We're Missing the Chile #6

Personal musings:
-Keep coming up with new random ways to do things differently than the Chileans.
-Chileans like to laugh at things that are different. Fun times.

Travel log: Isla de Chiloé aka Isla Grande de Chiloé
-You ride a ferry to get to the island
-Staying at cabin on Lake Natri (Lago de Natri)
-Went to Castro (the capital) and saw houses on stilts (palafitos)
-Saw wooden churches (UNESCO heritage site)
-Bought an alpaca sweater (CP note: You should have bought a people sweater!)
-Went salmon fishing but apparently didn't do it right (hearty laughter ensued).

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Archaeology nerd notes:
Evidence suggests that Solanum tuberosum tuberosum, the most commonly grown potato in the world, is indigenous to Chiloé.

Also, Chiloé has a very diverse mythology stemming from folklore from multiple indigenous populations mixed with Spanish conquistador fiddle-faddle, shaken (not stirred) and let stand in an isolated environment.

Did you know that Darwin visited Chiloé in 1834? It's true, he wrote about it in his diaries. If you're curious "The Voyage of the Beagle" can be read online in its entirety (either at Project Gutenberg or here), chapter 13 is about Chiloé. Anthropologically it's pretty interesting reading (*cough*ethnocentrism*cough*) although Darwin was a naturalist, not an anthropologist (Dammit Jim!). Here's an excerpt from December 1, 1834 when Darwin reached Castro, (keep in mind that Castro was the capital of the province until 1788 but didn't become capital of the province again until 1982):

Early on Sunday morning we reached Castro, the ancient capital of
Chiloe, but now a most forlorn and deserted place. The usual
quadrangular arrangement of Spanish towns could be traced, but the
streets and plaza were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep
were browsing. The church, which stands in the middle, is entirely
built of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. The
poverty of the place may be conceived from the fact, that although
containing some hundreds of inhabitants, one of our party was
unable anywhere to purchase either a pound of sugar or an ordinary
knife. No individual possessed either a watch or a clock; and an
old man who was supposed to have a good idea of time, was employed
to strike the church bell by guess. The arrival of our boats was a
rare event in this quiet retired corner of the world; and nearly
all the inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our
tents. They were very civil, and offered us a house; and one man
even sent us a cask of cider as a present. In the afternoon we paid
our respects to the governor--a quiet old man, who, in his
appearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an English
cottager. At night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient
to drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers on. An
Indian family, who had come to trade in a canoe from Caylen,
bivouacked near us. They had no shelter during the rain. In the
morning I asked a young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had
passed the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered, "Muy
bien, señor."