After an hour’s drive from Puerto Varas, we took a ferry to Chiloé Island. It actually is an archipelago of 40 islands many miles south on the west coast of Chile. We headed to Castro, the major town in the middle of the 19 mile long island. The controversial bridge being built, since the 1970’s, is still not completely built. Locals seem to not want the bridge as they fear it will change the island vibe.

Everything operates on “island time” here, meaning nothing is rushed. Whether waiting for service or talking with a local, all will be accomplished eventually. It was a change of pace I enjoyed.

It was great seeing birds at Puñihuil Wildlife Reserve. To get closer to the reserve, were carted off to a boat in the water. Never got our feet wet! From there we boated near some rocky islands to view Humboldt and Magellanic penguins! We saw many other birds, plus a sea lion and 3 otters!

We stopped at a market and saw some HUGE, truly huge garlic … size of my 2 fists! Eventually we got to the town of Castro and our hotel. Beautiful view of the bay, part of the Pacific Ocean, and in the distance we can see some houses on stilts.