Aneya: My Voyage to Region 10 (Part 2)

The colorful ferry that took us to Chiloe
Welcome to Chiloe! Those giant Coke bottles are unfortunate....
Rocky beach in Ancud
Breathtaking views, untouched land: incredible

Penguins!
Remote beach cove where the penguins were chillin
Cutie! Where's his family?
This one was just laying low....
There were so many of them in the water, laying on their backs, playing around...
The famous stilt houses in Castro, the capital city.






Purple potatoes! Amazing and soooo yummy....
Goodbye Chiloe! Until next time....

Before I begin this post I just want to let everyone know that Lauren is still away (I know. I miss her too). She'll be back on Saturday though, and you can all find out what she's been up to the past two weeks!

So. After Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas and the Volcano Osorno and the Laguna Verde and various other excursions (including me on a boat, and I'm not talking about a yacht. That, I could handle. No, this was a tiny little thing and I got soaking wet and I was not happy about it. My hair was insane and my jeans were completely soaked through. Aneya: a wet, grumpy mess). But I got over it, I changed, but my friend still felt super bad about it. We decided a trip to Chiloe was just the thing to cheer me up. And that it was!

We've mentioned Chiloe in past posts, but I'll give you a little refresher. Chiloe, also known as Isla Grande de Chiloe is the first, and biggest island to break away from Chile (after Tierra Del Fuego). People refer to as "magical" for various reasons, mostly because it has a rich history of myths and legends. There's the "trauco" an ugly little dwarf that sits in the woods, waiting to take the virginity of innocent young girls. There's the "Pincoya" the beautiful, sensual sea goddess who determines how much fish the island will be getting. It's been said that her beauty is so astounding, the fish swim with their mouths open, in awe. Those are just two examples of the many magical creatures that supposedly haunt the island.

In any case, Chiloe has a fascinating history, going back thousands of years, and I've been wanting to go ever since Lauren began talking about it, back in Long Beach.

Anyway, to get to Chiloe from Puerto Montt you have to drive your car onto a ferry that takes you over to the island. We rented a car and I'd highly recommend it, because the island is big, way bigger than I imagined, and walking is not an option, although there are many buses available too. We decided to go to the Penguinera first, and then head down to Castro, the main city. The drive was absolutely beautiful. The landscape is lush, green rolling hills, dense forest, breathtaking cliffs, remote beaches. Talk about magical!

To get to the penguins we had to get on a dirt road which lead us into what felt like the middle of nowhere. We drove and drove for what felt forever, through small farms and rolling hills, until finally, we found it. It was in a cove, a remote beach, we literally drove on the beach, through a small patch of water. We'd have to get on a boat (No! Not another boat!) and they'd take us to see the penguins. Sadly, March isn't the best time for penguin spotting. In September they're said to have over 4,000 of them, perched along the many rocks. We ended up seeing 3 penguins in total. But hey, at least we saw something!

After the penguins we drove to Castro, famous for the rows of colorful stilt houses perched side by side. When the tide is high, they look beautiful, clean, lovely. When the tide is low, they look dirty, gross, the ground covered in garbage, the houses brown with dirt. The city boasts a beautiful church as well as a cute little square and many artisan shops and hand crafted woodwork, as well as huge, heavy wool socks, ponchos, sweaters, and silly hats. I, of course, bought three of everything.

We met up with some friends and had- wait for it- sushi, of all things. Never in my life would I imagine I'd be having sushi and cocktails, at a karaoke bar, on the island of Chiloe. But that's exactly what we did. And we had a blast. We were the only ones there, and although the place had no running water (hey, nobody's perfect!) It was still a lovely evening. Oh and the stars! The stars in Chiloe are incredibly clear, and bright. They all seemed so close, too, like I could touch them. Orion's Belt, for instance, seemed to be at eye level. Incredible.

I will definitely be returning to Chiloe sometime in the near future, one day wasn't enough! I know Lauren will absolutely love it, and there's so much more to see. I really am falling in love with Chile now. The Lake Region in particular holds a special place in my heart, and there's so much more exploring to be done! In any case, my trip was a major success and although I'm happy to be home, I'm already planning my next adventure.