Chiloe
Ancud
Note on Transportation: My friend did not like Buses Queilen as they use their own terminal about 1.5km from the town center which is a bit of a trek if you have luggage. Tur Bus and Pullman did not offer buses between Pto. Varas and Chiloe. Cruz Del Sur was good but do know that there are people who pay to stand on the bus so if it crowded, you might have someone standing over you during your trip.
This was the ferry that our Cruz Del Sur bus took to get to the island of Chiloe.
Foodies
El Mundo de La Papa- This restaurant is on the same street as Hostel Nuevo Mundo, a couple blocks before you reach the old fort, on the right side. It is a cute café-like restaurant offering appetizers and entrees with locally grown potatoes from Chiloe. The Gnocchi with Smoked Salmon, purple, and white potatoes was delicious. So were the homemade chips made from a variety of potatoes. My favorite is the purple potato.
Central Market- There is a farmer’s/fish market as well as 1-2 food stalls near the 2 big supermarkets in town.
Chocolate shop across from the Carabineros (Police) station.
My friend, Chris’, recommendation which was a bit different from mine:
- Retro's Pub - Probably the winner, given I'm avoiding Chilean food. Excellent service, good-enough nachos (made with Doritos, so don't expect them to satisfy a purist)`, excellent burgers (if slightly awkward at 6-7 inches wide).
- Kuranton - Where I had the curanto. Meh.
- La Botica de Café - Chilean-style sad espresso and no wifi, but it's smoke-free and pleasant, with excellent desserts. Ordering a ristretto gets you good espresso.
- El Embrujo de Chiloé - I asked them to run the espresso machine for 30 seconds and they still failed. Ordering a ristretto was much better. Wireless, and nice people.
- DH Pub - Hiding up Pudeto a few blocks from the center. They have Chilote beer, which isn't good (at least the lager/blonde), but they made a mighty whiskey sour and it came with some kind of fried-dough snackies with spicy cheese.
- Kuranton- The Curanto is really big. (Suggested by another friend)
Sleep
Hostal Del Mundo- Everyone who has stayed here, including myself, have liked this clean waterfront hostel which includes a nice breakfast. The rooms are spacious enough with enough storage and the bathrooms are fairly clean. They will help you book tours. Ask for the self-guided tour map of Ancud.
Hostal Lluhay (Chris’ recommendation)- a low-cost place for grown-ups: every day they come clean your room, make the bed, and leave you new towels (some days scratchier than others) with breakfast. It's also a couple blocks from the town center, and the dining room has a very nice fireplace that eventually gives off heat.
To Do
Self-Guided Tour (allow 2-3 hours)- Definitely check out the Church Museum, the churches, the Feria Artesanal (lots of handmade crafts), and the fort if you haven’t seen one.
Penguin Tour- I didn't go see the penguins here, but it was recommended by several people. You take boat up to an island. You take the only bus that goes to Penguinhuil that takes one hour from Ancud. It will leave at 6:45 AM, 12 noon, and 5:30 and then pick you up at 1 pm or 5 pm.
Quemchi- Take a day trip to this small beach town which takes about 2 hours there and close to 2 hours back depending on which route the bus takes. Take the bus from the rural bus terminal which is located near Colo-Colo about 3 blocks from the Fish Market.
- El Chejo Restaurant- This was highly recommended by LP book and by many foreign visitors per the guestbook at the restaurant. However, we did not have much luck. The fish and seafood empanadas were not very good. There was hardly anyone there for lunch. Perhaps if we came on a weekend then it would’ve been better. I also tasted the murtado (herbal berry) liquor which was a bit strong and the berries were bitter when I bit into them. However, the mora (blackberry) liquor was very sweet and tasty.
- Walk along the beach especially the section past the bus terminal which winds around several hills.
- Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment