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Published: January 23rd 2007
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Our short trip over to the island of Chiloé took us over the Canal de Chacao and away from the Chilean mainland. On the crossing we saw a school of dolphins playing in the busy shipping lane, and a flock of pelicans glided gracefully by.
Our first stop was the town of Ancud, the last bastion of Spanish rule in Chile. The main reason for our visit though, was to meet up with Juno (Junah/Jeroen) from Belgium who was a fellow student on our English teaching course a year ago. He owns a farm nearby and we were keen to see what his lifestyle was like. It was great to see him again after a year, and it was a pleasure to have a wonderful dinner with his delightful girlfriend Grecia.
Ancud was a very quiet town and it didn’t take long to walk along the costanera and see the fort. Aside from seeing the fishing boats landing their catch, there wasn’t too much more for us to do in town so we went out with Juno to enjoy the campo (countryside). The horseflies were out in numbers again but Juno was living proof that you get used to
them! We dressed in light clothing and sprayed repellent, but he defied the advice given and wore dark colours. At times he resembled the kid in the Peanuts cartoon who is forever surrounded by a cloud of flies! Mind you, our precautions merely eased the situation; we were still surrounded by them!
The setting around the small settlement of Chepu was wonderful. The area had been devastated in 1960 when a massive earthquake produced a tsunami which wiped out everything. The trees later died because of the salt water in the soil and their dead trunks remain as a haunting reminder of the natural disaster which struck. Walking along the beach as the waves rolled in from the Pacific Ocean was a beautiful experience (except for the horseflies!). It was also fabulous to pick fresh cherries off Juno’s trees. We got the chance to visit several of Juno’s neighbours and they certainly saved our tired legs by giving us the occasional lift. Public transport isn’t exactly frequent once you leave the main road!!
Leaving Juno’s life behind, we went on to Castro, capital of the island. The main reason to come here is to see the palafitos, wooden
houses built over the water on high stilts. Whilst they were nice to see, in all honesty they look a little tired and could do with a lick of paint. The same goes for the wooden Jesuit churches which can be found all over the archipelago. Even so, it was a nice town to use as a base to explore some of the small Chilote towns.
Chonchi was a tiny little fishing port. Naturally it had a wooden church for us to see. Also while we were there, the Expo Bosque (Forest Exposition) was taking place. We were entertained by folkloric singing and tasted some regional food. We saw one dish, choclaoca (at least I think that’s what it is called!) being cooked. Basically potato is crushed down to a paste then packed onto a large wooden pole. Then it is slowly cooked for several hours over an open fire before eventually being sliced up and stuffed with meat. It was a bit heavy and stodgy but delicious nonetheless. We were amazed to see that Fidel Castro had managed to raise himself from his sickbed to cook for us. Really, see the photo!!
Dalcahue was a bigger place
A Multi Lungual Sign
Can you spot a language which isn´t used here?! and is the gateway for ferries to Isla Quinchao. We saw the church and also the small handicraft market. Then it was onto a bus to be ferried across to Achao on the nearby island. Like everywhere else, Achao had a church which was nice to see. On a Sunday not much is happening though, so we had lunch and returned to Castro.
If the horseflies were not so bad we would probably spend more time here and go walking in the forested National Park. It seems that mid-December to mid-February really is the time to avoid coming here though if, like us, you get easily irritated by insects buzzing around you a lot. This shouldn’t be such a problem as we head further North.
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Melvyn
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Belated Happy New Year to you both from Menna and I. Yep I guess castrol went down ill just after cooking for you! We're foolowing your epic journey on our wall mounted world map - you've travelled futher than most people ever fly.. Fantastic pics again, so many stories so many memories. From all your travelbugs friends Nos da Melvyn