Day 6: Chiloe Island
Today we spent the day on the island district of Chiloe. It was a day of seeing how people live in this remote island area with one major island surrounded by an archipelago of smaller islands.
The classic houses on the shoreline are on stilts. This tradition is years old — your front yard is the water and backyard the road. New construction is no longer allowed but the houses are colorful and fun to see.
Adrian and Pierre found several friendly street dogs to pet. The dogs were so happy to get some attention.
Today’s tour includes several stops at the historic churches of Chiloe. The churches are primarily Jesuit built and all of wooden construction. The interiors had some magnificent handiwork.
We then took a ferry to a small island, Quinchao. The houses here are all of a similar style as the 50’s and 60’s — wooden shingles as siding. There is controversy about connecting to the mainland or try and to maintain the simplicity of living and build on the tourism that is developing.
Lunch was a traditional seafood meal that is cooked in the ground. Clams and mussels are layered with chicken, sausages, thick pieces of smoked ham and potatoes. There is a traditional potato pancake on top. As the plate came we assumed it was a family style but no! It was one plate per person. Needless to say none of us finished our meals but it was delicious, such fresh mussels and clams!
I was excited to find some natural wool, very soft at the tourist information shop. We saw the sheep in the fields as we drove across the island. Now I have to decide what to make!
Tonight was the captain’s reception and we had a fun meal with the purser who is from Germany along with one of the naturalists. They were both on the ship 3 years ago. Fun to hear about their lives at sea.
