Island bound

I have wanted to visit the island of Chiloé for some time now and since I had a few days to pass over until my boat down south I filled up my day pack and caught a series of buses and ferries to the island. I didn't really know what to expect but had been told on several occasions by other travelers and Chileans that with its history, mythology, culture, and historical influences it was an interesting stop.

I arrived in Castro a few hours later and started exploring. On the outskirts of the city there were many interesting houses, colorful like in the hills of Valparaiso and many propped over a body of water on stilts. The port/docks was also a bustling area of activity. Fishing and the fishing industry is a major part of the economy in this part of the world. Consequently one can find hundreds of boats in the surrounding waters. While there were some other interesting quirks in the city, such as a massive church constructed completely of wood (as were all of the hundreds of churches throughout the island; in fact, one priest long ago described Chiloé as a forest of churches, each with unique architecture and style) and a museum, at its heart the city was just dirty and similar to many others throughout Chile. This wasn't what I came to see and so decided that a few hours wandering was more than enough time.

I then made my way to Achao, a city on an island off the mainland of Chiloé. Here I discovered what I pictured to be and could tell was "true" Chiloé; or in the least, more authentic than Castro. I wandered around the town for a few hours. One of the things that really caught my attention was the woodwork/shingling of the houses. Most of the houses are sided with wooden shingles in one of several dozen different patterns and styles. It was pretty cool to see one style in one house, then next door find something completely different.

In my wanderings I visited the church where I learned that there would be a religious folk-music performance later that night and so spent the evening listening to traditional religious-folk music. The group consisted of two singers, a guitarist (who played both and acoustic and 12-string), a second guitarist that played an unfamiliar guitar, a violist, a harpsichordist, and a guy who played recorder and wood-pipe. The show was "unplugged" and throughout reminded me why I like classical music so much: it takes you back in time. Particularly sitting in that church that felt 150 years old, when you listen to the music you can "be" in any time period, this to say nothing of the fact that its pretty cool that 100 years ago people were sitting in that same church, listening to the same music in this style. There were a variety of songs, one hilarious duet between Death and the Devil.

The next morning I made my way to Dalcahue, another small town that on this particular weekend was hosting both an annual artisan fair and rodeo. I wandered through the fair, and afterward made my way to the rodeo. I chuckle because when I hear rodeo, I think of US/Western rodeos with ropin', ridin' and other activities. I soon realized that rodeo in Chile is very different. Instead of riding or roping or anything like that, two gauchos would ride in a circle herding/chasing a cow (maybe a bull, but there were few horns), then when the bull reached a certain point in the ring the gauchos would slam and/or pin the bull to the wall. Then they would do it again on the other side. I ended up meeting two Chilean girls there that explained parts of it to me; suffice it to say there is technique and points are awarded depending how and where the gauchos pin the bull, etc. Quite different. Pansies.

After Dalcahue I made my way north to Ancud, where I discovered a city that, due to the massive destruction caused during the earthquake in 1960, was almost entirely prefabricated. Didn’t need to spend much time there and I soon made my way back to the mainland and Puerto Montt for the night.

In all a good trip: I got to see the unique, the good, the quaint, the dirty, and the boring, and along the way meet some interesting people. What more could you want?