Chiloe, Castro Part Two and the Volcanoes

Yesterday I was unable to blog fully due to pressures of time. Just in case you are worried we had a lovely dinner in the Thomas Kellor restaurant. Marion’s Caesar salad was made in front of her; she followed that with lobster thermidor and ice cream sundae. I worked my way through New England clam chowder, salmon, coconut and chocolate cake. There I do not expect sympathy for rushing to dinner and not blogging.

So yesterday at Castro and Chiloe Island, the prime objective was to visit the famous wooden churches some of which are so unique that UNESCO protects them. They are made of wood because that was the ubiquitous material in the area. Frequently the naves are barrel shaped much like the inside of a boat. Everything in the churches is constructed of wood, although I was not sure about the columns holding them up. They appeared hollow, but I concluded from looking at a model they might have been wooden columns with decorative surrounds.

The countryside if you ignored the houses was much like Cornwall, gently rolling into flooded river valleys. As it consisted a number of islands at one point we had to board a ferry, well in truth it had more resemblance to a landing craft, with the result that the coach had to undertake a complicated reversing manoeuvre to board. In the afternoon we stopped for a demonstration of the local folk music and dancing. Fortunately for all I was not selected to join in.

Unfortunately after the rush of yesterday evening we had a 6am start this morning after just over five hours sleep. We were by then in the industrial port of Puerto Montt, however our destination was the nearby National Park. This was home for a number of volcanoes, some of which looked just like a child’s drawing of a volcano. Our guide showed us photos of a recent eruption, about five years ago; it was spectacular and frightening at the same time.

Our first stop was at the Emerald Lake where we had a boat tour. The colours were fantastic in the early morning light. It had made it worth getting up for. The lake of course lived up to its name. A short distance away were the Petrohue Rapids, a superb sight of rushing water through the volcanic countryside. A short walk got me away from the relative crowds and I was able to savour the beautiful countryside. The area is a base for extreme sports and the small town of Puerto Veras has the same vibe as Queenstown in New Zealand, but on a smaller scale. We had a chance to wander in the town and for the first time purchase some Chilean Pesos, so as a result were able to buy a much-needed coffee. Also for the first time in Chile I saw a railway station, unfortunately no trains since 1994, however the tracks looked well maintained. Perhaps Laura in her role of international railway advisor could shed more light on Chilean railways. Doubtless she is planning a trip already.

I skipped a little of lunch so that I could walk down to the promenade to take some hopefully scenic photos of the volcanoes and using the lovely local flowers to frame the shot.

Tonight is the Captain’s presentation, as we have one more day at sea of this fantastic holiday. More of this tomorrow!