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Published: September 23rd 2011
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The bus from Castro was pretty easy, really. We probably could have walked it but, lacking the time or the inclination to do 85ks on foot, we opted for public transport. Once there finding a place to stay presented no major challenge. It seemed we had inadvertently picked the absolute best time to come to Chiloe. There were literally no other tourists, but things were still open as it came onto winter. But
Ancud; seriously - best place ever. The moment we got off the bus it felt good. We found a hostel in the LP and wandered a short distance around the town to find it. There was a hill, if I'm honest, but at sea level it presented no great challenge. As we walked up the driveway an excitable Border Collie ran up to greet us, tongue lolling and eyes bright. The manager of the place was engaged in a difficult task - trying to paint some chairs. Doesn't sound too complicated, sure, but he was only able to paint a couple of strokes before the dog would run up to him, drop the stick on his foot, and cock its head expectantly. For a moment the bloke would
ignore the dog. However, as the nudges from the dog's head became more insistent the bloke would put down his paintbrush, pick up the drool covered stick, and throw it, as far as he could – quickly picking up the paintbrush, getting some work done while the dog ran off to fetch.
He took a break as we approached (the manager, that is – the dog continued running around like an idiot, barking at shadows, leaping at passing bugs and generally enjoying life). We got a fantastic room for next to nothing – private bathroom, a view of the harbour and even its own fireplace! And the manager was the nicest bloke we had yet met in the country. It was a pity we couldn't stay longer. Like the hotel in the Shining the boiler was lit and heated the whole place - al the empty rooms toasty and warm for guests that weren't coming.
Breakfast was included, and it was fantastic. We made our way down to the fabulously appointed dining room (For me the foyer was the best part – so much weird stuff everywhere. Ancient divers bell helmets, street lights (which functioned!) model boats, binoculars
for the use of the guests looking out the front window, and a baby grand) and found an incredible layout of food, complete with our own personal waiter. As we were fed a fantastic breakfast we watched the Chilean coverage of the Royal Wedding. The Chileans showed an admirable lack of respect – including machine gun and bombing sound effects during the flyover coverage.
We were the only people in the place, and I felt a bit bad that the bloke had got someone in just to wait on us. In a bow-tie and waistcoat and everything.
I felt less bad immediately after breakfast when the waiter got changed, faster than Superman, into some old duds and started painting things.
I'm fairly sure we were some of the only gringos around, possibly the only ones. Even so, there was a forlorn looking bloke at one of the few tourist sites around the place – the old fort (interesting, but basically a set of ramparts and some old cannons)– trying to sell trinkets and whatnot. We felt a bit sorry for him, but our pity lost in the fight against tightarsedness, and we bought nothing.
The walk back
up to town from the fort took you through a residential area, and the houses themselves were some of the most interesting parts of the day. A lot of them were excellent, really looked like the sort of houses one could live in quite comfortably, even happily.
We spent much of the day simply wandering about, and the town had a good feel. People said hello, and the random dogs were friendly.
We stopped for lunch at a local place, just round the corner from a little naval barracks and not far from the hostel. We wanted to try the local speciality. Called
curanto, it was basically a giant plate of scurvy. 8 different kinds of meat, plus seafood and potato, all cooked together in a huge pot. Seriously, though, it was excellent – a great combination of flavours, and enough to feed a large American family. We struggled to eat much at all, but we managed. It would have been rude not to.
Sights? Well, we saw what there was. What was there was interesting, but there wasn't that much. But you didn't go to Ancud for sights as such, or at least we didn't. You
go for the town , and the food, and the people. We had one of the best times so far on the trip just enjoying the quiet atmosphere of a fishing town winding down to winter.
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slowfeet
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Chilly Chiloe
Nice blog. Sounds even better than when you told us about it. Like the photos too.