…but yesterday, on the coastal route from Concón to Viña del Mar, when I stopped to have a look at an interesting rocky park by the sea called Lugar de Poetas, or Roca Oceánica, known for its climbing rocks, I finally understood why my chilean friend keeps saying “los Chilenos se rayan todo, todo!” (Chileans scratch everything, everything!). I won’t say no more… Yet.

Roca Oceánica (Ocean Rock), Lugar de Poetas (Place of Poets), was founded as a homage to the Noble Prize winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, on the 100th anniversary of his birth. I realized it was also a place for rock climbing when I noticed that the eerie looking black rock wall was actually speckled with white magnesium powder spots, and had several fixed metal anchor points at the top. Later I dug out from the web that I had found the “Roca Oceánica” or “Roca Negra”, “un lugar perfecto para dar los primeros pasos o para recuperarse de una lesión” – i.e. a climbing place most suitable for beginners or those recovering from injuries.