Sailing on land aboard Neruda's ship-like homes

Brazilian tourist Cristiane Stekel stood next to Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's bed and looked out of the window at rough ocean waves. The bed is positioned so that the sun rises at its head and sets at its foot.

The Nobel Prize-winning poet was fascinated by the ocean but preferred to remain a "sailor on land", incorporating details like the perfectly placed bed in his favorite home in the coastal town of Isla Negra, about 110 kilometers west of Santiago.

"There's no way not to be inspired and produce great poems with this wonderful view," says Stekel, 35, a lawyer and fan of Neruda's poetry.