It was only a short walk from Casa Azul hostel to the bus terminal. We were a bit early for the 9:25am departure with Cruz del Sur to Castro on the island of Chiloé. While we waited, we ate the empanadas we had bought yesterday for breakfast and shared them with the bus terminal's resident quiltro dog. We didn't think the empanadas were that great, but the dog wolfed them down and was looking for more.

The weather was a bit mixed on the journey, a bit of rain and some sun occasionally. The bus boarded the small ferry at Pargua and we had chance to get out the bus to stretch our legs and grab a coffee. It was very windy on the crossing so after a couple of photos we retreated back to the bus. It was a quick crossing, only about 20 minutes and we were back on the road at Chacao for the drive through Ancud and then onto Castro.

Hotel Esmeralda was just 3 blocks away, on the same road, from Castro's terminal. It has to be one of the easiest walks to our accommodation on the entire trip. We quickly checked in to the hotel and took the lift to the 3rd floor (last time we had a lift in our accommodation was in Panama City back in July). It was simple but comfortable room with a lot of space and furniture. It's often the simple things you miss in a room when you sleep in cheaper accommodation like tables to lay stuff on, or hangers or hooks. This room, however, had plenty of everything and cable television.

We went for coffee and cake in the nearby Cafe Blanco. The coffee was excellent and David was raving about the 'hoja casera manjar casero', a layer cake of biscuit and dulce de leche.

The church in Castro is a very striking building to say the least. Built on the northern side of Plaza de Armas, it's a large yellow and purple building that wouldn't look out of place in Disneyland. The inside of the church is all wooden - floors, walls, ceiling and even the pillars.

We had arranged to meet Carlee and Andy at the tourist information office, but it was closed. We were hoping to get information about penguin tours from Ancud to help decide how we would return to the mainland. Without any helpful information, we decided to skip Ancud and just bought return bus tickets for Saturday, direct from Castro to Puerto Varas.

Cafe Rizetto, another recommended cafe, was our next stop for some tea and beer while we made plans about what to do in Chiloé over the next two days. Afterwards, David went back to the hotel to sort out stuff on the computer while Maria went for a beer with Carlee and Andy. The bar was a bit rough and ready, maybe a student bar, but the beer was cold.

We had dinner at Restaurant Sacho, a seafood restaurant with views over the water. We both ordered a cancato, which is like a baked sandwich but using fish fillets instead of bread. Maria opted for salmon while David went with congrio, congor eel. Both were filled with chorizo, cheese and tomatoes. Washed down with a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, it was a very delicious meal.

The only downside was the start of the forecasted rain, and it was heavy rain too. We were only a couple of blocks from our hotel, but we were soaked by the time we got there. Hopefully the rain eases off by tomorrow so we can go walking, but it's not looking promising.