Day 31-32 Island of Chiloe
December 16 - Ancud, Chiloe, Chile
We headed to the main drag to catch a minibus back to the main town, Puerto Montt. This was pretty easy and the trip took maybe 30 minutes. We were dropped at the main bus terminal, where we asked around until we found where we could purchase tickets to Ancud, a town on the island of Chiloe.
The bus left in about 45 minutes so we explored a bit before loading the bus. The bus ride was about 2.5 hours in total. During this time, the bus literally drove on to a ferry for part of the route. We arrived in Ancud, not knowing where we were going to stay. I had a recommendation from someone we met, but couldn't quite remember the name. We stepped out of the bus terminal and saw "13 Lunas" hostel - that was it!
Despite it's obnoxious bright green color, the hostel was super nice and cozy, and dorms were available. As we were checking in, we heard familiar voices - some of the people we had met at a previous hostel! We caught up with them, hearing about what was fun to explore in town. The weather was super confusing, which we had heard was typical of the island. You looked out one window and it was completely sunny, blue skies and beautiful, and the other side was dark clouds and raining.
We decided to put on our running shoes and rain jackets, and explore a bit. The island of Chiloe (and surrounding archipelago) was settled almost 12,000 years ago by indigenous peoples, then controlled by Spain starting in the 1500's. Because of it's physical isolation from the rest of Chile, it has always been a unique place culturally. In fact, when there were rebellions in the mainland of Chile opposed to Spanish rule, people in Chiloe predominantly supported the Spanish Crown and went to fight in support of the King.
One very cool place we visited on the main island is a museum specific to the Churches of Chiloe. When missionaries settled in Chiloe they built some very unique structures as churches. Made entirely of wood, these churches are extremely unique relative to traditional Spanish architecture. They are very interesting, so much so that 16 churches on the main island are current UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The museum we visited showed the overall designs of the churches, the wood joinery that was involved, how windows were made, etc. There are also extremely intricate scale models of several churches with the exterior removed to show structurally how the churches stay upright. There are even original hand-carved doors from some of the churches on display, in addition to summaries on the challenges of preventing these wooden structures from destructive insects. Definitely worth a visit.
We also stopped at a Christmas craft fair...well, actually, I stopped, and Evan studied the map outside (avoiding anything with the word "craft" in its title). We also picked up groceries to make a quinoa salad and some mystery cut of beef. Both turned out delicious, and we closed the night out sharing stories and wine with a couple that had ridden their motorcycles from the USA.
The next morning, we woke up and went to a local church. I find going to service in different countries really interesting because the flow is the same in every country, even if the language and the people are different. During the sermon, we heard reference from the priest to pray for the town of Futalafu, a town that we had planned to visit in a few days on our road trip. We heard reference to the Carretera Austral, the road we planned to drive. While we didn't understand everything he was saying, we had a sense that our road trip plans would be changed.
We headed to the main drag to catch a minibus back to the main town, Puerto Montt. This was pretty easy and the trip took maybe 30 minutes. We were dropped at the main bus terminal, where we asked around until we found where we could purchase tickets to Ancud, a town on the island of Chiloe.
The bus left in about 45 minutes so we explored a bit before loading the bus. The bus ride was about 2.5 hours in total. During this time, the bus literally drove on to a ferry for part of the route. We arrived in Ancud, not knowing where we were going to stay. I had a recommendation from someone we met, but couldn't quite remember the name. We stepped out of the bus terminal and saw "13 Lunas" hostel - that was it!
Despite it's obnoxious bright green color, the hostel was super nice and cozy, and dorms were available. As we were checking in, we heard familiar voices - some of the people we had met at a previous hostel! We caught up with them, hearing about what was fun to explore in town. The weather was super confusing, which we had heard was typical of the island. You looked out one window and it was completely sunny, blue skies and beautiful, and the other side was dark clouds and raining.
One very cool place we visited on the main island is a museum specific to the Churches of Chiloe. When missionaries settled in Chiloe they built some very unique structures as churches. Made entirely of wood, these churches are extremely unique relative to traditional Spanish architecture. They are very interesting, so much so that 16 churches on the main island are current UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The museum we visited showed the overall designs of the churches, the wood joinery that was involved, how windows were made, etc. There are also extremely intricate scale models of several churches with the exterior removed to show structurally how the churches stay upright. There are even original hand-carved doors from some of the churches on display, in addition to summaries on the challenges of preventing these wooden structures from destructive insects. Definitely worth a visit.
The next morning, we woke up and went to a local church. I find going to service in different countries really interesting because the flow is the same in every country, even if the language and the people are different. During the sermon, we heard reference from the priest to pray for the town of Futalafu, a town that we had planned to visit in a few days on our road trip. We heard reference to the Carretera Austral, the road we planned to drive. While we didn't understand everything he was saying, we had a sense that our road trip plans would be changed.
(more photos of penguins from the good camera coming)
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