Chiloé Island

Tobias picked Tiffany up at the airport in Puerto Montt and they drove to Puerto Varas to meet up with Sharon and Kyle (friends Tobias Made) for lunch.

After stocking up on supplies they headed for Chiloé, South America’s fifth-largest island located just off of mainland Chile. Chiloé has been an important part of the region's history, from a Spanish stronghold during the wars of independence in 1820s to a major salmon and shellfish producer for Chile.

Puñihuil

Three tiny islands off the coast of Puñihuil, are breeding grounds for Magellanic and the endangered Humboldt penguins. We rented kayaks and started out before the speed boats full of tourists started. We had the waters and penguins to ourselves!

Chepu

We took kayaks out on the Rio Chepu to the confluence of three rivers to a sunken forest! The forest sank in 1960 when an earthquake caused the ground to shift about 2m. This allowed salt water to enter the area and kill the trees creating an eerie tree graveyard. Most days the water is misty and cloudy which adds to the ambiance, but we happened to catch it on a beautiful clear day.

Castro

Chiloé's largest city is situated on the coast almost exactly halfway down the island. We stopped here to recharge devices and have a romantic Leap Day dinner! We had the most amazing dish of razor clams and slow cooked pork in a broth.

Parque Tantauco

From Castro we made our way to Parque Tantauco. The park is one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots! Because we didn't have a tent we were only able to enjoy a small portion of the park. We based ourselves at Chaiguata camp and spent a few days exploring some of the trails.

Back in Castro

On our way out of Chiloé island we stopped in Castro to get lunch. Just as Tiffany finished gathering her things and shut the last door, Tobias realized he left the keys in the car! We were locked out! And to make matters worse, Tobias left the lights on :( We went to the restaurant and asked for help tracking down a mechanic, but unfortunately they were not able to find anyone. We walked around town trying a few different places but because it was in the middle of the afternoon everyone was closed for siesta. With no other options we went and had lunch and waited until things opened up again. After lunch we went to what we hoped to be a mechanic near the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was just a welding shop and the owner couldn't help us. Luckily there was a man hanging out at the shop and took it upon himself to help us out! After trying to call a few places and learning it would cost us $40-$50, we decided we may be able to do it ourselves. With the help of our new friend we got a wire and slipped it through the top of the window, hooked it to the window crank and attempted to roll it down. As we were doing that, an old man with a cane and smoking a cigarette walked up and offered to help out. He took the wire bent it into a fish hook and then pushed it down the window. Within a few minutes the door was open! Once the door was unlocked, we had to wait until the owner of one of the cars parked next to us returned and could give us a jump!