February 19, 2014-Wed., Drive from Castro to Cucao/Pacific Ocean

February 19, 2014 (Wednesday)

BOTTOM LINE:
Drove to Cucao
Visited National Park of Chiloe

NOTEWORTHY:  We came 4 days too late to catch the annual Full Moon Festival which sounds like a small scale Chilean version of Woodstock which draws visitors from all over South America.

BACK STORY:
After a leisurely breakfast where we met a number of visitors from Germany, we loaded up the car for a days outing to the little Pacific coastal village of Cucao, the National Park of Chiloe and to see the historic wooden churches that would dot our path.

Our first stop was to the church in Nercon, which was a short ten minute drive.  The primitive nature of the wooden architecture made me wonder how the church had survived earth quakes.  The church had 4x4 posts set at an angle against the outside walls mimicking the elaborate flying buttresses of European cathedrals.

Historic wooden church

As we entered the front door we learned that typically an elderly woman of the community held the keys to the church.  In the morning she would open the church and would dust and keep it presentable for viewing.  A courtesy donation was expected by her from each person wanting to enter.  We still aren't sure where the money ends up.

Another curious observation of the church was the cemeteries adjoining the Catholic church. The cemetery was unique with elaborate concrete shrines and head stones.  The head stones are actually small concrete structures with glass windows.  I got the feeling that loved ones were somehow trying to preserve the dead...or at least some of their possessions/pictures in the vaults that they built.

above ground cemetery

As we drove into the countryside we began noticing the large number of backpackers that were hitch hiking in all directions.  Being that we had done that in New Zealand twice and were rejected on one occasion, we decided to pick up a couple of young high school girls.  Luckily one spoke some English.  Their names were Katarina and Marie Jose and have been friends since childhood.

The girls were headed to the same town of Cucao to meet up with their cousins to hike into a forested area to camp.  As they explained once a year in February during the full moon a huge festival is held in this area.  Backpackers from all over attend the lunar celebration which sounded like an opportunity to get high and listen to music.  The girls mothers refused to let them attend it the previous weekend, but did agree to a cousin camp out.

We took the girls to a mercado (market) to get some lunch supplies.  The market was nothing more than the entry of a very modest house.  By ringing the door bell a woman answered and let us in the store.  The store had a small refrigerator and shelves lined with snack foods and candy.  The girls grabbed some "ham" (bologne by my definition) to eat and we continued on our drive.

Katarina & Maria Jose

As we drove to the beach area we began to see the largest cows we have ever seen grazing in the fields and out onto the sandy beach.  We aren't sure what breed they are but are a rusty brown and white color.  Pigs and chickens also seemed to be free to roam and eat whatever they wanted.

Sow

As we parted ways, Bruce and I headed to the National Park of Chiloe for a trek and visit to their museum.  We like to read about the flora and fauna of native to a given area.  Plaques written in Spanish added their own challenges, but we were thankfully able to understand enough.

Chiloe National Park

Fucon: is an indoor fire pit where locals gather to socialize

During our drive onto the Island we passed a small dog sized animal that had a rusty brown coat and two small horns.  It turned out that is was a Pudu which is the smallest deer in the world.  Visitors seldom see them so we considered ourselves very lucky to have seen it.

Following the visit to the museum we went for a walk out along Lake Cucao. Heading back to Castro we grabbed a couple of empanadas from a road side stand (tough dough) and welcomed two more hitch hikers into our car.  This time they were college students.  The guy was finishing up a five year physical therapy school that would leave him with a $100k debit to the government.  She was working on a degree in Anthropology.  Although it was nice to visit with them, they needed out at the next village.

We were able to swing by a couple more historical wooden churches on the way back, however Bruce exclaimed, "they just don't ring my chimes!"

Speaking of churches, one of the things that we had read prior to our visit was a mystical/witch craft interest in the area.  We did pass a life sized voodoo doll on a pole but other than that was unaware of anything going on around us.

Dinner was at a fabulous seafood specialty restaurant in our hotels neighborhood.  They only have a dozen small tables and require reservations.  Our meal was exquisite with a variety of seafood small plates, followed by locally caught Corvina.  Presentation and flavors were definitely five star.