Castro

The weather had been great for a few days, but was starting to turn on us. We jumped on the ferry to return to Chiloe Island and decided to drive towards the town of Castro.

Notable sites in Chiloe are the palafitos – houses on stilts. Normal from the front, stilted in back. Well, these aren’t as charming at low tide. They just look sort of sad… and stinky.

The town square, complete with historic church was nice, though. We drove around, accomplished a few errands and bought some potatoes at the market.

There are over 1000 varieties of potatoes in the world. You would never know it if you grew up in the US, where you are lucky to see more than a couple. U.S. potato cultivation is almost entirely based around supplying the fast food industry.  Fun fact: 99% of the potatoes in the world share the same germplasm as the ones grown here in Chiloe. Basically, this is the birthplace of the potato.

More food facts from Castro… We went to lunch at a cafe on the square and realized, after months in Chile, that people here eat sandwiches with a knife and fork. Still, Jason insisted on eating his turkey sandwich with his hands, like a barbarian.

We headed south, and found a little cabana where we could finally unpack from our trip back to the U.S. and see about ferry crossings to the mainland.

More rain, then more rain, and then some more rain. Whenever there was a lull, all the local kids would make a break for the playground. Bode would grab a blanket and some books and head over to start a reading circle with some of the other kids. After a while, they would come knocking at our door asking for more books. Sorry, but none in Spanish, kids.

The ferry? One ferry per week. And, it was booked – way out.