Palegoldenrod

Pomaire is a village about an hour and a half bus ride from Santiago (more or less - it depends on whether you take a direct bus or one that wanders around a bit first). It is famous for its pottery - both the clay from which it is made as well as the skill of generations of potters that have lived there. It is also famous for its huge 1kg empanada, or as I like to call it “The Empanada of DOOM“.

Beatrice and I decided we wanted to go and have a look at Pomaire one Saturday (the 17th, sorry for the delay in posting) and had a really nice time. The village is pretty small and is outside the layer of smog that usually envelopes the city. It was also a nice day to be outside as the sun was out most of the day.

We went through all of the shops and markets and tried to decide what to buy and figure out how we might be able to get it home. The pottery is heavy and of course can break in transit so it was a conundrum. Beatrice will probably carry hers home but I need to post mine.

So the cool thing about Pomaire pottery is that the clay distributes the heat very well, and is easy to clean. Self-respecting Chileans serve pastel de choclo only in a clay bowl from Pomaire, and the tiny clay bowls for salsa used in restaurants and cafes are usually from Pomaire too.

They are so cheap. Four normal sized bowls for pastel de choclo (imagine a bowl a touch larger than the biggest circle you can make with your hands) can be bought for $1000CLP. So at 250 pesos each, that is (roughly) $0.50AUD. Very affordable, especially for a hand-made item which is also a souvenir of the trip.

I bought two mugs as a gift to my cousin, a jug, a cute little jug and salsa pot set and a set of different sized bowls. I think it came to a total of about $12AU or something. Beatrice bought a plate, an alpaca jumper and a few other bits and pieces too.

For some reason I found it difficult to get good information about how to get to Pomaire - both in guidebooks and on the internet. So here is some info that I hope will help.

What is there

There is a lot of pottery, and of different grades and styles. For example, most of the larger vendors probably make the pottery themselves and the quality is generally pretty good. Some of the smaller vendors my not make the goods themselves; they may be selling 2nds. Not all, but certainly from what we saw while we were there, it was obvious that even the Chileans avoided many of the smaller stores.

There are clay products ranging from traditional simple bowls for pastel de choclo through to trinkets and modern painted and glazed works; vases, masks, casserole dishes, cups, mugs, plates, jugs, clay jewelry and a piggy bank (money box) the size of a pony, I kid you not. There are also a few side streets with other markets - clothing, textiles, artwork, jewelry etc.

You can buy blocks of the clay itself, sweets, a bit of fresh fruit and vegetables (but not much from what we could see), fresh herbs… I think it will depend on who is selling what when you get there.

You can eat well enough there. There are at least 4 or 5 decent sized cafes serving cooked food including the giant empanada. I had a 1/2 kilo empanada for lunch, which had both chicken and mince in it. I was a little surprised when the chicken was still on its drumstick and the whole thing was inside the empanada, but hey. It still tasted nice.

You will also find friendly people - individuals in Santiago are friendly enough, but outside of the city people seem much more open and inviting, and willing to help.

Timings

It takes about an hour or an hour and a half to get from Estacion Central to Pomaire, depending on your bus.

I am told that Monday the village is closed. It will be quieter during the week anyway, and packed on weekends because even Chileans like to shop there.

For one week in May there is a bit more of a festive air in the town as it celebrates harvest of a certain crop from nearby farms… I never did find out what crop it was, but if you know please comment below

You could spend a half day there, depending on how you shop and if you are after something specific. Beatrice and I left Estacion Central at 11ish and arrived back in Santiago at about 4 or 5pm after looking in every shop and eating lunch there too. Your mileage may vary.

Getting to Pomaire from Santiago

The easiest way is by bus. Go to Estacion Central - you can easily find buses to Pomaire usually via Melipilla, which is a larger town closer to Pomaire. You have some choices - it is unlikely that you will find a bus directly to Pomaire unless you go on a tour, so you can either get a direct bus to Melipilla and then a collectivo or microbus from there, or you can take a microbus from the station - it will just stop at a bunch more places on the way and take a bit longer to get there.

For any bus that does go to Pomaire, Pomaire is the last stop. The buses do a loop through the village and then head back to Melipella.

When we went, we took a microbus to Pomaire (about $1200CLP) then caught a microbus back to Melipilla and from there took a direct bus back to Estacion Central (the direct bus cost about $1400CLP). Either way it is pretty cheap and easy