Michele Travels

Early this morning our ship anchored in Castro harbour. Castro is located on Chiloe Island and is Chile’s 3rd oldest city. Founded in 1576, the city and island prospered in peace. In 1837, a giant earthquake destroyed the city and wiped out most of the population. In 1912, the railroad was extended to Castro, allowing for new development. In 1960 the city was destroyed again by a series of earthquakes, tsunamis and fires.

Chiloe Island is renowned for its 16 UNESCO World Heritage Site wooden churches. The most recognizable of the wooden churches is Castro’s Iglesia San Francisco. We had a chance to visit this afternoon, after a hike in Chiloe National Park.

We boarded our bus at 7:30 AM for the 90 minute ride to Chiloe National Park. Once we arrived we enjoyed a two hour walk/hike with 3 guides/naturalists.

We learned quite a lot about the flora and fauna of the Chiloe Island. The park is located on the western coast of the island, in the Los Lagos Region of Southern Chile. It spans 430 sq km (166 sq miles). The park is part of the Valdivian temperate rainforest, featuring evergreens, ferns and mosses. The trees grow slowly because of the amount of water present in the ground and atmosphere. Some of the trees are like bonsai – we saw a 4 foot tall specimen that was 50 years old. Amazing.

Once we finished at the park, our guide team took us to a local restaurant. The restaurant is owned and operated by Chef Moriela. She creates her dishes with ingredients sourced from her organic garden behind the restaurant. She prepared us a delicious sampling of her specialties along with fresh berry juice and Pisco sours. Our guides told us that many local chefs visit to learn from her. She was so lovely and welcoming. We were really pleased to meet her.

After the satisfying and delicious pit stop, we made our way back to Castro. We had about two hours to roam the city, visit the church and grab a quick empanada to share.

There is a nasty storm headed our way. Our next port stop was to be Natales. However, due to the expected intensity of the storm, the port has closed. The next 24 hours will bring 50 mph winds along with 5m seas. It’s going to be an interesting time. We will be at sea for two days. Our final destination is Valparaiso, where we will disembark and make our way home.