We’re in the land (waters) of spotty internet connection. I’ve been unable to upload yesterday’s report and will probably wind up be being behind for a while.
While it’s fresh in my mind I’ll write about today. We anchored this morning off the city of Castro, the capital of the island of Chiloé. Castro is a small city of approximately 42,000 residents and the third oldest continuously occupied city in Chile. Unlike the place we spent yesterday, the population is mainly Spanish and a mixture of indigenous and Spanish. Most of the people I saw on my little visit ashore had dark hair and browner complexions. I didn’t book a tour here. There weren’t too many offered but they included things like horseback riding, hiking, and kayaking, none of which are my cup of tea anymore.
I tried to get a taxi for a little island tour, but apparently there are only a couple on the island and they were otherwise occupied. Instead I took the shuttle bus up a pretty steep hill to the main square. The place has a couple of distinctive features, notably many of the houses and small shops near the water are built on stilts; I assume that’s protection for high seas. Many are also brightly painted which reminded me of a few places in the Caribbean and a couple of places I’ve seen such a colorful palette in Scandinavia.
The bus dropped us off next to the largest church in town, the Iglesia de San Francisco. From the outside it looked like many other large churches, but inside it was truly unique. Everything inside is made of or covered with wood. The walls, columns, altars, pews, and even the dome are all clad in a reddish wood which I’m thinking is probably a native red wood tree. I didn’t have a guide and I can’t cheat by looking on the net, so it’s just a guess on my part. Anyway, the rich color gave a warmth to the interior that I haven’t often felt in a fairly large church. I think I read that this church was built in the early part of the 20th century to replace an older one which burned. If it also was mainly wood I can see how it would go up in flames in a heartbeat.
There was a tiny museum off to one side which had some very ornate vestments on display and some old missals and hymnals. No admission fee was required but I put something in the collection box anyway. Next door separated by a little garden was a row of little shops. In an earlier time they must have been parish offices or classrooms. Now they were occupied by local women selling knitted caps and scarves and mittens. The ladies were all busily knitting. There was also a table selling local homey. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s report that our guide Ingrid told us that in this part of Chile beekeeping is a big business and they are famous for their honey. I wanted to buy a little jar of honey and a brightly colored scarf, but I have no Chilean pesos and they didn’t take dollars or credit cards. Oh well, maybe next time. The little garden had lush green grass and beautiful hydrangeas growing along the perimeter. They were some of the prettiest and biggest ones I’ve ever seen.
Across the street from the church was the main square. It was bustling with people. There were a few balloon vendors, one dressed like a very colorful pig. His balloons were cute little pigs. I tried to get a picture but there were too many people and too much going on.
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| Sorry this didn't turn out and I can't figure out how to get rid of it in the post. |
After a little while a shuttle came and I decided to ride back down to catch a tender. It was a cute little place and worth going ashore. Out where we’re anchored I forgot to mention that there are all kinds of aqua farms. In fact, all along the shoreline there is one after the other. I asked someone if they knew what was being raised and I was told that the two principal things are salmon and mussels. The salmon are in penned areas which I can clearly see and the mussels are grown on lines with buoys floating on the surface. From my veranda I can see thousands of them.
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| A couple of photos of aquafarms. If you click on them you can see that the water is full of little floats, each marking a line of mussels |
Well, that’s all for now. Tonight I’m dining at a table hosted by Iggy, the leader of the expedition team on the ship. He has apparently been working in Antarctica for more than 20 years so it should be pretty interesting. More later.
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