After almost five hours on the ferry we arrive on the island of Chiloe in the city of Quellon, which has been recommended to us in many cases as both original and a kind of insider tip. So we first experience a little culture shock, because after the quiet and seclusion of the south there is really something going on! This is of course due to the fact that we are slowly getting closer to the capital Santiago and in particular are no longer separated from it by several ferries. The nice thing is, but it is hardly any tourist activity, but everyday. It is Saturday, there is a flea market, we would like to be converted to enter some church, there are stalls all along the main street and the city beach where we catch up on the lack of sleep is well filled. It is fun to meet people in your everyday life.
After we find out little useful in the tourist information, we just let ourselves go a bit and visit the probably the only “international” highlight of the island. The famous Panamericana, a road that begins in Alaska and ends in Chiloe, ends right on the town beach of Quellon. We have already driven parts of it in Canada and the USA. We hope a little for emotional moments from travelers who arrive here and congratulate themselves on the route while lying in their arms. Unfortunately in vain. Nevertheless, we spend the whole afternoon and the next morning on the beach, because it is wonderful weather and the serenity that the locals radiate despite the sometimes obvious poverty (Chiloe is the poorest region of Chile) is simply contagious.
In the afternoon we continue to Queilén, where penguins and dolphins are sometimes said to be directly on the beach. Luck leaves us this time, but we just continue where we left off in Quellon and lie down comfortably on the beach. On the way we still have an interesting encounter. We take the smaller – and of course gravel – road that we basically have for ourselves. About halfway there we see a maybe 70-year-old lady walking near a herd of cows in the same direction we are heading. The closer we get, the more tired she looks (it is over 30 ° C) and when she then raises her hand, we naturally take her with us. Since the communication does not work somehow this time, we just hope that she tells us when she wants to get out, because she is not wearing a seat belt in the back of the van, but when we offer her a seat in front of us she waves it off. Somehow she helps us with a kind of roadblock / construction site. We are stopped by two slightly suspicious guys and directed to a side street that we don’t really want to take. After a discussion with our hitchhiker – of whom we don’t get a word – we can go on. A short time later she also taps us, because she wants to get out at a football game next to a church (it’s Sunday) and after kissing and hugging she goes her way. What you experience when you leave the main street …
Over the next two days we visit Cucao with the Muelle de las Almas, which are supposed to be a path for the soul to heaven, and the largest city on the island called Castro which is known for its stilt houses. Neither really knocks us off our feet and the story of the “sunken forest” is much more spectacular than its appearance. Some time ago an earthquake sank the surface by two meters only to be subsequently washed over by a tsunami. The trees on this area then drowned in the salt water (that is, one sees dead trees …). However, we continue to enjoy the tranquility on the beaches in Chiloe, which we find time and time again and some of which also stay overnight.
The small island of Quinchao, which can be reached by ferry (and where we almost got a barking passenger, winking smile) is really beautiful. The island is mainly known for a few wooden churches typical of Chiloe, but nature is often still pristine due to the few people and it is just fun to jet across the island with the van. Since it is so small, four hours are enough for it …
The last day has a little highlight ready, because we want to take a look at a colony of Magellan and Humboldt penguins. Our first attempt to get there fails because the road from the sunken forest to the colony is too sandy and too steep for our van after about 1/3 of the route, so we have to turn back. The second attempt (and a clear detour) works and it goes first to the northwestern end of the island and then about a kilometer by van to the beach. After the last experience with sand a little spooky, but he manages it without problems. We then see the penguins directly from the beach and therefore save on the boat trip for animal and cost reasons, which sometimes approach the penguins absurdly.
After a last picnic on a last deserted beach in Chiloe, we take the ferry back to the mainland to Puerto Montt, where we will meet again.