Castro is the capital of the Island of Chiloe but we were planning to catch another bus further south to Chonchi where we were planning to stay. Whilst we had a little difficulty catching the correct bus for Chonchi and we had a little difficulty finding the B&B we eventually found ourselves checked into Esmeralda by the Sea. The place is owned by Canadian Carlos, and oh man, can this guy talk. What we have discovered so far is that he has lived in just about every country in the world and also had every job imaginable. It is difficult to separate fact from fiction but hes a nice guy and undeniably an interesting character. It was our intention to stay here and explore the island until we could catch a ferry to Chaiten on mainland Chile. What we discovered is that the ferry only runs twice per week - Wednesday & Sunday. Weds was too soon so we decided to stay 6 nights and catch the Sunday ferry. We busied ourselves with day trips to the island of Lemuy, the National Park, into Castro and down to Queilen. The landscape was similar to the rolling green hills of Ireland and the weather was a sunny 20-25oC. Perfect. Also, the Palafitos (houses mounted on stilts along the waters edge) offered a unique twist. Some of the "highlights" were:
(1) Claire caught with her pants down on Lemuy. No car had gone by in 20 mins, so she thought she was safe to go to the loo! No sooner was she in midflow when a car rounded the corner (Murphys Law). I (Dave) did my best to block her from view and maintain her dignity. It got even more interesting when we got to the ferry (to go back to Chiloe). The guy was there and wanted to talk to us (!!) and actually gave us a lift the 5km back to Chonchi! Claire was morto.
(2) Another day, post breakfast, we came back to the B&B only to find a tall Czech guy (Jan) sunning himself on the outside dining table. He was wearing nothing but the skimpiest/dirtiest of Y-fronts. Very disturbing!
(3) Interesting fact - Chiloe has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world (Footprints 2001 guidebook). We think this goes hand in hand with the highest oddball rate. There is a thesis in there for someone. The locals are definitely a little left of centre.
(4) Now, on an island of oddballs - what is the last thing you want to do? Hitchhike of course. Well, while waiting for our bus to Queilen, which never showed up (very common on the island), we caught a bus going in the right direction. The driver told us he was going to Queilen but what we later discovered is that he was, yes you guessed it, an oddball. We had to get off the bus in the middle of nowhere. Amazingly the driver didn't charge us anything for this journey. Claire didn't like it but I felt the only option open to us was to start hitching. Pretty soon a guy picked us up and dropped us off about 10km down the road... still in the middle of nowhere. After about 15 mins another guy picked us up and took us all the way to Queilen. Hallelujah. I think we may have met the only 2 "normal" people on the island. Getting home was much more straightforward.
(5) I guess if we are talking highlights we should mention Carlos' cooking. He did some tasty pancakes for breakfast and some of the best chicken & salmon dinners we have had on our travels.
We enjoyed our time here and on Thursday night (23rd Nov) a Californian couple (Kim & Brian) cooked an awesome Thanksgiving supper for everyone ie us and them..... sorry I tell a lie a Spanish girl made a guest appearance. We dined on baked chicken with stuffing, creamed mashed potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli and apple crumble for desert - all polished off with Chilean Vino. MMMmmmmm. However come Friday night we were ready to move on... but alas no ferry until Sunday 12noon. Not to worry, we will have time to update the blog.
Enjoying the view from our bedroom window at Esmeralda by the Sea!
Boat on beach at Lemuy
Parque National Chiloé with the Pacific Ocean in the background
Big Kids at heart....... writing our name on the beach with shells
Chile Rhubarb (Gunnera manicata)
Pretty yellow church in the background
There are over 150 iconic wooden churches (16 of which are World Heritage Sites) in Chiloe
Enjoying Thanksgiving supper prepared by Kim & Brian 
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