Southern Chile: Chiloe (Castro)

Castro

Foodies

Note: The restaurant Años Luz in LP book closed down.

Across the street from the Cruz Del Sur station, there is a food stand with baskets of empanadas and milcao. My friend recommended both the manzana and pino empanadas, but I only tried the manzana one which was decent.

However, I was in love with the "milcao" which has a thick mochi-like exterior stuffed with potato and shredded pork. It was TASTY when it was hot. Mmmm... SO GOOD! We bought it again for breakfast the next day, but the microwave didn’t do it justice.

Chris’ Recommendations (with our additional comments):

• La Brújula del Cuerpo - Perilously close to normal Chilean food. I had a pizza, which was a big white bread with pizza stuff on top and a sauce that looked but did not taste suspiciously ketchup-y. Nothing else was open on Sunday night.
• Our additional comments: The burger was a good change of pace from the real Chilean food, but not exactly an American-level burger. The steak fajitas were also tasty but very different from the American equivalent. The sauce for the fajitas was nice…would recommend this dish.
• Sacho - An excellent Chilote place. I had the pulmay, which was delicious, although the clams were sandy and the giant mussels turn out to be a food I'm reluctant to try, so I stuck to the regular mussels and was very happy.
• Our additional comments: The Salmon "cancato" was excellent. It is salmon stuffed with cheese, sausage and tomatoes….super yummy. The ensalada was a good complement to the cancato. We didn't order the "curanto" here but saw others eat this gigantic dish with shellfish, chicken, sausage which probably could feed 3-4 people. The view from this restaurant was worth going by itself…pretty lake, grassy green hills…good way to see the view from indoors.
  
• Restaurant Mar y Velas - This is actually out in Achao. I had a most excellent grilled conger eel with butter, simple and awesome.
• Don Octavio - Oh man. The "Octavio" style is your choice of fish smothered in onions/tomato/bell pepper/little bit of sausage, covered in a pile of mostly-crisp fried potatoes. It's Chilean, but...delicious? and flavorful? I'm confused. Go eat here.
• Our additional comments: The food was very good. The merluza octavio was excellent. This was also the one and only place we tried curanto. Seafood was fresh but we weren’t blown away…the stew was a little bland and salty. Perhaps we should’ve tried the curanto elsewhere such as at the fisherman's market or Sacho.
  
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• Kaweshkar - Actually a low-budget but stylish nightclub, they're open starting at noon serving drinks and food. I had a wonderful, deliciously non-Chilean real crepe with lightly sauteed vegetables and a light béchamel sauce, served with a little dish of ground smoked hot pepper (merkén) so I could season it to taste.
• Ristretto Caffe - On Blanco near the plaza, this may be the only coffee shop per se in town. Comfy tables, wifi, no power outlets. It's smoky when it's full, but the coffee doesn't suck.

Sleep

Hostal Cordillera: This was a decently priced room with a view looking out at the same lake as is seen from the restaurant Sacho. The room was very small and cramped and not much room for two people and their belongings. The walls were thin and we could here the conversion being had in the room next to ours very clearly so ear plugs are a must. The shower upstairs did not have hot water, so we used the downstairs one instead.

Hosteria

Torre De Babel- Recommended by friend.

Hospedaje Mirador- Recommended by friend. Run by very nice people, clean and comfy rooms and bathrooms (the rooms are tight), and a solid breakfast.

To Do

Castro

• Church- It’s one of the many churches in Chiloe that is deemed as a World Heritage Site. Many of the churches are wooden with no paint, but this one was one of my favorites as it was easily accessible, beautifully painted with nice architectural elements.
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• Mirador- It’s near the cemetery, but we got lost.
• Fish Market- On the way to the cemetery too where you can eat “curanto” at the end of the market to eat there or to go. Unfortunately we didn’t get there by closing time which was around 3pm.
• Palafitos- There are 3 main areas in Castro where you can see the “palafitos” (house on stilts over the water which are now protected since they are also World Heritage Sites), but the best view is the one before you cross the bridge to go towards Nercon which also is in the southern part of Castro.
• Artisan Market- Here you will find stall after stall of handmade items, but beware that there are also items from Peru, India, etc. I liked the stall that sold the homemade licor of Chiloe. Even though I don’t drink much, you can sample a variety of distinct licor that is only made in Chiloe. My favorite is the “Licor de Oro”. There is a fish market next to it which we think serves food earlier during the day.

DAY TRIPS

Nercon- We took a bus to the church in Nercon, but it looked permanently closed inside. Our friend recommended us to continue to walk straight past the church for 30 minutes (doesn’t matter which direction to take at the fork) to see a view of the Andes. However, it was a cloudy day and did not know which direction to look. However, it was a good workout.

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Achao- Took bus from terminal to Achao which ran pretty often. We wanted to see the church there but it was closed. Walked along the coast which was nice as you can see several other small islands. Forgot to check out LP’s recommended restaurant, Restaurant Mar y Velas.

There are houses with various shaped wooden shingles which were fun to spot such as this one which reminds me of an owl or dragon:

Dalcahue – I liked this town which was on the way to Achao.

• Church
• Artisans Market
• Cultural Museum (which happens to be a “palafito”)- Free entrance with historical artifacts and information about some of the indigenous populations in Chile.
• Indoor food stalls next to the artisans market. Food was good and cheap here. I tried the seafood stew which had various shellfish and the stew was simple. Also had a humongous apple pie and awesome sopaipillas (fried bread).