Chiloe - An island of seclusion in the middle of nowhere!

After our ferry ride, we arrive in Puerto Montt and continue directly to Ancud. There, we quickly find a relaxed hostel to have a few beers. The next day, we start a little tour of the city. We explore Chiloe's famous wooden churches and visit the fort marked on the map. The fort turns out to be a small wall, but we can observe penguins from here.We also discover a small free museum where you can learn about the island's settlement and admire the bones of a 25-meter long blue whale. In the afternoon, we continue by bus to Castro, the capital of Chiloe. There, we check into a cozy hostel and meet Snir and Elena. Both of them want to camp in Chiloe National Park, just like us. Due to the announced weather conditions and bus connections, we do our shopping in the evening. The next morning, we start the hike in the national park along the beach, with strong winds. After about 2 hours, we take our first lunch break. After another hour, we reach a small settlement by the beach. Here, we have to cross a river using a raft construction. Then we hike comfortably up a few small hills with fantastic views over the beach and the densely forested national park. Supposedly, you can observe blue whales here at this time of year. From here, we can already see our bay for the evening, the Cole Cole Beach. We're back in the middle of nowhere, how beautiful! We have a gigantic sandy beach all to ourselves and start preparing everything. The tent is quickly set up, and we gather wood for a campfire using the handy machete. In the evening, Snir and I try to keep a campfire alive despite very damp wood, while Max and Elena cook. We enjoy the evening with wine and good food because if it's just one day of camping, you can pack real treats. The next morning, we have a good breakfast and then return to the viewpoint to look for whales. Unfortunately, we have no luck and don't see any. But there is time to dry the tent and have lunch. After that, we leisurely hike back along the beach, this time without wind. In the evening, we have a good fish dinner and watch a movie. The next day takes us to Dalcahue to eat Curanto, a delicious dish cooked in earth pits, consisting of mussels, smoked pork, sausages, chicken, and more seafood and meat. Afterwards, we admire Chiloe's oldest wooden church in Achao and treat ourselves to coffee and cake in one of the many cake shops. The next day, we head to Chonchi, where there is nothing but a church. :)

We spend our last day on Chiloe with lots of wine and newfound friends before heading to Puerto Varas the next day.

Puerto Varas was once founded by Germans, and we hope to eagerly find a bratwurst here. Unfortunately, this does not work out, but we have a great time at a cozy hostel, where the owner organizes a Chilean barbecue for us, and we explore the town of Frutillar with its modern theater with Anna, the volunteer. On the last day in Puerto Varas, Max goes to the national park again, while I relax in Puerto Varas.
Now we continue north. A fire-spitting adventure awaits us in Pucon before heading back to Santiago for the final stretch of South America.

Best regards,

Max and Marius