A trip to Achao on the Isla Quinchao revealed some pretty views of other islands and involved passing vistas of rolling hills and wood shingled houses.









When we got to the town, we visited the church which was the oldest church on Chiloe. Chiloe is famous for its wood churches, several of which have been designated UNESCO heritage sites. Originally, the Achao church had used wood pegs instead of nails, however, since then it looked like metal nails had been used to repair it.







After visiting the church, we took a look at the small town museum which had examples of traditional tools and handcrafts from the island. Then we took a quick walk by the waterfront before returning to Castro.




The bus ride took us past a playground which featured two giant snake sculptures. The night before, our hostess, Bernardita had given us a book to look at which included a comic telling the story of the creation of Chiloe. The legend told of the evil sea snake, Caicaivilu who bit off Chiloe from the main land, the domain of the land snake Tentenvilu. A battle ensued and in the end, though the land snake was able to raise the island of Chiloe from the water, saving the people, it was forever separated from the rest of Chile.




Back in Castro, we walked by some of the palafitos.







Though they were mostly in need of a paint job, I had to admire the way the owners seemed to strive for individuality in their houses through various color combinations and the incredible variation of shingle designs.







It would be nice if there was the money available to really restore the town's houses. Some house owners have, but mostly the houses seemed to be deteriorating due to time as well as the wear and tear caused by the wind, rain and salt sea.

We decided to stay in Chiloe an extra day so we could check out one of the rural festivals happening this weekend. So, today around 11 we boarded a boat across the bay to the peninsula where the village of Yutuy is located. The weather was raining but the cloud cover seemed thin and the rain, a tolerable drizzle. From the boat we saw dolphins leaping in the waves.

The boat landing was on a rocky beach. There was a tiny water mill used for grinding grain, which ran powered by water from a stream.








Water Mill in action

A short path led to a church and grassy are surrounded by little wood booths where people were busy preparing food: empanadas, kebabs, hunks of roasted meat, sopapillas and other local specialties. The women were rolling out dough for the empanadas.







The men were out back deep frying sopapillas and other foods in big cauldrons as well as roasting the meat over open fires.










Since the food wasn't quite ready (and we had just eaten breakfast), we took a walk to the town mirador which provided views of the rolling hills and fields that made up the town, as well as Castro across the bay.




We were about to enjoy a walk on the beach when the evil giant flies caused us to flee back inland.

Back at the fair, we ordered a plate of asado (roasted meat) with potatoes and salad to share. As we finished we noticed a commotion over by a huge pile of steaming sod pieces. Men were pulling off the sod revealing a fabric cover. This was removed to reveal a steaming pile of large leaves which in turn were pulled off to reveal plastic wrapped parcels that looked like some kind of tamales. Then more leaves came off and shellfish, hunks of meat, beans, peas, potatoes, and sausages appeared. The food was scurried into a wooden booth where women quickly divided portions onto plates. We joined the mob waiting in line to get a plate, relieved that we had split the previous plate of asado between us instead of getting two.
















It was good (though a bit heavy), a Chilean version of Pachamanca. The dish was called curanto al hoyo and is the signature dish of the Chiloe region. I'm beginning to think you can't go wrong with these social party dishes cooked in holes in the ground.

After eating we had some time to relax and people watch. I believe a lot of people were tourists but from other parts of Chile or other Spanish speaking countries. However, there were a lot of locals, too. There was the usual drunken unruliness to be expected at these kind of things. But there were also children delighting in balloons, bubbles and water pistols. Balloons are such simple things but it is neat how delighted children are by them and how distressed they are when they pop.




There was music and dance provided by a local group including 6 children performing dances. The music was mostly waltzes and polkas. One song was about the church in Yutuy and I think the other songs all dealt with local life and traditions. In one, the singer, a boy who also was one of the dancers, saluted the fishermen, navigators, woodsmen and women of Chiloe.








Yutuy Dance group

The entertainment turned a bit risque when a drunk guy with the scary fashion victim combination of off the butt pants but without the boxers, decided to dance.

We went back down to the beach after the music finished, stopping by the water mill, sampling chicha manzana (which is a salty bitter apple cider) and getting a demo of the water mill in action.

The boat ride back was pleasant and we chatted a bit with one of the guys driving the boat. He informed us that the dreaded giant flies did in fact bite. Rowshan discussed soccer with him. It is funny how it seems some of the most pleasant moments of our travels occur in small towns even though we both are city people. Perhaps the forced relaxation is a welcome break.

The national park was a little bit of a let down. Maybe it's more interesting if you hike deeper but for the day tripper it's just a few paths accessible from the visitor center to take you to either forest or beach.







We chose the forest and soon were being dive bombed by huge awful flies which wouldn't go away. We started letting them land on one of us so the other could try to whack them but many times the fly would just fall to the ground only to spring back to life and soar far up into the sky out of reach. A couple minutes later it would be back buzzing around our heads. We finally managed to shake them when we entered the Tepual area.







The Tepual area is a rare ecological area protected by the park. It seemed like it made up only a small part and according to the signs on the educational trail, lots had been destroyed by people. The path was a wooden walkway that led into a damp, shady area with twisted trees with leafy plants growing from their trunks, mossy floor, and climbing plants traditionally used in potions to cure fear. Judging from the signs, there was lots of folklore related to the area including a bird whose call could auger good or bad luck depending on what side of the path it came from and orange berries said to be the food of elves. Though the path was short, it was interesting and we were sorry to leave it (and get back into fly territory). Following a sign, we ended up at a cafe which seemed in the middle of the forest. It was a house with wooden tables set up outside, shaded by thatched roofs. It turned out that it was only about 20 feet from the road on the other side.

Next we took a path that led to the beach. It went through a brief bit of forest with red-trunked trees then traversed some sand dunes before spitting us out on the beach. The flies had once again joined us. We walked up the beach but even the ocean breeze couldn't rid us of our winged harassers. The beach was tranquil with stretches of nearly empty sand.







It was strewn with razor clam shells and funny little birds ran up and down with the waves. Fishing birds of prey circled and sometimes landed on the sand to eat whatever they caught.







One interesting thing we found was a whale jaw bone which had parts chipped off revealing a porous, bubbled looking interior.




Since we'd been wandering aimlessly around the beach, we lost the path back to the visitor center. Instead we tried to cut back to the road which led to wandering through dunes, bushwhacking through brambles, twisted tree trunks, rushes and ferns, and navigating a marshy area. After squeezing through a 2nd barbed wire fence, we made it back to the road, covered with fern spores and prickly plant seeds. The dusty gravel road brought us back to the visitor center, followed by flies all the way. The flies made us both hate nature that day and we discussed the possibility that perhaps we need to get back to the city.

On a more positive note, we saw a mother falcon and her two babies sitting in a tree by the visitor center. Later, as we ate lunch, the mother joined us on a wooden post tearing up some animal and flying off to bring pieces to her babies.