Today, we explored the rural life in Chile’s Chiloé district. Known as the Lake District, there are 40 islands here, and 35 are inhabited. There is a lot of fascinating history here, from the Mapuche indigenous name Chiloé, meaning “place of seagulls”, to the 15 UNESCO churches in the area, and much more. I will merely scratch the surface. From the port of Castro, we tendered in from our ship to meet our excellent, informative, and entertaining guide, Cecilia.  We started with an early visit to the local market, one of our favorite things to do. The produce looked amazing. I was blown away by the size of the garlic cloves, which were sold individually and were the size of one of the large garlic heads typical in our groceries. The fish and shellfish assortment was wonderful. We even tried out some of the delicious local cheese.

A Rescued Town: Preserving the Soul of Chiloé

It was another gorgeous, sunny day, about 10 degrees warmer than the previous. A scenic drive en route to the Rilán Peninsula rolled through farmland, estancias, and by some substantial-looking homes. We eventually arrived at the restored settlement of Wuelton. The 150-100-year-old wooden buildings were moved here in 2015 and restored to showcase the Chiloé culture. The setting was used in a movie that was the catalyst of the project. Eleven of the original 17 survived the move and restoration. This village-museum is a showcase for how families lived, cooked, made textiles and baskets, fished, studied, and worshiped. It was a good way to study the various types of wooden shingles used to decorate the exteriors.

For me, it was an obvious comparison to the collection of U.S. log cabins at Hart Square Village I visited 6 months ago.  Although Hart Square Village (near Hickory, NC) has many more buildings, they are from the same era and show many similar facets of life. It’s so interesting to consider how people live in the same timeframe in different cultures.

BTW, along the way, we tried more local cheese, local drinks, crab legs, and salmon ceviche – all delicious.

Stilt Houses on the Edge, Castro’s Colorful Waterfront

Back on the waterfront, we boarded a small open boat, the Nancy III, to head over for a closer look at the charming Castro stilt houses (called palafitos). This style of architecture is located in several areas of the town, and many are quite old; others are new, sometimes replacing those that have collapsed into the fjord. Originally filled with fishermen, today many house boutique hotels, private homes, shops, and cafes.

At this point, it was clouding up, and time to call it a day, and the Nancy III delivered us directly back to our anchored ship, the Azamara Quest. Gorgeous weather, cultural enrichment, exceptional scenery, historic preservation, and even some tasty treats combined for a perfect adventure!