An island update 2.14.11

Feliz Dia de San Valentín everyone! I'm afraid our exploring has outpaced our blogging. So, we have some catching-up to do.

Here's a quick update though to catch everyone up on our whereabouts.

Last Sunday we left La Serena and headed 7 hours south to Santiago again. We spent the night and then got on an overnight bus that headed 12 hours south to Puerto Montt.



We then hopped on a bus-ferry that took us to the island of Chiloé for the next three nights up until last Friday. We stayed in Ancud in the north of the island. We didn't have much access to the internet there, so here's a little about our days on Chiloé.

Chiloé is a beautiful island that has a rich history and culture that is distinct from the mainland in many ways. Its fascinating to be able to still see a way of life that harkens to the past. We watched fisherman going out in the morning in small boats, seafood being cleaned at market, seaweed harvesters diving and cutting it by hand, etc. The food, the people and the legends all reflect a different culture from the mainland.

We were on the island for four beautiful days - a few in the whole year when it is not raining (some parts get 4,000mm or approx. 160 inches of rain per year!). We ate seafood, visited the much photographed houses (and restaurants) on palafitos (stilts), and walked through a heavy mist at night. We visited one of the beautiful, world heritage churches and marveled at the woodwork. We took a hike along the coast and saw Magellanic penguins (different from the Humboldt ones we saw up north). And we sat out, watched the sunset on the Pacific from our hostel's front garden, and read Harry Potter.

We're all doing well. We're in Puerto Varas now (also in the south). More on that soon. As much as we are loving exploring the country, we are all looking forward to settling in somewhere. We'll have to decide a general direction by the end of this week (still lots of discussion going on). More on that later too.

Sending our love to all,
Laura and crew