Day 268: Antarctic Cruise Day 4 – Chiloé
We considered renting another car during our second port of call – the city of Castro on the island of Chiloé. However, even though the island is pretty small (only 120 miles from top to bottom) and has only one main road making it nearly impossible to get lost, we were starting to realize how stupid we were to rent a car the day before – if we had gotten into an accident, even a fender-bender where someone else was at fault!, we could have easily been delayed by police reports and missed the boat! How heartbreaking would it be to miss our ride to Antarctica, just to save a bucks on an excursion! So, we decided to play it safe, and explore the area on foot, staying a comfortable distance from our ship.
Walking around Castro was a pleasant way to spend the day – the city is particularly famous for its brightly colored buildings. “Palafitos” – the wooden houses on stilts that sit above the water – are the most iconic landmarks. The island also has over 150 wooden churches (originally built in the 1600s by the Spanish shipbuilders who colonized the area), 16 of which are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
An early morning arrival in to the island of Chiloé
Our ship anchors off shore of the capital city, Castro
Riding the tender into port
Chiloé is one of the major fishing hubs along the Chilean coast and the harbor is full of colorful boats
Walking through the streets of Castro at 8AM – no one is up yet, so the streets are deserted, except for the vigilant neighborhood dogs
Once again, we forgo an organized tour and decide to explore Castro alone, on foot. Once the municipal tour office opens for the day, we pick up a free city map and wander around, snapping pics of the famous wooden church, La Iglesia de San Francisco – one of 16 UNESCO churches on the island
Passing plenty of “street art” during our walk around Castro
Literally, soaking up the local color of Chiloé
Castro is full of color – from the beautiful flowers in blossom to the stunning waterfront houses
The palafitos of Castro – these colorful wooden houses on stilts are the most iconic sights on the islands, and one of the main tourist draws
Admiring more gorgeous palafitos in the Pedro Montt neighborhood in Castro
Chilean streets dogs are the BEST! Even though NO ONE SHOULD EVER DO THIS, we have totally been petting the stray dogs in almost every country we have visited. While the dogs in Southeast Asia were cute they were often very skittish. But the dogs in South America? Absolute love-bugs. This guy (we named him Fidel from Castro) put his paws on Lindsay’s lap when she stopped petting him – apparently he wasn’t done with his daily dose of affection