Island life

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Puerto Montt is one of those pass through places. Got there early morning after a fairly quiet night on the ferry which I survived by curling up in two seats space and sleeping. Despite the once again cold and threatening to rain weather I decided to go to the island of Chiloe and stay south. I passed out for most of the journey and woke up in Castro, the ´capital´ of Chiloe. Capital in quotes as it has a main street with shops on as opposed to everywhere else in the island which really is small…. I decided that no matter what I was going to stay there for 3 nights and have a bit of a break as I realized I had been on the go since Calafate only spending a night in each place or on a ferry or bus and was knackered and grouchy. I struck lucky with the hospedaje and it was run by a lovely lady who sat me down the first night and made me eat home made apple empanadas and hot tea. Life is tough at times. I do think she thought I was a little strange when I arrived as all I cared about was whether she had hot water or not and jumped in the shower. Well I had not showered in a long time and not washed my hair in four days so I was a little desperate!

With the hospedajes you do get a look in on what life is like. Here in the south every home has a wood burning stove in the kitchen and it seems to be a luxury to have an extra one elsewhere in the house. This means that life tends to revolve around the kitchen often with a tv plugged in. Every time I went back I was sat down for a hot drink and something to eat. There was no other heating in the house and my room was freezing. I would have to go up with a cup of tea and jump into bed. Luckily there were lots of hand woven blankets to keep me warm. Mornings were spent dancing around the bathroom waiting for the gas heater to kick in and heat enough water for the shower.

Out of season and the little information kiosks were closed so it was up to me to create my own entertainment. There was also a serious lack of any other tourists around. I took myself off to visit the rest of the islands using the collectivos the islanders use. Jump on a minibus and jump off where and when you feel like it. They will stop anywhere.

The villages on this island are wee. I would walk around them in about 10 mins and you know what a fast walker I am. I would take myself off for walks along the water front and check out village life. It was calm and quiet and exactly what I needed…

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Photos

Typical Chiloen House
With wood and no metal on the island the houses were and still are typical built by layering wood on wood. Not good for insulation or heating!

Church in Anchoa
Built in 1730 entirely out of wood and no nails!

Market in Castro
The island is famous for its knitware. The women sit and knit, drink tea and display their wares. I resisted a poncho!

Castro Cathedral
Interesting colour choice. On close inspection the outside is painted corrugated metal sheet and the inside made entirely of wood

Mystical Chiloe
The island was the last place to remain spanish. It has strong native indian history and stands apart from the rest of Chile