overall, your trip looks really adventurous, a kind of land and sea expedition to the Atacama in a way…

Our trip to Northern Chile is all about exploration. We begin exploring all the possible breaks on the coastline. Once we are all surfed-out we travel to one of the most biodiverse regions in the planet. It’s also the driest desert with geysers, natural hot springs, high altitude frozen lakes, and salt water holes at 3,000 meters above sea level. I have traveled the world and no place has ever taken away my breath like the Atacama region. It is truly one of our planet’s wonders. San Pedro de Atacama, for example, is a small oasis town in a desert surrounded by Andean Volcanos. The hotels vary from small boutique to full on luxury and our travelers decide which they prefer. From the hotel we take day trips to completely different landscapes each day: geysers, the Moon Desert, and Night Cosmo explorations are all on the trip’s menu. We have 4x4 transportation, too, which gives us total freedom to explore both the coast and the desert.

That sounds amazing. As a guide, what makes your trip successful?

First of all, I love what I do. I love being a host and sharing my experience and love of our planet. That, mixed with my background of organizing the logistics for photoshoots and film productions to remote and exotic locations for the past 20 plus years, makes my trips positive and fun. Quick decision making and team playing are also very important on any adventure and that is something essential I have learned on my many trips and productions. Every trip is unique and adapts to the travelers’ desires.

What is it about this part of the world that’s so special to you?

Arica has perfect waves, unbeatable climate, (never hot, never cold), the food is delicious, and topped with one of our planet’s wonders of nature. It is a total breathtaking and unforgettable experience. But I suppose it’s so special to me because once I really immersed myself in all of its wonders…it was like: Nature made total sense. It’s a magical, magnetic pole out here.

Wow. Was there any specific trip you’ve done that was just “one for the books,” as they say?

Definitely. For example, there was an amazing three days straight where we had perfect beachbreak waves in sunny Arica. We were eating mostly Chilean seafood that we bought straight from the fisherman as they arrived from sea. After a dawn patrol surf, we drove to San Pedro de Atacama. We arrived in the late afternoon and had dinner in a restaurant without a roof—because it never rains in Atacama. There is little to no humidity in the air, which makes the nights the starriest on earth. You can gaze at the galaxies with the naked eye as if staring at a picture shot by the VLT telescope, which is nearby, by the way. The following morning, we awoke before dawn, and drove 89 km to an altitude of 16,800 feet, to the highest geyser on earth. Watching the sunrise in this place as llamas run around freely, surrounded by snow, made my heart jump and skip beats. Once the sun rose, we ate hard boiled eggs cooked by the geysers, and we drove 50 kms back towards San Pedro, stopping in the Puritana hot springs to bathe in volcanic waters (which flow at a constant temperature of 33.5 °C (92.3 °F)).

So basically, one day I was surfing a perfect, friendly beach-break at sea level, and by night I was in the starriest place on earth. Then the next day I watched the sun rise between geysers surrounded by snow and llamas, and by noon I was swimming in one of the most exotic hot springs on earth.

Explore Alex's Atacama Adventure

Atacama Adventure

This is a perfect blend between a surf adventure and a trip to the most biodiverse region in the Andes Mountains. From perfect waves to geysers, hot springs, ancestral villages, driest desert on...

Thermal— Otero Guiding, Alex Otero