Leslie does Chiloe Island

Chiloe Island (Chee-low-way) is a remote fishing island off the coast of Chile boasting daily rain and gray skies.  I boarded a tender and decided to take a little look see since not many visitors ever make the trip. The tourist dollars come from only four boats per year and honestly, they didn't really have a super handle on making visitors feel welcome so that's probably for the greater good. Initially Spanish, Chile moved in and after three attempts to take Chiloe by force, successfully screamed "This place is ours" and I get the feeling they islanders are still holding a grudge. Boy, were they glad to see me! I may as well have had four heads as I walked down a very quiet seaside street following a scowling fisherman dragging two of the biggest salmon I've ever seen down the street by their gills. Appetizing! The islanders apparently hate the sun as it doesn't mesh with their lives so happily geared to the cold and wet. Many of the small brightly colored homes are built on stilts right in the sea(strange as there's land on the other side of the street) welcoming the tide and the fisherman back home. Chiloe is famous for these stilt houses and they're an interesting and curiously colorful addition of which they're seriously proud. The island smells strongly of fish, pine and woodsmoke as this is the only way the people heat their homes and every house has a tiny chimney with wafting smoke. Potatoes, salmon and mussels are the way folks make a buck here; largely the people seem very poor and although scowling, generally amiable with each other and very happy to sit around discussing large dirty fish. The local church resembles something made out of matchsticks and was quaint and calm and busy with the villagers who are very Catholic and very religious. All of Chile is Catholic and shrines and statues are plentiful. The statue above was particularly interesting to me because baby Jesus was wearing an actual little baby boy knit outfit. I thought it was very touching and some mamacita probably worried that he would get cold. Many of the statues here are wearing real clothes, lending a truly surreal touch to the already faintly creepy wooden halls.

I also visited a museum of modern art in an artist's compound and modern it definitely was. Way out there for a sleepy place like Chiloe. I was treated to a 'fashion show' of local fashion which was largely comprised of giant heavy sweaters, jackets and shawls dyed with bright natural dyes. Not one to really go native myself as far as fashion is concerned, the pieces nevertheless, were vibrant and imaginative and the Chiloen teenybopper models were really cute and having a big proud Gisele Bundchen moment.

Me, I was just happy to be standing there with my empanada and you guessed it--a Pisco Sour.

I'm going to have to start keeping count.