Secret of the Island
Chiloe, in addition to being an island which is a cool fact in itself, is known for its interesting architecture. The fisherman communities scattered around the main island and many small surrounding islands have charming wooden churches some of them being 200 year old and preserved as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Another architectural attraction are the waterfront houses on stilts. These together with the promise of fresh seafood, put Chiloe on our "must see" list. Often half the fun of seeing a place is getting there. But getting there meant a long and exhausting 29 hour ferry ride, so one can hardly call this fun.
The ferry had two halls for passengers: a small premium room with numbered bus like seats, and another much larger common one with long padded benches. Although we paid a "tourist" price for the tickets that were 1.5 times higher than the normal fare, they had no assigned seat numbers, so we stayed in the common hall. This was even better, since we claimed one of the benches and could stretch on it during the night. After the ferry made several stops in a few small ports, the room got completely filled with people. Many locals brought cardboard boxes and blankets with them that they have unfolded on the floor and slept through the night. You couldn't make a step without stepping on someone.
We spent several days on the island eating the freshest seafood, exploring different coastal communities, trespassing on a commercial fishery, and being chased by wild dogs.
While we enjoyed seeing the main attractions, what we liked the most was learning about something not mentioned in our guidebooks - history, legends, and myths of Chiloe. Rich interconnected myths describe the creation of the island, its various magical marine and terrestrial creatures, magical ghost ship, and witches and wizards. We thought you might enjoy some of them.
Long time ago Chiloe was part of the continent. Then, the snake God of Water decided to make waters rise flooding the villages. The snake God of Earth came to the help of the people by raising their land as hills. They thought for a long time, and the god of Earth finally won. But this was only a partial victory, as the hills became islands separated from the mainland. Thus the archipelago of Chiloe was born.
The god of water was not all evil. During the war a sea lion mated with a beautiful human girl, and they had a child which they named Millalobo - half man half sea lion covered by magnificent golden fur. The god of water made him the supreme ruler of the seas, sort of like Neptune. In his turn Millalobo then fell in love with yet another beautiful human girl, and together they had two daughters, Pincoya and Serena, and a son, Pincoy. This mermaid like children, help their father rule the sea by making sure that the seas are full of fish and clams.
In the seas, one can also sometimes see the ghost ship Caleuche. It appears from the fog, with lights, music, and sounds of big party, and then disappears by magically turning into a tree trunk floating on the waves. The crew of ship is made up of fallen sailors, who are transported to the ship by Pincoya. Once on the ship, they live an afterlife of partying and are permitted to see their family once a year. The belief in Pincoya and the Caleuche is so strong, that many sailors never learn how to swim, hoping that if they die at sea a great afterlife awaits them on Caleuche.
The land is also full of strange creatures. Most interestingly, in the forest among unicorns, basilisks, and bloodsucking snakes lives Trauco, a short ugly man with stumps instead of feet. He hides in the trees waiting for single girls to walk by. He then startles them and hypnotizes them with his magical eyes. When they wake up, they find themselves nude, disheveled, not remembering a thing. Nine month later, boom!, a kid is born.
There are also witches and wizards who steal babies to transform them into magical ugly creatures to guard their cave. They break one of their legs and tie it behind their back so they can't run far away, rub magical potion on their back to make it hairy, split their tongue to make it snake like, and feed them human flesh. Other witches spit out their own guts which makes them light enough to turn into flying spirits during the night. They have to swallow them back before dawn though, or they will stay that way forever. Sometimes wizards summon a magical marine horse that transports them to the Caleuche to join dead sailors in their partying.
The ferry had two halls for passengers: a small premium room with numbered bus like seats, and another much larger common one with long padded benches. Although we paid a "tourist" price for the tickets that were 1.5 times higher than the normal fare, they had no assigned seat numbers, so we stayed in the common hall. This was even better, since we claimed one of the benches and could stretch on it during the night. After the ferry made several stops in a few small ports, the room got completely filled with people. Many locals brought cardboard boxes and blankets with them that they have unfolded on the floor and slept through the night. You couldn't make a step without stepping on someone.
We spent several days on the island eating the freshest seafood, exploring different coastal communities, trespassing on a commercial fishery, and being chased by wild dogs.
While we enjoyed seeing the main attractions, what we liked the most was learning about something not mentioned in our guidebooks - history, legends, and myths of Chiloe. Rich interconnected myths describe the creation of the island, its various magical marine and terrestrial creatures, magical ghost ship, and witches and wizards. We thought you might enjoy some of them.
Long time ago Chiloe was part of the continent. Then, the snake God of Water decided to make waters rise flooding the villages. The snake God of Earth came to the help of the people by raising their land as hills. They thought for a long time, and the god of Earth finally won. But this was only a partial victory, as the hills became islands separated from the mainland. Thus the archipelago of Chiloe was born.
The god of water was not all evil. During the war a sea lion mated with a beautiful human girl, and they had a child which they named Millalobo - half man half sea lion covered by magnificent golden fur. The god of water made him the supreme ruler of the seas, sort of like Neptune. In his turn Millalobo then fell in love with yet another beautiful human girl, and together they had two daughters, Pincoya and Serena, and a son, Pincoy. This mermaid like children, help their father rule the sea by making sure that the seas are full of fish and clams.
In the seas, one can also sometimes see the ghost ship Caleuche. It appears from the fog, with lights, music, and sounds of big party, and then disappears by magically turning into a tree trunk floating on the waves. The crew of ship is made up of fallen sailors, who are transported to the ship by Pincoya. Once on the ship, they live an afterlife of partying and are permitted to see their family once a year. The belief in Pincoya and the Caleuche is so strong, that many sailors never learn how to swim, hoping that if they die at sea a great afterlife awaits them on Caleuche.
The land is also full of strange creatures. Most interestingly, in the forest among unicorns, basilisks, and bloodsucking snakes lives Trauco, a short ugly man with stumps instead of feet. He hides in the trees waiting for single girls to walk by. He then startles them and hypnotizes them with his magical eyes. When they wake up, they find themselves nude, disheveled, not remembering a thing. Nine month later, boom!, a kid is born.
There are also witches and wizards who steal babies to transform them into magical ugly creatures to guard their cave. They break one of their legs and tie it behind their back so they can't run far away, rub magical potion on their back to make it hairy, split their tongue to make it snake like, and feed them human flesh. Other witches spit out their own guts which makes them light enough to turn into flying spirits during the night. They have to swallow them back before dawn though, or they will stay that way forever. Sometimes wizards summon a magical marine horse that transports them to the Caleuche to join dead sailors in their partying.