Happy Easter from Chiloé

When I arrived here in Chiloé on Friday afternoon, it was raining cats and dogs. I got soaked just dragging my bag from the bus terminal to the taxi stand. Rain was predicted for every day this week, but miraculously, that evening, it cleared up and, except for a fierce fog this morning, has been beautiful ever since.

Yesterday, after breakfast, I went straight to the Visitors Center of the Churches because I wanted to see their display of Chiloé's famed wooden churches, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cerrado. Closed for Easter weekend. Instead, I walked back to visit the Ancud Museum. It was a small museum, but entry was free and they had some interesting exhibits. After that, I walked to the Mercado and the Feria.

I had been told that I could arrange a tour of the area in one of tourist centers at the Mercado, but they, too, were cerrado. It seemed to me that most everything was closed for Easter.

I walked two circles of downtown Ancud before finally returning to my hotel in frustration. At the reception desk, I asked the young lady how in the world I was going to see anything of the area if there were no tours.

At first, she just shook her head at me and I was giving up hope of seeing more than the few blocks around the hotel when she had an idea. She dialed a phone number and, suddenly, I was connected with a tour guide who was available, willing, and able to conduct a tour on Easter Sunday.

We made the arrangements and he arrived precisely on time this morning at 10:15. We traversed the entire northern end of Chiloé. We visited a wooden church, Caleta Puñihuil, Faro Corona (Corona Lighthouse), a chicha (fermented apple cider) festival, and other parts before arriving back at the hotel at 6:30.

I had spent a unique day touring this spectacular area of Chile. If you ever need a tour of Ancud, contact me because I know a good guide.

Happy Easter!