Day 11: Castro - Chiloé Churches Route: Rilán Church, Dalcahue Church, San Juan Church, Tenaún Church, Colo Church, Quinchao Church and Achao Church
After yesterday, in which after the earthquake scare and tsunami warning, in which we passed the scare that had booked us this trip to Chile and Easter Island and enjoyed all the places to see in Castro, we we get up when it's 7:30 in the morning and after getting a little up to date with the work we start the Chiloé Churches Route approaching Castro for breakfast, because although in the Alcamar Cabins we have a full kitchen, yesterday we did not buy anything, so today we have to go outside and load energies in a cafeteria in the city.
We have to say that the incredible views that we have from the bed and the living room do not help us to get going, making us the tugs, until when it is 10 in the morning we start to start the route through this magical island called Chiloé and how much we like it despite the scare of yesterday.
Views from the bed of our cabin
Lounge of our cabin
We approach the Plaza de Armas de Castro, where we park the car and where we go directly to the Compass of the Body, where we had dinner yesterday, since the day has come over us and we don't want to waste much more time. We ordered a full breakfast plus a plate of pancakes for 7975CLP, all great, what gives us energy to start what will be our particular Chiloé Churches Route and for the rest of the day.
A few minutes past 11 in the morning when we get back on our way, direction to the Church of Rilán, the first we will visit in this Chiloé Churches Route, located about 30 minutes from Castro, which returns to enter through stunning landscapes, surrounded by nature and villages full of charm, which confirm the reason why they say of Chiloé that it is a magical place.
In the event that you have not yet visited the Church of Our Lady of Nercón, which we saw yesterday, this day would be perfect to include it in the route, since you pass just ahead on the way to Castro, in case you are located for the area in which we are.
Rilán Church
Upon arrival in Rilán we find a beautiful church, which can be entered on the right side, with a three-nave floor, which combines neo-Romanesque, neo-Gothic and neoclassical elements.
Rilán Church
The tower is 30 meters high, has three bodies and is topped in spire. Although we have to say that only seeing it on the outside is wonderful, the interior of the Church of Rilán is spectacular, so we recommend that you miss this visit in the Chiloé Churches Route. You will not regret!
Inside we can see, on the altar, a white crucifix, of great historical value.
Interior Rilán Church
From the Church of Rilán, we retrace our steps and return along the same path that we have done a few minutes ago, now heading to Dalcahue where another of the most beautiful churches in the area is located.
Dalcahue is 24 kilometers from Rilan and by car the journey is approximately 20 minutes, which as you can see is the time it takes to go from one church to another, since in Chiloé most points of interest are very close one of other.
We arrive when it is 1 in the afternoon and we find a charming town, but it looks a little overshadowed by the rain that has begun to fall. As we said yesterday, in Chiloé it is quite common to rain and this morning the sky was quite cloudy, so the forecast was not too encouraging, something that has been confirmed now, giving us a few hours of rain.
Dalcahue Church
Upon arrival in Dalcahue we park right in front of the church, you have to keep in mind that all the small towns are very small and you can park in the streets near the churches, for free. After taking some photographs we see that this church is closed so we simply take a walk around the surroundings, delighting in the little houses and shops full of charm that are in the surroundings and directly return to the car to raise a plan B To this rainy day.
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Dalcahue Church
Our Lady of Sorrows church, also known as Dalcahue Church, is one of the churches declared World Heritage, oldest and largest in Chiloé. It was built in 1858 and all its exterior is covered with larch roof, highlighting its beautiful portal of 9 arches and a tower almost 27 meters high.
This church is located in the Plaza de Armas of the city from where you have unique views of the channel that separates it from the Island of Quinchao.
The initial idea of this Route through the Chiloé Churches was to take the ferry and go to the island of Quinchao, but seeing how the weather is, we prefer to skip this part of the planning of the day and go directly to the Church of San Juan, half an hour from here, to do that area and it is late , back to Castro, if the weather is better, make the area that we have skipped.
