Les Penguinas!

A deadly shark, or it would be if it wasn't dead!
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After a short bus ride from Puerto Montt we arrived at the ferry port for the boat to Chiloe Island, just 30 minutes across the water.

Chiloe is the second largest island in South America, after Tierra del Fuego. The islands West coast being open to the Pacific is much wetter and greener than the East coast and is therefore mostly National Park with very few towns or villages. Most of the action is on the east coast and the northern shores where access to the mainland is the easiest. Chiloe also boast 150 churches, a lot for it's small size, most of them built by the Jesuit Missionaries during the 18th & 19th century. Also with a strong Maritime tradition on the island most people still built there houses in the traditional way....on stilts!

Top the whole lot with melted cheese and a side of dry mussels and you have a typical dish!

Yet another crazy outfit. Waterproof waders for the penguin boat
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Our main reason for visiting Chiloe was not to see the churches, sadly, but to see the penguins that live just off the west coast. So we headed to Ancud, a town on the northern shores of the island and a good base for day trips to see the penguins. Luckily as we arrived we were met by a lady from the hostel we had been reading about in our guide, so we followed her the short distance to the place. It was a nice place just a little bit too far out of town but as we were only here for a couple of days it would be fine.

Penguins! They were quite cute
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We wasted no time in arranging our trip to see the penguins for the next day and then headed off to check out the town of Ancud. Sadly a lot of the town looked quite run down and very much centered around the fishing industry with huge market halls ready for the mornings catch. There were some pretty areas though, the central square and we also found a pretty street that overlooked the sea and following this to the end we found an old fort. So we sat there and chilled in the sun and decided where we would eat that evening.

Wildlife in action! Seagull catches starfish...
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For dinner there were a couple of recommends in the guide, one of which overlooked the harbor, so we decided on this one. Unfortunately they were relaying the floor on the upstairs floor (the floor with the views) so we had to make do with the open fire instead. We both really wanted to try some local food having had great success in Argentina, so we both plumped for a dish that combines meat, fish and veg! Traditionally the dish would have been cooked in the ground by heating coals in a hole and then wrapping the food up, placing it on top of the coals and then covering the whole lot with earth until it was cooked....quite a long process I imagine. So now they just cook them slowly in the oven. Well the dish was definitely different and basically consisted of a piece of chicken, a strange red sausage, a piece of ham and then 2 potato things that tasted really stoggy and starchy, all of which had been boiled to death. Top the whole lot with melted cheese and a side of dry mussels and you have a typical dish.....very odd! So we ate what we could and then wandered back to the hostel for a good nights sleep.

Then flys up high to smash it on the rocks below!
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The next day we were up bright and early and had our breakfast in the owners kitchen, no we weren't special everyone had breakfast there! We also met a German couple who were doing the same trip to see the penguins. Our driver and tour guide arrived shortly after breakfast, as it turns out he was a taxi driver who would take us to the bay to catch a boat to view the birds. So after a couple of stop offs to show us some nice views of the Chiloe coast, we arrived at the bay and realised that we were going out in a boat with loads of hyper school kids too! Oh well......we just had enough time to do some beach combing and find some huge crab shells and a small dead and well eaten shark. Back at the boat we were made to wear rubber dungarees with wellies attached and a life vest, we love silly outfits. Then it was all aboard and off to sea, not too far as the small islands were just off shore. It was all worth it though as the penguins were really cute. It was amazing to see them hopping around the islands which were all quite steep, this didn't seem to bother the little birds. Also watching them come crashing in to the shoreline and have to fling themselves out on to the rocks before another wave hit them and swept them back out again....what a life!

Penguin Island
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Back on dry land the German couple had decided they were going for a walk further around the coast to see if they could spot the seal colony that lived there. We decided that that sounded like a good way to spend the afternoon and so joined them. So after a short taxi ride back a little way we jumped out and headed off. Of course we hadn't come prepared for this all day affair and so we didn't have any lunch. We did manage to find a small shop but all we could see to eat straight away was biscuits and chocolate, what a healthy diet! Further along the road we came across a really bizarre museum, one mans passion for fossils, bones, old stuff and junk, but as it had started to rain it was well worth a look! Continuing on, the bay we were looking for seemed a long way away and fine rain was just not stopping. The German couple said that our hostel owner told them that they could hitch a lift no trouble, so we gave it a go.....with no luck! Anyway to cut a long story short we finally arrived at the beach to find No Seals just crashing waves! We weren't even that sure we had the correct beach! We found ourselves a little cave to sit and have some food and our friends were lovely enough to share their bread, cheese and salami with us in a trade for some biscuits! Deflated the return journey would be hard and the rain just wasn't letting up, in fact it was getting worse. Both our friends spoke very good Spanish so they tried knocking on the door of one of the local houses and before we knew it we were invited in for tea and bread, what a result! This small house had just enough room for us all around the table plus the friendly owner, her mother and her youngest son! Callum and I tried to keep up with the conversation but most of it was being translated for us first into German and then Callum would tell me in English!! Finally another of the woman's sons arrived home and offered to take us all the way back to Ancud, how sweet! Of course we all chipped in to give him a decent amount for the journey. Back at the hostel we had a hot shower, dried off and then fell asleep. I think we did get up at about 9pm but just enough time to get some juice and snacks from the local shop before it closed.......we hadn't had much success with food!

The rock shaped like a bear, the skipper told us a story about it... we didn't really understand
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The next day and we were off back to the mainland and then hopefully all the way to Valparaiso, where we would spend the rest of our time in Chile before flying to Easter Island. Luckily the plan came together and we were able to get back to Puerto Montt, have more cake at the German Cafe, and then get our overnight coach to Valparaiso.......next stop sunshine, yippee!