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Island of Chiloe - Chile

1000 kilometers south of Chile's capital, Santiago, lies the fascinating island of Chiloe. Conveniently for tourists it is on the way to going from the Chilean Lake District to the southern Fiordland region.

Ancud, the fishing village on the north coast, is connected to the mainland by frequent car ferries (transbordadores) across the nearby Canal Chacao, a 20 minute trip.

Two jetties stretch out, each lined with fishing boats having decks a clutter with ropes and nets. A procession of tiny boats headed for the high wharf next to a big fish-processing shed. Their decks were piled high with bags of shellfish - clams and mussels, sea urchins and kelp. Chileans use a kelp, called "cochayuyo" in cookery.

A crane lifted the bags off the boats. They are weighed and some are loaded onto a truck to be taken to Puerto Montt on the mainland. In the processing shed were smiling, brown-faced, black-haired women baiting hooks on long-lines. Muchachos cracked open clams and ate them raw. An old sailor trudged up the hill carrying two enormous conger eels with tails dragging in the dust.

Fishing and Isla Grande de Chiloe go together. The coastline is geared to fishing, and now aquaculture, especially salmon, mussel and oyster farming.

I walked up the hill from the port following a gravel road to the promontory and the Spanish fortress of San Antonio, with its eight cannon facing the harbor. Spain took possession of Chiloe in 1567 and remained in control until their defeat in 1826 with the War of Independence.

Some 90 kilometers south of Ancud is the town of Castro, population 17,000, located on a promontory above a sheltered estuary on the east coast. In summer, both Castro and Ancud attract many tourists from Chile and Argentina.

Castro is famous for its gaudy cathedral - painted salmon pink with mauve trim! It dominates one corner of the Plaza de Armas and frequently appears on picture postcards. Built in 1906, the Iglesia San Francisco is a dazzling sight. It is wooden with corrugated iron cladding. Its two spires lean back about 5 degrees, like the leaning tower of Pisa! In the plaza amidst neat gardens is a matching purple Oblesco and a few cannon left by the Spanish.

Castro is the tourist center of the island having travel agents that offer tours to Chiloe National Park on the Pacific west coast, and to the nearby craft markets at Dalcahue and Isla Quinchao.

The waterfront has curious "palafitos" which are wooden shingle-clad houses

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