La Isla Grande de Chiloé: Dalcahue y Castro

I’m so annoyed. I was halfway through an amazing post about my adventures in Chiloé and Safari had a heart attack and shut down unexpectedly. No I did not want to send a report to apple. I wanted to scream and hit my computer. Tumblr told me that I had an unpublished post- which of course was sent into oblivion. So I begin again. Begrudgingly. But writing about Chiloé has been on the to-do list since I went there… which was in February- so I suppose its time to close the book on this one. To refresh my memory, I have copied from my journal. I apologize for the repetition (see: Rolling With It) but it is a good introduction. Feel free to skip ahead. 

After we finished the ILP on Friday, the 18th of February, a problem occurred. We had bought tickets to Punta Arenas or so we thought. The plan was to go to Patagonia, to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine- backpack it, explore, trek. But not everything in life always goes according to plan and that Friday we discovered that our trip to Patagonia was not going to happen. At least, not now. Basically, my credit card (I had paid for myself and Tarah) and Courtney’s, had both been rejected and therefore our purchases were not processed and the tickets were gone. My old monitor/friend Joaquin tried to buy tickets to go to Punta Arenas the next day, Saturday, as planned. We bought tickets online through LAN. They were extremely cheap ($150 USD). But it sounded too good to be true- and it was. We tried to check-in online for our flight but we were denied. Confused, Joaquin called LAN and that’s when we found out that the tickets were for MARCH! The days and days of the week (Saturday-Sunday, 19-27) corresponded perfectly. So there was the inital sadness, which quickly lifted and I felt free and relieved. We were not prepared whatsoever. I felt bad because our friend Francie, who we were planning on going with, had successfully purchased tickets. Joaquin felt very bad but I was really calm. I went home to Marta and ate palta and tomatoe and my favorite soup in her bed and watched television. I went to bed kind of late after writing a lengthy blog entry describing what was mentioned earlier, about rolling with it.

The next day, February 19th, 2011, was spent buying gear and tickets. We bought tickets close to Los Leones metro station to Castro, the capital of Chiloé, the second largest island in Chile, according to Courtney’s lonely planet guide, which became a sort of sacred, almost biblical text, which we referred to multiple times a day. Anyway, trust me, Chiloé is large! We left from Santiago on Saturday night. Also on Saturday, we had the best gelato ever at Gigi Bontá in Providencia. It tasted like nutella, but better. It was fantastic. 

Saturday night we almost missed the bus (cough, Courtney, cough), but we made it. It was 15 hours to Castro. So the night turned to day and the day turned into Sunday, the 20th of February, a long long long long day! The bus driver dropped us off in Mocopulli- closer to Dalcahue, which according to the guidebook, has a large street fair every Sunday. Perfect. ¡Vamos! So off the bus we went. We spent 10 minutes getting ourselves together and ready for the road. I brushed my teeth and used the uh facilities. After about 100ft and seeing two backpackers ahead of us doing it, we decided it was a good idea to hitchhike. It became a way of life. After letting down our hair, we almost immediately got a ride. We hopped in the back of a red pick up truck with a family in the front cabin area. There was a small baby girl smiling playfully at us in the truck bed through the window. Life is awesome.

Riding in the back of the truck

¡Súper rico empanada con mariscos!

(foto: Courtney)

¡La ciudad de Dalcahue es hermosa!

We left Dalcahue and marched towards Castro.

Paula and Cristian- the lovely couple who picked us up. They live in Castro and asked us if we would like to sleep on their patio. Our plan was to find nice people and camp in their backyards (or patios) so when they asked we were delighted. We also discovered that they were on their way to a festival, Festival Costumbrista Chilote, Festival of Customs of Chiloé, in Castro, and would we like to come? Of course! We left our backpacks in their car and entered the festival.

On the stage, the people dance the traditional cueca, but in a Chilotan style. The music, song and dance were all native to Chiloé and demonstrated the pride that these people have for their beautiful island.

Some quick notes on Chiloé

• It rains a lot- but we experienced almost all sunshine and beautiful cloudy skies during our time in Chiloé. I think the most it rained was just light sprinkles. :) Nevertheless, we came prepared in matching black parka/raincoats. 
• It is safe- a lot safer than Santiago. The people are also extremely kind and hospitable and want you to have a good time. 
• It is magical and mythological. There are many legends and myths in Chiloé and according to our friend Pato, a native, in rural areas there are still witches. There is a list of mythological creatures, each with his/her own tale and modern applications. 
• The seafood is fantastic. Chiloé is famous for a dish called curanto. More on that later, and my personal experience with curanto… 
• The pace of life is much slower than metropolitan Santiago. People are generally more laid back and peaceful. 
• Churches- Chiloé is famous for its many wooden churches, an example of the mixture of native and Catholic traditions. 16 are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
• Anything can happen in Chiloé! If you ever have the opportunity to go to Chiloé, I recommend the cities of Castro and Ancud. 

A couple dancing at the festival.

Tarah y yo

Courtney’s guidebook told us about the liquor of Chiloé. It is famous for its Licor de Oro- Liquor of Gold. It is spicy and very sweet. The red one had a fruity flavor. Licor de Oro is made of aguardiente (alcohol), whey, saffron and lemon peel. They were giving out samples- so of course we had to try for ourselves. Personally, it is too sweet, but that’s just me. 

Chocolates!

We bought some chocolates for our sweet hosts, Paula and Cristian.

A HUGE PIG!

Piglets!

We tried on some of the handmade clothing that people were selling at the festival…

(foto: Tarah)

(fotos: Tarah)

Perfect clouds for cloud watching

We left with Paula and Cristian to go to their home and set-up camp! On our way, we got our first glimpse of the famous palafitos- houses on the water that are literally held up by pieces of wood! 

Sunset and view of the bay from Paula and Cristian’s house. After we set up our tent, they allowed us to shower in their home and invited us in for tea and bread. I can only hope that I would be that loving to a complete stranger. They said that they would have let us sleep inside, but that Paula’s sister, child, husband and mother were staying over. Yes, we met the whole clan. Such nice people.

(foto: Tarah)

(foto: Courtney)

Courtney’s sleeping bag/body suit. Too good.

Our tent! We slept in and cooked breakfast inside the house. :)

Timón, the dog

Courtney and the tent

Tarah, rocking the Rotary Club hat, and the tent

We decided that today, Monday the 21st of February, would be spent exploring Castro. Tuesday we would leave and try to get to Chonchi, to the state park of Chiloé and camp there. 

Surreal

Okay sorry, I just think these houses are so cool…

Stopping to smell the roses

Shopping around. In Castro we stocked up on supplies for the next few days. Pasta, prunes and oatmeal. Yum!

We took a quick look through a museum. I liked the model ships.

(foto: Courtney) Lots of churches!!

The church in Castro, one of the 16 UNESCO sites

We sat in the park across from the church and played cards. There was a pack of wild dogs.. always so many dogs in Chile.

Here come the women in black… dun dun dun dun dunn dun. Matching in our black coats.

We played cards, went to dinner and ate a really good burger and went back to our tent in Paula and Cristian’s patio. The next day we left Castro. 

More to come!