The bus shoehorned onto the ferry.
The next morning we packed our bags and decamped from the hotel on our way to Chiloé Island. The tour bus took us to the ferry where a 30 minute ride deposited us on the island. We stopped briefly in the ferry town, Chacao, then proceeded to our morning walk in the countryside on the northeast side of the island, along the channel between the island and the mainland.
The bus shoehorned onto the ferry.
Jonathan with the departure shore behind him.
A view out the channel between Chiloé and the mainland to the Pacific.
Standing on the deck (Elizabeth, Charlie, Dennis, Lavon, Ingrid, Sue, Len, and Cecilia).
Colorful paint jobs were the norm on the local houses.
Church on the square.
The sign in the square - I photographed this for reference, i.e. spellings of the words, etc.
Johan strolls the square.
The rolling hills of Chiloé.
The road leading us down to the shore and the town of Caulín.
Jonathan examining some of the shells on the beach.
A team of oxen with a sled collecting seaweed for the production of agar (food thickener).
Another monkeypuzzle.
Janice and Olga.
There were a lot of different birds. We saw ibis for the first time. We also saw more southern lapwing, which nests in the middle of pastures.
We walked to the village of Caulín where the custodian of the church, the “soto fiscal,” a middle aged lady let us into the church. She was also an artesan and had scarves she had made for sale. Thought about buying one that used all natural dye-stuffs, but elected not to do so.
We walked to the restaurant on the bay. We were served a dozen oysters on the half shell as an appetizer. I even ate all but two of mine, which I gave to Jonathan who was in near ecstasy – making periodic “mmm mmm” sounds that Maria described as purring. The rest of the meal consisted of an oyster soup (very good) and a beef filet with vegetables which I found to be uninteresting. Desert was murta (a blueberry relative [Actually not, we looked it up when we got home and it goes by the latin name Ugni molinae or Chilean guava, part of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, while blueberries and cranberries are Vaccinium in the Ericaceae family.] in syrup which was nice to sample, but I won’t miss it.
After lunch we walked further down the beach, up a road by a resort with cottages for bird watchers. The bus picked us up at the end of the road and we were off to the northwest coast of the island for the afternoon’s walk.
The afternoon’s walk was on the far side of Ancud which we drove through to get there. The bus dropped our luggage off at the hotel during the morning walk. The afternoon walk’s destination was a penguin preserve.
After passing through town, the road rose through hills on a winding course. At several points the snowy peaks of Osorno and Calbuco were clearly visible in the distance. Darwin observed an eruption of Osorno from Chiloé while he was on the island for about two years(?) prior to his departure for the Galapagos.
We turned off on a gravel road – we’ve been off on these gravel roads every day – to the drop off point high above a beach. This was a 4 km walk, but the road had lots of hills, and I was definitely feeling the exertion. Jonathan described it as “fierce”. One can only imagine what the Torres del Paine will be like.
Once over the top of the hills, we descended to a broad stretch of beach with a dozen or so boats anchored off shore. The harbor was protected by large islands green with vegetation. On the beach, besides the boat builders, was a German NGO, the Otway Foundation, that is dedicated to protecting the Humboldt and Magellanic penguins that roost on the islands that protect the harbor.
We shucked our hiking boots and donned waist-high waders to board the zodiac boats in the surf. The zodiac boats are a hybrid inflatable raft/row boat equipped with an outboard motor. The foundation staff, including interns from Germany, take you around the islands (but not landing) to observe the penguins, which are endangered.
Both species nest on the island although they do not interbreed. When they leave the island, the Humboldts go north and the Magellanics go south. Their ranges only intersect in the rookeries of these islands.
We saw penguins of both flavors along with other seabirds – gulls, ibis, kelp geese (male is white, female is black), cormorants of several types. In addition, we saw two sea otters who came out to investigate us.
More signs for spelling and reference.
Another sign to the penguin preserve.
The start of the walk overlooked a wide and mostly deserted beach.
A close up of the island in the previous photo.
More hills of Chiloé.
A view towards the Pacific.
A view of an inlet.
More of same inlet.
Stopping for photography.
And some more shots.
This is the inlet & islands of the penguin preserve. Shipbuilding and repair is done on the beach below.
Country Walkers walk into the surf to board the Zodiacs that go out to the islands.
Sue and Len prepare to board the Zodiac.
All dressed up for the ride.
A crane on the shore.
The white blob is a kelp goose.
More kelp geese - the white ones are male, black are female.
Two species of penguins - the Magellanic on the left, the Humboldt on the right.
Penguins.
More penguins.
Even more penguins.
And even more.
A pair of kelp geese.
Returning from the islands - photo by Olivier.
Onward down the beach.
Eryngium paniculatum toothed strappy leaves bearing tall stems of tiny greenish globose flowers.
Single file across the footbridge.
Sandy takes in the vista.
Cookie!
While on the way to the hotel, Charlie was warning us that it wasn’t as “nice” as the Hotel Cabañas del Lago. Well, I think the Hosteria Ancud is much more interesting – a lot of wood and stone in its construction. The woodworking is especially interesting.
Dinner was nice – the beef was much better done than I’ve seen previously and the fresh crab salad (even with bits of shell) was delicious.