Having used all our energies on 2 wheels the day before we opted for a 4 wheeled mode of transport the next day and hired a car to go off for a couple of days exploring the island of Chiloé. So first thing a, surprise surprise, VW Gol was dropped off at the hostel and we drove the hour or so to the ferry which would take us over to the island.

According to the guide there was a chance of seeing dolphins on the crossing however we only managed a couple of sea lions. Good to see nonetheless.

Chiloé was the last part of Chile to remain loyal to the Spanish, and its then governor even offered it to Britain rather than become part of the new Republic of Chile. We turned it down.

It is primarily known for its rugged landscapes, UNESCO protected wooden churches, and brightly coloured wooden houses on stilts along the coast. One thing we hadn't quite appreciated is that aside from a couple of main roads, the roads are all dirt or gravel.

Once on the island our first port of call was the town of Ancud. An old fort turned out to be little more than a low wall with a couple of canons but offered commanding views over the bay. Thanks to an earthquake in 1960 the town's modern church wasn't of particular interest and so we headed out to a lighthouse on the northwestern tip of the island. Not only was the road of the dirt and gravel variety but it was also undergoing a lot of maintenance work. The going was very slow and very dusty. We feared for the car's paintwork as we trundled along between 20 and 40 kph for the better part of 2 hours. Although the lighthouse was in the guide book, it wasn't heavily featured on the tourist map we had picked up - turns out you can't actually visit it. Oops. However, there were good views from the headland and a pretty sheltered beach where we ate our lunch. Still no dolphins spotted.

Next we headed south along the western coast to Puñihuil where a colony of penguins live on three small islands just off the coast. Wheeled out to the boat on an elevated platform to avoid getting our precious feet wet, we took the half hour tour around the islands and saw loads of penguins and other sea birds. The penguins were pretty cool, but we were amazingly lucky and also saw a marine otter relaxing on the rocks. This means we have seen both the world's largest and world's smallest species of otter on this trip. I'm pretty sure that goal was high on our list ha ha.

Back on dry land we headed across the island at a snail's pace to the main town of Castro. At least the slow progress meant we had plenty of time to take in the views and the wooden churches we passed en route. The central landscape is very green and hilly, to be honest very reminiscent of northern France and southern Britain.

After a couple of false starts we found a decent hostel in Castro and spent the evening eating steak, drinking beer and watching football with locals in a bar. The latter part was obviously not through choice but was good fun!

The next morning we wandered along the sea front to see the bright, if somewhat dilapidated, wooden houses on stilts. Very picturesque. Aside from a glorious yellow and purple main church, the rest of the town has little of interest and so we headed off.

We caught another ferry to the smaller island of Quinchao where we drove around checking out the pretty little wooden houses and churches. All very nice.

Having soaked up enough of the local ambience and sights we headed back to Puerto Varas on the mainland. We arrived back in pouring rain and so luckily the car hire lady didn't check the vehicle too closely. I'm sure there were a few new paint chips, and road dust had somehow managed to coat even the inside of car. It was a state!

Chiloé isn't the most spectacular part of Chile by any stretch of the imagination, but the distinctive wooden houses and churches were good to see, and the penguin colony a fun diversion.