worldoftravelling

Ancud, Chiloe, Chile. POP 49,550

The early-morning fog shrouded misty-eyed Chiloé as I arrived on the Cruz del Sur ferry. Isla Grande de Chiloé is the continent’s second-largest island and is home to a fiercely independent, seafaring people who developed culturally and historically in defiance of Santiago! The island has more than 150 iconic wooden churches (14 of which are Unesco World Heritage Sites). It is also home to a colony of penguins.

I spent 4 delightful days in the bustling and weathered town of Ancud, which offered an earthy base to explore the penguin colony and some of the churches.

Less than 2-hours from Ancud is the beautiful cove of Puñihuil where 3 islets provide the opportunity to see two kinds of penguins: Humboldt and Magellan. The Penguins arrive at the end of September and leave at the end of March. In December and January you can see the offspring. During a 30-minute boat trip I got to see a bounty of wild life, besides penguins, including: Cormorants, Gulls, Otters, Sea lions, and Steamer ducks. It’s a picture card location with a delightful beach.

The second day trip was supposed to be a tour of the churches. However, it soon transpired that it was a more ‘random’ tour, taking in waterfalls, grave yards and artisan markets. Thankfully I was sharing the company of Didi from the Netherlands. We hit it off straight away and what could have been a disappointing excursion turned out to be a fun day. We did get to see 2 churches and we did get to enjoy a 2-hour lunch. No one else on the tour spoke English but Didi spoke enough Spanish to hold a conversation. So whilst I got to learn a few new words she got the opportunity to practise her linguistic skills.

Next stage: Castro to Chaiten by overnight ferry.

The Lakes District (Chile).

The further south you go, the greener it gets, until you find snow-clad volcanoes rising over verdant hills and beautiful clear lakes.

Two menacing volcanoes stand guard over the delightful town of Puerto Varas, which sits beside a very large, but very beautiful lake. There are a plethora of outdoor activities to hand including: kayaking, fly fishing, hiking, horse riding, and skiing. Or, you can just lounge about on the beach, beside the ‘cool’ but crystal clear lake.

As was always the plan, I have now ditched hotels and chosen hostels. It’s a good way of saving money and a great way to meet fellow travellers.

Nearby (20 minutes by bus) is the 19th Century German settlement of Frutillar. Here you can discover the history behind the settlement and enjoy home baked pies. Indeed it’s a village of net curtains and a veritable feast of home made produce.

Another day trip is Petrohue where you can walk around yet another beautiful lake or climb the snow capped volcano of Petrohue. The heat and the horse flys led me to abort this mission, half way through!

Chile and Argentina have both proved to be a comfortable introduction to South America. Both are extremely westernised and you could genuinely be forgiven in thinking that you are in Europe.

Today I took, the unusually short bus trip (3-hours), to Ancud on the island of Chiloe.

My first experience of a dormitory was back in 1985 when I was sharing with 20 other people whilst working at a company called G’s in Ely. It wasn’t a bad experience. However for one young man it would be.

The door to our dorm was a bit of a Heath Robinson affair – the door handle had to be turned up rather than down. On his first night at the hostel we took the young man out for a welcome drink. We arrived back late after a heavy one. At some point, in the early hours of the morning, the young man in question obviously felt the call of nature. Unfortunately nobody had explained to him the issue of the door handle. He must have tried desperately to open that door but eventually he gave up up and grabbed the nearest receptacle he could find. When one of the other guys went to grab his flask, the next morning, he was somewhat surprised to find it full!

At 6am this morning my dorm of six beds felt like Paddington station. Banging of doors, scrunching of plastic bags, coughing, slamming of draws, showers running, all in all a hell of a din. Unacceptable.

The other morning I was awoken by the soft moaning of a young lady. Concerned that something might be wrong I glanced across. That’s when I caught sight of a small hairy bum rising and falling on top of said lady.

I’m pretty sure there is an unwritten rule book on dormitory behaviour. The latter two scenarios may well have crossed the line of acceptability. However, for our dear friend in Ely, well what else could he have done?