Ignacio & Alonso are "Los Clandestinos"

Rain greeted us as we began our tour down Chiloé Island where we will spend the next five days.  Because of its southern location (far from the early governments in Santiago), its temperate, rainy Pacific coastal climate, and its separation from the mainland, a culture unique in Chile has developed, a culture that mixes the traditions, religion, architecture, stories, foods, and skills (to name a few) of the Chono, Huilliche, Spanish, and German peoples (to name a few).  Perhaps part of the hospitality we have been experiencing comes from this mix.

Our plan to spend the day biking an 80km route to and around the city of Ancud dissipated in the soaking drizzle.  We got a late start, drinking coffee leisurely at our breakfast as the wind blew and the rain misted.  When finally ready to load the bikes, David remembered the flat tire he had on his bike from the night before.  Delayed about 15 minutes as he patched the tire, and we were on our way.   After 5km or so, David´s cable on his rear derailleur snapped.  Hoping there might be some shelter from the misty wind at the top of the hill where he could fix the bike,  one such shelter appeared…a covered bus stop.  It always amazes me how quickly David deals with break-downs.  I  barely had time to translate one page of our Spanish guide book before he had replaced the cable.  Back on the misty, chilly road, a cup of coffee seemed a good idea.  We came upon the Parque Ecológico y Mitológico de Chile, a privately run park we had been told was for children.  We stopped to check it out and see if they had a snack bar with coffee.  No coffee or food was sold, but we were invited into the family’s home by Francisco, a Santiago policeman, who with his family was visiting his father, the park’s creator.  Francisco offered us coffee, bread and cheese.  His three sons, Alfonzo, Juan, Ignacio, and his niece Daniela, played and sang folk music for us, music they had performed at festivals as members of the band The Clandestinos. Then Francisco gave us a private tour of the park sharing some of the stories and myths of the island.  The park was a labyrinth of paths in the thickets of the woods.  Various creatures, carved from wood by Francisco’s father stood in small clearings, caves, branches of trees, under swinging wooden walking bridges, inside miniature wooden houses, all constructed by Francisco’s father.  My favorite was the bruja (witch), a very wise old woman who held all the knowledge of the culture, understood healing and balance, and was consulted by all with their problems.  In the religion of the Huilliche and Chono people she was the shaman.   You have to love a tradition where old, wrinkled woman are honored and respected.   Of course, such a strong figure was called a “witch” by the proselytizing Jesuits in the 16th century and relegated to children’s stories (I think, perhaps, she lives on in the island in the guise of a strong Catholic Mary).

After touring this work of love by Francisco’s father, David and I got back on the bikes.  The rain continued off and on as we rode a short 20km or so arriving in the late afternoon in Ancud. Once the capital of the province, Ancud suffered greatly in the 1960 earthquake, the strongest earthquake ever recorded, measuring 9.6 on the Richter scale.  The town seemed a little shabby at first glance.  This impression did not last.  First we met Lorena, hotel manager, who gave us a lovely room and didn’t turn up her nose at our soggy appearance.  In our exploring of the town the next day we toured a very good museum that introduced us to the wooden churches for which this island is known.  The cultural mix and the climate’s available trees produced unique architecture in its churches that UNESCO has declared World Heritage sites.  We will see some of these churches in the next few days.

Wooden churches in Chiloe have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 18:29 and is filed under Julie's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.