6. Isla Chiloe

Chiloe is the second largest island in South America (after Isla Grande in Tierra del Fuego). It has a unique culture and appeal due to it's independent people who are separated from the mainland.

We spent 4 nights over Easter in a really nice hostel right on the waterfront in the town of Ancud. Chiloe is famous for it's more than 150 unique old wooden churches, most built by shipbuilders. The joinery work is excellent. 16 of the churches have been declared world heritage sites by Unesco. We spent a nice day wandering around some small towns in the middle of the island and checking out some of the churches.

 We took 5 different buses (no reservations) and 2 ferries and the total bill for each of us for the day was less than $15. We were really lucky with the weather - it was great - it is usually a bit misty & rainy on the coast.

Typical wood shingle-sided house

The bus system in Chile is excellent. On the main routes are modern luxury coaches far superior to anything in Canada. As you get into the less travelled areas, the buses get more basic, then smaller and for the rural stops, minibuses. In most cases, service is very frequent. You can get anywhere by bus. Just hop off at a junction then wait a short while for one going in your direction.

Another interesting architectural feature on Chiloe, particularly in the mid-island town of Castro, is the palafito - a house backing on to the ocean that looks normal from the front but is on stilts at the back, over the water. There are rows of them. We had a nice coffee in a tiny cafe on one of them. At high tide people have boats tied to their back deck, which then become beached at low tide.

Our final night on Chiloe we treated ourselves to their traditional dish - Curanto. A mixture of seafood, potatoes, beef, chicken, sausage, corn dumplings and who knows what else - all in great quantities!  We did not come close to finishing it all. The photo was taken after we had already polished off quite a bit.