Chiloe Island

[no berries for breakast this morning]

For some reason while doing my research Chiloe really grabbed my attention and it seemed like an off-the-beaten track kind of place. Well I had a wonderful day but for all the wrong reasons.

The island is pretty large and is seperated from the south Puerto Montt by about 10 miles of calm sea. The small vehicle ferries pretty much run constantly and on and off I drove right on and we departed - full - within minutes. I drove to Ancud which is a fishing town - the whole island and Puerto Montt is conmerical fishing (and some cattle farming and eucylptus tree farms). It's grimey enough not to be staged but there are cool vistas of little yellow fishing boats and I stop where some guys are off-loading something called "rabacado" (need to reference that). According to the guidebooks the island only sees about 60 days of sun and is usually shrouded in fog and rain - so far so good! The are also a lot of churches and something about mystics and witches - none of which I ever see or understand.

[good Lord these stories get long. A good friend from years ago and I were discussing writing styles and he said something about James Mitchner being over descriptive - "instead of saying she baked a pie - we need to hear where the pumpkin came from and who's recipe it was!"]

So what is not in the guidebooks but I learn from John and Theresa is that there is a penguin colony here too. So I follow the signs out of the town and cross a pennisula to the coast (it is just beautiful). Just after the turn to the "penginas" there is young guy walking and sweating and dragging loads of packs and huge camera. He flags me down on this tiny dirt road and I have no choice but to stop. He is speaking only Spanish but I realize he wants a ride to the beach. After he loads up we pull over the crest in the road and I discover his six friends!! Before I know it I have all the luggage and two new people - including a young guy from outside Chicago. They are exchange students from Concepcion (terramotto centrale) travelling to Torres del Paines in the far south. They are doing it on the cheap and as we drive my Toyota Yaris onto the beach i realize that we need to board a small boat to see the penguins. They have heard that to save a US dollar we should hire a fishing boat instead of the organized tour. After a lot of negotiation/organization we are ready or so my American friend/translator tells me. There are lifevests for the girls only and we are ready to go and then PARE! The fishermen will take us out but only after the offical tours end in two hours. There is no one else here and while I don't think I have that kind of time, I agree. As we walk up the beach, an offical tour materials so I reluctantly jump ship. On the little boat we see about 25 penginos and assorted other birds as well some really entertaining sea otters.

[having a really nice meal - cerviche, lamb Marachesh and chocolate tort - but the background music is hard rock standards jazzed down and sung in Spanish.]

Once I return I head up to a little restaurant (yes, I have now been in the Chilean coast of the Pacific Ocean) and order some seafood empanadas at Theresa's recommendation. I sit out on the deck and it is beautiful and before I know it my exchange friends have joined me. Matt is a bit frenetic and i fnd out he has joined them half way after helping wirh some earthquake relief work. It is a great way tospend the afternoon and I am jealous that they are spending the night in a little tin shed on this gorgeous beach. Before we know it, it is 4 and time for thier tour and for me to depart.

Since I kind of have the time I decide to head down to the major town on the island which is known to be full of character and feature old colorful fishing huts perched up on stilts. It is so horrible I don't even stop the car to turn around.

[it was so clear today, I could see the sunset lit volano from the ferry - look closely!. Hopefully I will get some good pictures, up close, yet]

While I was driving today it occured to me that I have the time for a fishing trip with John tomorrow. (turns out they are coming to the Cape this summer so he will take me for salmon and I will help organize him for stripers) So we will see how that goes and then a last afternoon bus - amazing bus system -to the coastal town of Valdivia for two nights.

[happy spring and I hear it was almost 60• in Nantucket today.]