BOTTOM LINE:
Flight from Santiago to Porte Montt
Drove from Porte Montt to Chiloe
NOTEWORTHY: The entire road between Pt. Montt and Castro was under construction. The shoulders of the road that had regrowth of previously removed vegetation were being cleared by a weed whacking army of neon orange vested workers. Looked pretty inefficient.
BACK STORY:
Following a great nights sleep and a quick breakfast, we were greeted by our driver and loaded into the shuttle bound for Santiago airport. We had a 9am flight to catch...destination Puerto Montt.
The flight was a quick two hours and saved us an approximately 1,000 miles of driving!
After claiming luggage and picking up our "car hire" (rental) Bruce cued in his phone GPS and we were off...on a wrong road! Our international GPS had some issues with directing us in circles. We forged on up a twisty back road until we came across a woman and her two daughters who were walking in the rain. We stopped and asked for directions to the main road. In broken English the woman said that she could show us...for a ride! We obliged and easily found what we were looking for. The trio were closer to their destination as well.
Our rental car was a very small Suzuki. Automatic transmissions were not an option with rental cars so I was looking at driving a clutch for a good portion of our trip. Luckily my Mother taught me how to drive in our families '57 Chevy station wagon which had a clutch, so the technique came back to me amazingly fast. Thankfully the steering wheel and lanes of travel in Chile were the same as the USA!!!
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| Our little car |
Our car travel was to the largest Island in Chile called Chiloe. To reach the Island we caught a small car ferry boat...much smaller than the Washington State ferries, but just as efficient. We were impressed with the ease in which they maneuvered through the strong current crossing and got people on and off the loading ramps. The cost one way was $20USD.
At the south end of the ferry ride we disembarked at the small village of Chacao. In need of a restroom and some lunch we stopped at a very small store that had a hand written board saying, "empanadas," a bicycle out on the sidewalk for deliveries, standing room only inside and two somewhat toothless women smiling at us from the other side of the counter. They were so sweet and excited with our business.
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| Delicious Empanadas |
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| Our empanada cooks |
A friendly vacationing family from Santiago helped to translate for us. They had a vacation home in the village and said that the empanadas were the best in the Island. They shared ideas for outings, cafes and information about Chile...very nice people and a joy to have met.
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| New friends |
Although it was raining quite hard we didn't want to miss anything on the ride south so we exited into the first town of "Ancud"...it turned out to be our ride-from-Hell! Not only did the GPS get us thoroughly lost in the cemetery district but as we made a turn onto a downtown street a police officer motioned for us to pull over and stop. When I rolled down my window and mumbled something incoherent in English, she took pity on me and waved us on through the check point! Whewwww...miraculously we found our way back onto Hwy 5 and continued to the town of Castro where we would spend the next two nights.
What a pleasant surprise this quaint island of lush farmland and fishing villages was. The town of Castro was clean, well organized and offered any business of need. We followed the main road down and across a bridge to a group of gayly colored palafitos. A palafito is a wooden structure built on stilts over water or a tidal basin.
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| Palifitos in Castro, Chile |
Our reservations were at Hotel Palafito, which was in among modest homes of local fishermen and craftsmen of Castro. Retaining the time-honored charm of this unspoiled island, our hotel was unique and authentic in it's wooden architecture. The finished wooden interior was not only warm but classy in its own right. Our room had its own deck and private water view for watching the abundant bird activity that encircled the archipelago. It felt much like a house boat, but wasn't Breakfast was included with the room.
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| Our room in our Palifito |
The area we were told is known for it's unique cuisine of fresh fish, beef and local fruits and vegetables. We chose two neighborhood restaurants within walking distance for the two nights we were in the town...both of which were amazing in both presentation and taste.
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| Appetizers |
The residence of the island seemed very friendly and relaxed...the locals call it "Chilax"... a mix of Chile and relax! The name fit what we observed.
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