The Island of Chiloé

JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 3RD, 2008

Chiloé is the biggest island of Chile´s archipelago that stretches south. We took an overnight bus there from Santiago with plans to spend only a few days, but we got really drawn into the folklore, legend, and wooden architecture that makes the island so famous. We also found a wonderful Spanish teacher in Ancud, who taught us much more than just the language.

Fishing is a thriving industry on Chiloé, and wooden boats are still made mostly by hand, with the boards bent by steam generated by a small fire. Divers with air tubes attached to a generator on a boat go down to more than 30meters to collect the fresh shellfish that is in the market.

Our spanish teachers´daughter and neice made us a delicious meal of five different kinds.

We also went out for lunch with them to try the island´s traditional dish of Curanto - a plate of boiled pork, chicken, sausage, potato patties and shellfish. It actually tasted a lot better than it looked, but you should have seen Nelson and I´s faces when all these grey lumps arrived on our plates - there was visible gulping and eye bulging. I was already only eating a meat dish to be polite, and it was definitely a bit of a stretch for me.

Nelson really wants me to tell you all about how the odds are really stacked against me as a world traveller. First, I don´t really like to eat meat. Then, there are also lots of veggies I don´t like - tomatoes, peppers, avocado, olives, etc. but I need to eat regularly or I get really tired and grumpy. I also get pretty carsick if I don´t sit up front and look out the window, am allergic to pollen, dust, perfume and some animals, have a bad back, sore hip and bunk knee, and really like to have a hot shower every day. Yup, pretty intrepid, hey?

We went out to a traditional festival and took in some dancing and music.

We also learned about how they make their traditional apple drink - by whacking the apples with a big stick until the juice pours out, then further squeezing the apple rinds with a big screw press.
We also learned about the legends of Chiloé, such as that of Trauco, the little ugly man that lives in the forest and seduces women with his magic powers. If a woman gets pregnant with no father of the baby in sight, it is perfectly acceptable to say that Trauco did it. And then there is the beautiful mermaid, Pincoya, who seduces men. You can tell that men make up the legends.

We also went to the circus - the Circo del Oro - and Nelson ended up on stage with a bell tied around his waist, shaking his bum at the crowd. I don´t have pictures of that, but I do have lots of video...

Chiloé is most famous for its wooden churches, built by missionaries in the 18th century.
Scattered around the island and on lots of little islands, they really are an architectural feat.

The palomitos, or houses on stilts, are also iconic buildings of Castro, the island´s capital.

We also just happened to be in Castro when an international architecture conference was taking place, so we sat in on a few seminars.

The colourful wooden shingles of the houses all over the island also add to the magical feel of the island.

We tried to get a boat off the south end of the island to the mainland, but everything was full for more than a week. We even tried just going anyways to the dock when the boat was leaving in hopes of a cancellation but knew it wasn´t going to work when the woman behind the desk uttered the two words that are to a possibilist what kryptonite is to Superman: "it´s impossible!".

All the busses were full, too, so we took matters into our own hands and stuck out our thumbs - we got all the way back up off the island to Puerto Montt that day.

Mendoza to Santiago: Crossing the Andes by bike!!

We found out that we needed to get our birth certificates translated into Spanish for the wedding, and not just any Spanish, but official Argentinian Spanish, which could only happen in a few cities in Argentina. So, we decided to take the bus to Mendoza, ~500km away across the border, then ride our bikes back to Santiago, across the Andes.

This is us celebrating getting the translation done AND the fact that you can drink in public in Argentina (you can't in Chile)!

The road generally follows the Rio Mendoza to its headwaters in the Andes.

Originally, the route was a walking/mule trail for the Inca then, in the early 1900's, a rail line was put in. It went out of service in the 1980's but there is talk of reviving it.





A truck full of garlic!

An artificial lake - it was so nice to jump into after our first day of riding in 35+ weather!!

That night, we met a Canadian couple who were living in Potrerillo guiding river rafting, and they invited us to stay at their house. I had worried that us Canadians weren't as nice and generous as Argentinians, so I'm glad they proved me wrong!

The rock around there was all volcanic and really red.

A cemetary we stopped at for lunch the next day.

Some interesting advertising.

We met this amazing Argentinian couple coming the other way down from the pass, with their two year-old daughter in the trailer behind them. They had so much stuff, including a whole pannier full of diapers! But they'd previously ridden from Ushuia to Alaska, so it seemed like they could handle it.

The following day we stopped for lunch in a little one horse town called Los Penitentes.



There a lot of little altars alongside the road with all these bottles of water surrounding them. People believe that by leaving water there, it becomes holy. I hope I'm not going to hell for making a mental note that these would be a good emergency water source.


The "Puente del Inca" or Incan bridge is a natural stone bridge that formed itself over this river. The building is the remains of a spa that used to be there in the 40's.

Aconcogua, at 6959m, is the tallest mountain outside of the Himalayas.

Right around here, the wind started to really pick up. And I thought that I knew what a bad headwind was before! The last 20km up to the pass took us three hours.

The hostel we stayed in at the pass claims to be the highest hostel/refugio in the world. At 3200m, it was the highest I had ever been, so it was also the highest meal I'd ever had, the highest shower I'd ever taken, etc., etc. The joke just never got old...

The view at the pass.
Near the top of the pass, there is a 4km long tunnel through the mountains that saves everyone from having to climb another 1000m higher! The tunnel was originally built for the train.

Tightening all my bolts before we start descending.
Crossing back into Chile.

Guess how much fun this was??!! We made it the whole rest of the way home in one day, and I swear I only pedaled about five times.

Santiago: Hot town, summer in the city

For such a transient girl, I've discovered that I do really like to nest so it's been wonderful to have a place to call home, and especially to welcome Nelson to. Our apartment is in a cute little neighbourhood called 'Providencia'. This is the view from our balcony.

I love having a kitchen!! And that Nelson brought me veggie sausages from Vancouver.










The living room.

How hilarious is it that I'm posting photos of the inside of my apartment on my blog? For those of you who've let me know you're living vicariously through me from YOUR living room - well, I guess I've been a little jealous of YOU, lately!

Nelson and I set out to explore the city a little, and see where to buy everything we will need. All of our gherkin needs should be taken care of here at Pickle World.






There is so much happening in Santiago right now - a film festival, theatre, dance and music performances every night - it's almost overwhelming. One night, while looking for a theatre performance that was supposed to be happening in a little plaza, we stumbled upon this carnaval parade. I'm pretty inspired for the next lantern festival in Vancouver!!