#Worldtour: The mysterious island of Chiloé

The ferry to the island of Chiloé left from the small village of Puerto Cisnes.  After 10 and a half hours on the ferry, we arrived in Quellon, a small port in the south of the island of Chiloé, and then stayed in Castro a little further north.

The island is considered to be a bit apart in Chile because it has long been isolated and has developed its own culture. It wasn't discovered by the Spanish until 20 years after their arrival, and the Jesuits arrived fairly quickly. One of the island's special features is that it had more than 200 churches, 150 of which are still standing today. There are 16 of them listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and they are all made of wood (inside and out). So there is a "Circuit of Churches" on Chiloé and the other islands of the archipelago. It is said that the island is reminiscent of Ireland or Brittany, which is true.

Visit the small town of Castro

The island's capital, Castro is a very pleasant town known for its "Palafitos", houses built on stilts on the edge of the ocean. It also has one of the UNESCO-listed churches, which is superb with its beautiful colours.

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Spending a day on Quinchao Island

We headed for Dalcahue, where there was another church, and then took a 3-minute mini ferry to Quinchao Island. This island has 3 listed churches and the landscapes we found there reminded us of France.  Beautiful churches in Achao (the oldest of them all, 1730), Curaco de Velez and Quinchao where we were able to climb into the bell tower as it was completely renovated in 2008. Initially, the church was 100% wooden, meaning that there weren't even any nails, just bits of wood to hold the structure together.

Discover Chiloé National Park and muelle de las almas

On the west side of the island, we walked a few paths and a tiny part of Chiloé National Park, which borders the ocean: beautiful vegetation and beautiful birds. We then walked to the Muelle de las Almas, a truly splendid spot by the ocean. According to legend, the souls of the dead are supposed to go here and leave on a white foam boat for the sky. A sort of pontoon has been set up here and everyone queues up to take their souvenir photo...

A quick trip to the town of Ancud

We spent our last night in this large town in the north of the island and visited it very quickly the next day, as apart from the small port, a small municipal market and the ruins of Fort San Antonio, there isn't much there.
 

Anne & Olivier

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