Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Drive down the Island - Isle de Chiloe, Chile
The theme of the drive south could easily have been "find the church." The island is covered with hundreds of completely wooden churches, built when the missionaries made the rounds of the islands in a boat, two priests at a time, travelling to all the churches on a rotating basis. Some are almost cathedral size and each one has it's own unique personality. Even when taking some of the dirt paths off road, there seems to be a church around every corner.
It was a fun one day trip, with lunch at the southern tip of the island in Quelion. Driving into the city I saw an interesting bright yellow building perched at the highest point in the city. It turned out to be a new hotel called Hotel Pantagonia Insular with great food, terrific wine list, a charming manager (whose English is better than mine), beautiful decor, and a spectacular view of the bay. It's so new that you probably won't find it in guidebooks yet, but here is their email address reserva@hotelpantagoniainsular.cl if you find yourself in the neighborhood.
It was a fun one day trip, with lunch at the southern tip of the island in Quelion. Driving into the city I saw an interesting bright yellow building perched at the highest point in the city. It turned out to be a new hotel called Hotel Pantagonia Insular with great food, terrific wine list, a charming manager (whose English is better than mine), beautiful decor, and a spectacular view of the bay. It's so new that you probably won't find it in guidebooks yet, but here is their email address reserva@hotelpantagoniainsular.cl if you find yourself in the neighborhood.
Islets of Puinhuil Tour and "Pen-GWEE-no"
A 45 minute trip due west of Ancuda takes you to the Pacific Ocean and the 3 islets of Puinhuil, the Penguin capital of the area. The islands are so close to shore that you can almost swim to them. An entire community of local guides lives on the beach to boat tourists around the islands which are covered in penguins. It is the only place in the world where Magellan and Humboldt penguins live together.
The penguins take it all in stride, as if the boatload of people is being brought to them, for their amusement. They stop and check out each boat to evaluate the latest tour group. Whales, seals, black necked swans, and otters are also part of the tour, depending on the time you are there.
As enchanting as the tour is, the scenery in that area is the most beautiful of any in the world. Looking across the green hills to the ocean below was a visceral experience for me. I kept thinking "I must live here!" With the exchange rate of 1 US dollar equal to 500 Chilean Pesos, I might be able to afford it. Since no one speaks English my 20 words of Spanish would have to expand to a full vocabulary out of necessity.
The cold reality though, is just that - the cold. My visit was in the middle of their summer and it was chilly. The mountain range that runs down the center of the main island protects all the towns on the east side of the island, but this area is on an unprotected bluff overlooking the Pacific. I can only imagine how brutal the winters are there.
That's my practical voice, but my heart tells me that I can't forget that area. Perhaps a winter visit will tell me that it's not as cold as I predict. I can always dream...
The penguins take it all in stride, as if the boatload of people is being brought to them, for their amusement. They stop and check out each boat to evaluate the latest tour group. Whales, seals, black necked swans, and otters are also part of the tour, depending on the time you are there.
As enchanting as the tour is, the scenery in that area is the most beautiful of any in the world. Looking across the green hills to the ocean below was a visceral experience for me. I kept thinking "I must live here!" With the exchange rate of 1 US dollar equal to 500 Chilean Pesos, I might be able to afford it. Since no one speaks English my 20 words of Spanish would have to expand to a full vocabulary out of necessity.
The cold reality though, is just that - the cold. My visit was in the middle of their summer and it was chilly. The mountain range that runs down the center of the main island protects all the towns on the east side of the island, but this area is on an unprotected bluff overlooking the Pacific. I can only imagine how brutal the winters are there.
That's my practical voice, but my heart tells me that I can't forget that area. Perhaps a winter visit will tell me that it's not as cold as I predict. I can always dream...
Shopping in Ancud, Isle de Chiloe in Chile
Shopping was an adventure. The brown leather looking tubes (upper right) are actually sea weed that is cooked and eaten. All of the cheese shops were together and they all looked like the one in lower left pic. It's all the same type of cheese! At this shopping area I met the only local person who spoke English. She was a Jahova's Witness who ran a tea shop and wanted to talk about the world to come.
