Another Day, Out to Play, on Chiloe

January 17, 2018

Our hotel is a very different place, and although it offers all the services you would expect, there are many other things going on here.........we overlook a large shallow bay which empties and fills with the tides each day......it is a popular wetland for many bird species, but we are most interested in the black necked swans........beautiful. We also discovered there is a boat owned by the hotel......the "Williche"...... which we hope to take a cruise on in the next couple of days......sea kayaks are available for cruising the bay, but most of all this place has a very cool, zen like, vibe........a lot like me. All the common/dining areas, and all the guest rooms have full view filled windows overlooking the bay.

Jutta on the dock of the bay

The Williche

Mussel and clam farms in the distance

Our excursion today was to one of the neighbouring islands and the first step was to catch the ferry in Dalcahue........the ferries run all day long and is a very slick low cost service. On the island we visited many towns with the largest being Achao........each had markets with tons of handcrafted woollen wear........great fish markets.......and the famous wooden churches built by the Jesuit missionaries before they were expelled from the country!

Wool everywhere......alpaca, sheep, llama, everywhere

Typical wooden church.....one in every town.......the jesuits didn't have enough priests to go around, so they travelled from church to church

One of the features that is consistent in most buildings on Chiloe is the wood shingle siding.........the more detail you had on your shingles meant the more money you had

We made an oyster stop at an outdoor restaurant

Not sure what this meant so we stayed away from the salmon

Still exercise equipment in every town

The absolute highlight of this island adventure was a visit to "Sandra's House". Sandra is a single young lady who worked for the salmon farms for some time, and then decided she wanted a lifestyle change. Her family owned some acres a short distance uphill from the ferry landing, and she planned and installed over time a working organic farm which she plants and cultivates manually. So inspirational to see all she has accomplished, and she is making a living at it. Obviously the hotel guest visits pay her something also, but her primary focus are her crops.........let me tell you about the potatoes..........she plants just over an acre of potatoes in a sloping field on the farm........1,000kg of seed potatoes.......probably over 3,000 plants, that will produce 2-2.5kg of potatoes each. She furrows the land, plants it, maintains it, and harvests it........all by hand........I'm not sure how many potatoes that is, but it's tons and tons for sure. Sandra has sheep, goats, a greenhouse, amazing flowers........where she finds the time in the day I don't know? We had a fantastic lunch......picked up some of her homemade jam, and were on our way.