Chile Guide
Valparaíso, Viña and the Central Coast
Isla Negra
Since 1939, poet Pablo Neruda spent on and off forty years of his life here, enlarging his house and filling it with the strange and beautiful objects he ceaselessly gathered from far-flung corners of the world. The Fundación Neruda, acting on the wishes of the poet's widow, Matilde Urrutia, has transferred Neruda's and Matilde's graves to its garden and operates the house as a museum (guided tours in English or Spanish, Jan– Feb Tues– Sun 10am–8pm; March– Dec 10am–2pm & 3pm–6pm; CH$2400, CH$3000 for English guide; 
35/461284, 
35/461582, 
museodeisalnegra@hotmail.com). Inside, its winding passages and odd-shaped rooms are crammed full of exotic objects like ships' figureheads, Hindu carvings, African and Japanese masks, ships in bottles, seashells, butterflies, coloured bottles, Victorian postcards and a good deal more. It's an extraordinary place, spoiled only by the hurried, regimented pace of the tours.
There's little else to Isla Negra save a small, pretty beach that makes for a great picnic spot, and a couple of handicraft stalls in the main square, just under a kilometre from Neruda's home. If you want to stay - and the temptation is frequent - you'll find rooms at the historic Hostería La Candela, C de La Hostería 67 ( 32/461254, 
wwww.candela.cl ; Price: CH$25000-35000); here you can soak in the ambience of a cosy hotel where Neruda himself once stayed. At no. 4160 on the same street, La Flor de Isla Negra ( 35/461043; Price: CH$10000-15000) offers less expensive and comfortable cabañas.