I escaped to eat as much seafood as I could at one sitting. The seafood was to die for and incredibly cheap.
I escaped to eat as much seafood as I could at one sitting. The seafood was to die for and incredibly cheap.
The Romance of the Islands in Chile
There is such a strong pull to me from islands and deciding which island to visit in Chile was difficult. After all, you have Easter Island with its mysterious statues (how DID they get there?), you have the island where Robinson Crusoe was stranded, and among others you can visit the islands that are your stopping off point to Anarctica.
I chose the Islands of Chiloe halfway down the coast between Santiago and Anarctica, with its hundreds of smaller islands clustered around the central one, its isolation from the mainland, and its timelessness. There are no bridges, trains, or commercial airlines to get there. There is one ferry port just south of Peurto Montt that takes you to the main island.
At the Puerto Montt airport I rented a tiny Chevy and headed south on Route 5. Throughout the flight there I practiced with my home made flash cards of traffic signs -insurance to stay out of trouble. Just remember "pellegro" means danger.Most road signs were pictures and easy to interpret and the trip was a pleasure, especially with the luxury of stopping where ever I wanted to take pictures.Once off the ferry, you do step back in time. Route 5 is the one main highway that runs from the northern part of the island to the southern part, about 105 miles away. Roads branching off of 5 have a 50-50 chance of being dirt and gravel. Because of the lack of any other roads (or sidewalks) it is common to drive up on large families walking arm in arm in your lane, (creating lots of pellegro if you aren't attentive.
It is hard to book hotels on the island in advance because they are generally small family businesses with no internet connections, but I was lucky to find and book the Hotel Ancud, a 20 minutes from the ferry. It is a huge log structure on a peninsula with a 270 degree view of the water. The last picture in the blog was taken there, but without a special lens there is no way to capture the full view of the water with the snow capped mountains in the distance. Like many remote islands, Isle de Chiloe has protected its own special language and dialects, superstitions intwined with the Christianity brought by missionaries, and its own culture. It is a world unto itself. This also means that no one speaks English, there are very few service stations on the entire island, few people take credit cards, and I REALLY stood out as being "not from around here." It was a hoot.
I chose the Islands of Chiloe halfway down the coast between Santiago and Anarctica, with its hundreds of smaller islands clustered around the central one, its isolation from the mainland, and its timelessness. There are no bridges, trains, or commercial airlines to get there. There is one ferry port just south of Peurto Montt that takes you to the main island.
At the Puerto Montt airport I rented a tiny Chevy and headed south on Route 5. Throughout the flight there I practiced with my home made flash cards of traffic signs -insurance to stay out of trouble. Just remember "pellegro" means danger.Most road signs were pictures and easy to interpret and the trip was a pleasure, especially with the luxury of stopping where ever I wanted to take pictures.Once off the ferry, you do step back in time. Route 5 is the one main highway that runs from the northern part of the island to the southern part, about 105 miles away. Roads branching off of 5 have a 50-50 chance of being dirt and gravel. Because of the lack of any other roads (or sidewalks) it is common to drive up on large families walking arm in arm in your lane, (creating lots of pellegro if you aren't attentive.
It is hard to book hotels on the island in advance because they are generally small family businesses with no internet connections, but I was lucky to find and book the Hotel Ancud, a 20 minutes from the ferry. It is a huge log structure on a peninsula with a 270 degree view of the water. The last picture in the blog was taken there, but without a special lens there is no way to capture the full view of the water with the snow capped mountains in the distance. Like many remote islands, Isle de Chiloe has protected its own special language and dialects, superstitions intwined with the Christianity brought by missionaries, and its own culture. It is a world unto itself. This also means that no one speaks English, there are very few service stations on the entire island, few people take credit cards, and I REALLY stood out as being "not from around here." It was a hoot.
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