Chiloé – A Rainy Island Holiday

In my last post about my trip to the south of Chile, I already mentioned that my excursion to the Osorno volcano and the Petrohué waterfalls was not the end of my journey.

After snow, cold as well as German buildings and food had transferred me back to my home country, rain, cows and crumble cake were obviously still missing to make me feel completely at home again. So, on day three of my trip, I travelled a little further southwest, to the island of Chiloé.

Day 1:

After another delicious breakfast at my hostel in Puerto Montt, I set off for my last walk to the bus terminal. But this time with all my luggage. In the morning, I took the bus to get to the island of Chiloé. The journey took about three hours and included a short ferry transfer.

I used the bus ride to study a book from my host parents about indigenous myths. So I mentally prepared myself for scary sea monsters, vampires, witches and unicorns.

I also enjoyed the view out of the window over the beautiful surroundings. As it rains a lot in Chiloé all year round, you can see green upon green, with a few cows grazing in between. Although it doesn’t normally rain that much in Austria. Nevertheless, the area reminded me a lot of our mountain region with its lush alpine fields.

In the early afternoon, I arrived in the island’s capital Castro, a cute village located right on the water. I walked straight from the terminal to my accommodation.

La Minga Hostel is very centrally located, but Castro really isn’t that big. Once again, I was accommodated in a cold shared dorm room. Unfortunately without delicious breakfast. But I would only spend one night here. The receptionist was again very nice and gave me a few tips on what to do with the little time I had. In addition, you could help yourself to free tea throughout the day.

Following her recommendation, I got myself an ice cream first. I’ve already mentioned it in other entries: in Chile, you can simply enjoy ice cream anytime and anywhere. And it’s always delicious. While I was walking along the streets of Castro with my ice cream cone from the Picaflor Heladeria atesanal in my hand, it actually started raining. But that had no effect on the delicious flavour of my ice cream.

After familiarising myself with Castro, I took the bus further north to Dalcahue. Dalcahue is a small fishermen’s village, even smaller than Castro. There’s actually not much to do here. Nevertheless, it is nice to visit. You will find a small market and shops with sweet souvenirs and handicrafts and one of the beautiful churches that are typical for this region.

The Jesuit churches were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, unique wooden buildings that are also reminiscent of a European architectural style.

The island’s culinary focus is primarily on fish and seafood and, of course, cattle. However, the region is also known for its rich variety of potatoes and, along with Peru, is even considered to be the original home of the nightshade plant. Potatoes are available here in a wide variety of shapes and colours.

After I had seen enough of Dalcahue, I took the bus back to Castro. There I visited the town’s main attraction: the Palafitos. Colourful stilt houses built above the water.

I had pasta with tomato sauce for dinner today, classic student food or the food of a low-budget traveller in an expensive country like Chile. That’s when I found out that there were three other exchange students in the same hostel who were currently studying in Viña del Mar. What a coincidence.

Day 2:

My second day on the island was very precisely timed. Time was the only thing I was missing on this trip. And perhaps a little more sunshine.

Anyway, I took the first bus from Castro to Chiloé National Park early in the morning. Castro lies on the eastern coast, the national park on the other side, on the western shore. With such beautiful views out of the window, a journey like this goes by very quickly. In the Parque Nacional there are hiking trails of various lengths. I chose the longest one that I could cover in the short time available.

Although I was travelling solo, I didn’t stay alone for long. A Chilean, who also came from the area around Viña and was an even more enthusiastic hiker than me, had set off on the same trail and we quickly decided to simply walk together. After all, that’s more fun. Especially when it’s raining, the path is completely muddy and you have to be careful not to step in a big puddle of water or mud with every step. I actually didn’t want to get back on the bus in my shoes afterwards.

Despite minor weather complications, the hike across fields and through forests was extremely beautiful. No wonder with this amount of rain. Everything really does bloom green. At the end, we also passed a breathtaking lake. Really mystical. 😉

Furthermore, it was really cool that we were the only two people on this hiking trail. In general, you could probably count the number of people in this part of the national park on one hand. I wonder if this was due to the weather or whether there are generally not that many tourists here. In any case, it made the area seem even more idyllic.

After our hike, which was more of a walk, I had to say goodbye to my new travel companion. We exchanged Instagram names so that I am still able to follow his cool hikes today.

I then had to catch the bus back to Castro, where I quickly collected my backpack from the hostel before travelling back to Puerto Montt. My night bus back to Viña departed from there on the same day.

Fortunately, I still had some time at the terminal in Puerto Montt. There was still one thing missing. Crumble cake. I bought a slice of berry crumble cake from a bakery at the terminal, which I then enjoyed in peace and quiet. And with my eyes closed, I almost thought I was sitting at the kitchen table at home in Austria with a slice of homemade cake from my mum in my mouth.

I also needed some snacks for the long bus journey and what could be better than the second best empanada in the world (the first, of course, but that’s only available in the desert).

With a filled stomach and new memories, I returned „home“.

The End

This was not only the end of this trip but also my last travel during my exchange semester in Chile (the last one was actually to Argentina – forgive me for this small chronological error). This almost makes me a little sad. Writing my posts has given me the opportunity to relive all those beautiful moments and to take you with me this time. And I always wondered how I could still remember so many details.

Maybe I’ll come up with another topic related to my exchange semester at some point, which I’ll then take up, or maybe you still have questions or requests. But otherwise I’ll close this chapter today.

What else do I wanna say?

Chile really surprised me in a very positive way. As I wrote at the beginning, I didn’t even really know what to expect before I arrived. My barely existing expectations were definitely exceeded. I would never regret having spent my semester abroad in Chile.

In the end, however, it is much less about the country itself and much more about the experiences that we associate with a place. If I have learnt one thing during my year abroad, it is this. Even the most beautiful place in the world will only be remembered in a positive light if you associate it with positive experiences. And that usually depends very much on the people we are there with or who we meet along the way.

Chile will always stay my second home. Not because of the strong similarities between the south and Europe or the German influences, as such. I found friends and family here who were a great support to me back then and with whom I am still in contact today.

If someone were to ask me whether I would go back to Chile for a longer period of time, I would probably answer yes. I will definitely go back. After all, I still have to explore the deep south and visit my second family again.

That’s why I’ve always said „home“ in my last few posts. At some point you simply said „I’m going home now“ without thinking, because with time it really does feel like home. You can’t have just one home.

Unfortunately, I cannot assure you that you will like Chile with my posts. Ultimately, it depends on your own experience. Personally, of course, I think it’s an extremely cool country. Definitely worth a visit. You might only need a little more than a three-week holiday for such a long country. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly cheap either. And your luggage needs to include a hat and gloves as well as a sun hat and bikini. But if you need any more specific tips, you know where to get in touch with me.

Of course, that wasn’t my last post. Now the fun is just beginning. I still have a lot to tell about my two-month trip through South America and then about my internship abroad in Central America. But until then,

Bussi Baba!