Castro, the capital of Chiloé, is about half way down the island on the eastern side. It's famous for its Palafitos, houses built on stilts at the water's edge. When the tides come up the water comes in under the houses. When it goes out, the stilts and the ground in which they sit are exposed.

The hostel we stayed in was one of these palafitos. It was a pretty cool little place with a common area and deck at the back. When we first arrived the tide was out and all the boats nearby, tied to the back of people's houses, were propped at an angle on the ground.

We spent the afternoon exploring town. Around the other side of the peninsula was another set of palafitos which we walked to via some markets and the shore line. Some were turned into cafes, hostels or boutique hotels and had been really nicely restored. Others were in need of a little more attention but they still had their charm.

We then made our way to the centre of town. The main plaza was in the middle of the peninsula atop the hill. Quite a large plaza, it had a few modern day hippies selling bits and pieces and busking. It also had a coffee cart which we made a beeline for, and we sat to drink it while listening to a couple of guys jamming nearby.

Facing the plaza was the Iglesia de San Francisco. It was painted brightly like a lot of the town, in yellow, purple and pink. Chiloé is famous for its churches, all tall wooden structures. They were built with frameworks in a style similar to a ship, or upside down ship, as that is all the builders knew how to make. If you are keen and have a car you can drive the churches route taking you to all the churches on the island. Such a shame we didn't have a car…

The next day we had two options. If it was nice weather we were going to visit the Parque Nacional Chiloé which stretches along the western side of the island. If not, we would visit the nearby town of Dalcahue and another small island off Chiloé to the town of Achao. We ended up doing the latter.

A local bus took us the half hour to Dalcahue which had some nice cafes, one of which we started our day in. We also wandered the small square and the artisanal markets, though this only filled about half an hour.

We then took a bus which crossed to the island of Quinchao by car ferry, then another hour to the town of Achao. The weather was turning miserable and it was absolutely freezing. We had a look at the menus of a few touristy looking restaurants along the shore. They were mostly empty and really expensive, so we kept walking and luckily stumbled upon what seemed like the only local eatery in town.

It was toasty warm inside the mum and pop restaurant, and the days choices were stewed beef, bbq chicken or battered fish with a choice of a few sides. It was the best wholesome meal we have had in a long time!

After lunch we walked along the water and to the plaza, of course complete with another church, then caught the bus back to Castro since there really was nothing else to do or see in these sleepy little island villages.

We jumped off the bus just before it reached Castro so we could walk by another set of Palafitos. This group were in a perfect spot for some pics, though the tide was still a little way out which didn't allow for the perfect shot of the reflections in the water. We could have waited an hour or two but it was getting pretty cold in the late afternoon.

We planned to try some of the local seafood that night at a restaurant nearby. We hung around until its opening time at 8pm, only to discover it was closed because they were catering a special function elsewhere. So we settled on pizza and pasta as the other restaurants around looked a bit too upmarket.

LAPFWT