Chillin' in Chiloe

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My next stop was Ancud, on the island of Chiloe. The island itself is very different from mainland Chile, geographically anyway - the website for one of the hostels I've stayed at described the landscape as being like that of the Shire in Lord of the Rings. The main industry in the island is fishing, and where there's fishing there are usually lots of seafood restaurants...so I admit my reasons for visting were motivated by my stomach as much as anything else!

One the first day I was there, I just spent the day wandering the town and the surrounds. Slightly alarmingly a building in the centre of the town had caught fire and was billowing smoke everywhere...seeing as everyone else in town seemed to be treating the fire as a spectator sport, I didn't feel so bad about doing the same. Anyway, the town and the area around was lovely, in a pastoral, Shire-like, kind of way...although nothing jaw-dropping (like a volcano, for instance).

Dinner that evening was, of course, fish...I had a lovely piece of corvina, which I think is a local white fish. It was delicious. I've noticed so far that Chilean food tends not to have much flavour, but this was wonderful. Mmm, mmm...and the restaurant itself had a fantastic location, overlooking the bay. They tend to eat quite late here, so when I arrived at 8pm I was the only person in the place, but at least it meant I was there in time to see the sunset.

One of the other reasons for visiting Chiloe is to see penguins. There's a colony not far away from Ancud, which is (I think) the only place in Chile where you get Humboldt and Magellenic penguins in the same place. There are regular tours going out there, so I went on one the next morning. Unfortunately for me I managed to get a migraine at the same time, so I didn't actually manage to 'see' the penguins properly for all the flashing lights. Still, judging by the photos I took, the penguins were pretty cute :-)

I'm now in Chonchi, further south on the island. I got here yesterday evening, in time to go to the local fiesta with a couple of Aussies also staying here. That was kind of fun, mainly because of the different kinds of food on offer. I had some grilled salmon (mmm, mmm). The other two were intrigued by a strange looking local speciality. It started out looking like a giant rolling pin covered in dough, which was roasted over an open fire. When it was done, the dough was rolled off it, then stuffed with some kind of meat and rolled up. Judging by the way it was being snapped up by the locals, the Aussies decided they had to try some. The verdict? Unfortunately, stodgy and bland.

Today I was going to do some hiking in the national park, but I woke up this morning with the beginnings of a cold. So all I did was walk along the beach and walk back again. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel a bit better, as I'm heading back to the mainland, back to the lakes.

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Photos

Fire! Fire!
As everyone was treating the fire like a spectator sport, I didn't feel bad about taking photos

Seaweed drying
I didn't try the seaweed, I have to admit

Pinguinos
Aren't they just so cute?

More penguins
There were both Humboldt and Magallenic penguins in the colony, but I can't remember which ones these were.

At the fiesta
The giant rolling pin in the background, with some unidentified meat in the foreground

Chiloe church
Chiloe is famous for its wooden church, of which this is one example

More fishing boats
Every time I saw boast like this, I couldn't help but think...mmm, dinner