Quiet Days in Valdivia and Chiloé

It was tough to leave Pucón after seven days, especially since the weather was great towards the end and the forecast looked even better.  Somehow we pulled ourselves away to visit Valdivia and the island of Chiloé.  Both places were fairly uneventful, which isn't necessarily a bad thing considering both Magge and I (but more Magge) were battered and bruised from our activities in Pucón.  We did a lot of wandering, ate seafood and then made our way to Puerto Montt.

We chose to stop in Valdivia because it was a convenient stopping point and because Lonely Planet called it "impossibly charming".  It is a pleasant little city surrounded by rivers and hills, but impossibly charming is a stretch, although we're definitely used to not overly relying on the guidebook at this point.  Valdivia is primarily known for its sea lions, Spanish forts and being the home of Kunstmann beer, reputed as the best beer on the continent.  We saw the sea lions and one Spanish turret (decided against the more comprehensive, expensive boat tour), and skipped the Kunstmann brewery (don't have a reason except we just didn't feel up to it that day).  We also took the opportunity to do something "normal" and go to a movie (The Wolfman - not good).  Shortly after leaving the city, I discovered that I had been absolutely mauled by bed bugs.

Sea lions sunbathing in Valdivia

Remnant of a 17th century Spanish fort

Chiloé is another example of Lonely Planet hyperbole.  The guidebook made me think it was an extremely exotic place, unlike anything I've seen before.  In reality, it looks and feels like a Spanish-speaking Maine.  It does have a very interesting mythology, but we neither saw nor heard evidence of it while on the island.  You can read about it here if you're interested; my favorite creatures are Trauco, Fiura and Invunche (parental advisory: many of these mythological creatures are sexual in nature). 

Like Maine... with trolls

We stayed in Castro, one of the two major towns on the island, where we felt we had seen everything there was to see after two hours on our first day.  Its main attraction is the San Francisco Temple, one of Chiloé's sixteen wood churches that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  The exterior is actually covered in what looks like corrugated sheet metal, but the wood interior is one of the more unique church halls we have seen.

San Francisco Temple

On our second day, we took an hour and a half bus ride to Achao, home to the island's oldest church and another UNSESCO site.  After fifteen minutes in the church, we were back outside, looked around the ghostly quiet town and wondered what else we were supposed to do.  We found some lunch, and then took the hour and a half bus ride back home.  It probably wasn't the most efficient day we've had.

Achao's church

The last day on the island was spent in Chiloé National Park.  It's a beautiful reserve on the Pacific coast, but far from pristine, with litter scattering the beaches and trails.  Unfortunately, this is common throughout South America, even in areas that are supposed to be protected.

Beautiful Chiloé National Park

If Magge has a camera, and there are cows in the vicinity, pictures will be taken

For dinner, we went to supposedly the best seafood restaurant in town.  I don't particularly like most fish or shellfish, but I've been doing my best throughout this trip to eat the local fare, and Chiloé is definitely known for its seafood.  I've gotten pretty good at reading Spanish menus, but I still don't know the Spanish words for most types of seafood, so I decided to play menu roulette and choose something randomly.  When the waitress showed up, I ordered "pulpos".  Magge interjected that pulpos was octopus, so I changed my order to "pulmay", and neither of us had any clue as to what that was.  Thirty minutes later, I was served with an enormous plate of steamed oysters, clams and mussels and a link of sausage.  I hate oysters, clams and mussels.  Besides eating grilled and heavily seasoned oysters once, I had never actually eaten any of them, but I knew I hated them.  Determined to make a good showing, I plowed through my plate, only pausing to dry heave and mix in a little sausage to mask the taste and texture.  Ultimately I ate most of it.  I don't think I've seen Magge laugh that hard in months.  At least there weren't any bed bugs.