Dad was feeling much better this day, and we left early to go to the town of Cucao where the entrance to the national park of Chiloé is located. We hiked around all day in a wide variety of habitats, and spent the day birding and enjoying the scenery. We hiked along the beach, and also along this one trail into a unique habitat that consisted of a boggy tangle of fallen and stunted trees. We then spent the rest of our day trying to find another trail that was fairly well hidden down the road, down a side road, past some random residential houses, through someone's yard, and into the woods. We finally found it, and it was well worth the trek as the forest was a prehistoric conglomeration of towering moss-covered trees and bamboo thickets. We also had a long discussion about what time the last bus of the day was, and we finally decided to play it safe and go with the earlier time. I think we played our cards right :). More pictures are always available on request.
The first, boggy trail:
The second, forested trail:
A denizen of the Chilean forests:
Bird highlights: Chiloe Wigeon, Cinereous Harrier, Plumbeous Rail, Slender-billed Parakeet, Wren-like Rushbird, Black-throated Huet-huet, Chucao Tapaculo, Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, Austral Negrito, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter, Patagonian Sierra-finch
April 9
This was another adventurous day as we left Castro early to get the bus to another town on the north end of the island called Ancud. Once we arrived in Ancud and placed our bags in a hostel, we spent the next two hours searching for a bus to the northwestern corner of the island. It turns out that there are at least five bus terminals in town, and only one of them leaves to go to the town we wanted to go to. It didn't help that the town is called Punilluhue, and I still couldn't pronounce it at gunpoint. However, we finally got the correct bus, and arrived at the area around 1:00. We wanted to go to this particular location because it is a national monument that protects a penguin colony. Unfortunately it was too late in the year for the penguins, but we saw several other southern Chilean specialties.
The weather had been fantastic the entire trip, but in this afternoon it began to rain. We again caught the last bus of the day back to our hotel, dried out, and went to dinner. Up until this point, dad and I had been buying food in the grocery store and cooking for ourselves in the hostels' kitchen. This meant that breakfast was cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, and eggs. Lunch was bread, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, and eggs. And dinner was condensed soup, rice, noodles, and eggs. However, this day we at the traditional Chiloean meal called Curanto, which consisted of potatoes, meat, clams, mussels, and chicken all steamed together with spices. It was delicious and we were definitely full afterwards.
A family of Kelp Geese:
A Flightless Steamer-Duck demonstrating his ridiculously short wings:
A handsome Blackish Oystercatcher:
During the penguin breeding season, the town of Punihuil makes a fair amount of money running tour boats to the island:
Most of the island of Chiloé is pastoral, and this is a typical vista:
The Isolets of Punihuil:
Our dinner of curanto:
Bird highlights: Kelp Goose, Flightless Steamer-Duck, Rock Cormorant, Blackish Oystercatcher
April 10
Our last day on Chiloé was a relaxed day, with the main purpose getting to Puerto Montt by nightfall. We spent the morning again confused by the bus system in Ancud, this time trying to get off the island. However, we finally go the correct bus, and after getting on the ferry again, we decided to just stay on and watch the birds. This was definitely a good move because we were successful in finding penguins! They were swimming around in the channel, and we got some great looks at them, including a family of five. After our fifth ride on the ferry, one of the employees approached me and kindly asked, "What exactly is your purpose on the ferry?" I told him that we just were watching the ocean and taking photographs. This seemed to satisfy him. After getting off the ferry, we walked around the shore and caught a bus to Puerto Montt, one of the big cities of the south.
Me eating a famous "completo". The most popular Chilean fast food which is a hot dog with tomatoes, avocado, and mayonnaise:
A typical fishing vessel anchored in the Chucao channel:
Our bird-watching station for three hours:
Bird highlights: Humboldt Penguin, Rufous-chested Dotterel, Gray-flanked Cinclodes
Some hostels accommodate pets.
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