Days on Chiloé

9.1. After Amelia's two-hour family meeting, we start our journey to the island of Chiloé. We cross the approximately 3 kilometer wide strait by ferry. In a few years, there will be a bridge here, and construction has already begun. After that, we go to Ancud for lunch. From here, we visit the penguin colony "Pinguïnera" where you can spot various water birds on the offshore islands in boats. There are only about 10 penguins, but many other interesting inhabitants, including vultures. Since Ancud also has a church museum to offer, we look for a campground nearby. Our travel agency contacts us to inform that they have finally found a car rental company that allows us to exit to Argentina. The car has a roof tent that we don't really need and unfortunately costs a bit more. We decide to pay the extra and accept the offer!

10.1. The church museum is small but nice, unfortunately, the cultural museum is closed. So we soon set off to visit the largest and most beautiful wooden church on the island in Castro. The city itself is also worth seeing and we stroll around a bit and buy provisions. In addition, Amelia finds a great restaurant with great service where we treat ourselves.

We receive the notification that the rental car for Argentina is unfortunately no longer available, but there is the option to fly to Punta Arenas and then drive back from there. We need some time to ponder the new, slightly more complicated journey.

Teo, whom we met in the north, convinces us to come to Cole Cole, a beautiful beach in an indigenous reserve that can only be reached on foot. We just need to bring sleeping bags and food, there is space in the refuge. He is looking forward to seeing us again! So we head towards Cucao to park our car near the beach. One of the parking lot owner's dogs bites me twice on the ankle, so I decide annoyed not to pay the parking fee, which the family's daughter apparently accepts, as she goes back into the house without answering. We pack our backpacks and start the approximately 12 km long hike along the beach to Cole Cole. On the way, Amelia gets a sick stomach and feels really bad. After 2.5 hours, we reach the truly beautiful beach of Cole Cole. But on the one hand, we can't find Teo anywhere, and on top of that, the refuge is a real dump: the toilet is without flushing and literally full of shit, there are only three mattresses without bed frames that are on the verge of collapsing and already occupied. There are no chairs, no dishes, a dirty sink, and a rusty stove that doesn't work because there is no electricity. There is trash everywhere. For us, it is clear: we turn back! So we have to walk for another 2.5 hours, not fun for Amelia and her stomach problems. I also have stomach problems on the way back, fortunately not as bad... We are back at the car at 22:30 and look for a campsite for the night. This one is for once exactly what a campsite should be like. In Chile, it is sometimes difficult to find something like this...