If you are doing this Chiloé Churches Route By rental car, you should be especially careful if you take a tourism with the GPS as it will normally show the shortest route, which is usually on an unpaved road. To avoid this, it must be taken into account that the asphalted path runs along the coastal road, since all interior roads, at some time or another, have unpaved sections.
Although we made several journeys through these roads and nothing happened to us, we believe that it is much better to make the route on paved roads to avoid problems as well as being in the end much faster, since on unpaved roads the maximum speed is of 20-30 kilometers / hour.
We arrive at the Church of San Juan when it is 2 in the afternoon and we find ourselves, already visible from the top, with a tiny fishing village, where in the distance we can see the exact place we have come today here: the San Juan Bautista Church.
Views of San Juan
It didn't take us more than 3 minutes to get to the church, where we parked right next door, approaching first of all the little houses and shops full of charm that surround it and that show us the importance of the details and how they make this place one from those corners of the world where we would not mind staying a few days enjoying a unique environment.
Casitas de San Juan
Church of San Juan
San Juan Bautista Church
With a tower of 17 meters high, this beautiful church is protected by a high area and the beach, fully discovered at low tide, which gives this landscape a unique view, especially when you see the surroundings full of boats that are being repaired, since the situation of the town makes it ideal for this activity.
San Juan Bautista Church
After a walk around we have to say that we are totally in love with this small town on the Big Island of Chiloé, that although it is far away or rather, it is something unattainable on the unpaved roads, it is well worth getting here. After this walk we try to look for a place to eat, something that we do not achieve, since in Chiloé, outside of the largest cities or most towns important It is difficult to find restaurants or stores where you can buy something, both to eat and drink, something to keep in mind if you do this Chiloé Churches Route, as it is worth stocking up in Castro and thus not having to go looking or hoping to find somewhere to be able to charge power.
San Juan beach. Chiloé Churches Route
From here we follow our Chiloé Churches Route to go to Tenaún, 24 kilometers from San Juan, where we arrived after three in the afternoon, after returning on an unpaved road, which will take us through the innermost part of the island that leaves us totally surprised and in love. We have already said that Chiloé is enchanting us, right?
We arrived in Tenaún and after parking the car right next to the place we are going to visit, we find one of the most scenic churches we have seen so far and we have to say, we love it.
Tenaún Church
Church Our Lady of the Sponsorship of Tenaún
This church, built in 1845 has 3 towers, something for which it is considered as an exception within the architecture of the rest of Chiloé churches.
With almost 43 meters long and a tower 26 meters high, in which the wood of cypress, mañío, canelo and hazelnut was used in its construction, we assure you that this is one of the Chiloé churches that you can not miss.
Church Our Lady of the Sponsorship of Tenaún
In addition to the church, it is advisable to walk around, where it attracts our attention and also reminds us of yesterday's arrival in Chiloé, the tsunami warning signal that we see near the church and that have already become habitual of this trip to Chile in 31 days, in which we have been crossing with them in each destination that we have visited, in addition to living it first hand only a few hours ago.
Tsunami Alert in the Church Our Lady of the Sponsorship of Tenaún
Tenaún has some more life than the rest of the small towns that we have visited so far, so we take the opportunity to approach the only supermarket there is, quite small by the way, where we take the opportunity to buy a couple of bread sticks, with a little sausage and a couple of soft drinks, more two sweets that fill our stomach and give us energy to continue with the Chiloé Churches Route.
And so, after this impromptu meal, we make our way to Colo, the last of the churches in this area that we are going to visit where we arrived at 4 in the afternoon, since it is only 10 kilometers from Tenaún, by paved road.
Here we find a lonely wooden church, which draws our attention. It is not the prettiest, but we have to say that for us it has really been presented as one of the most beautiful, we do not know exactly the reason or how to explain it, but we can say that this place has a special energy.
Colo Church
San Antonio de Colo Church
Located in Colo, in the commune of Quemchi, this church dates from 1785, and the current construction was done in 1890 with cypress wood and coigüe. With a 17 meter high tower, this church stands out from the rest because it is not located near the sea or facing it, but quite the opposite, it is on its back and in the upper area of a hill, something that differentiates it from the rest from Chiloé Churches.
It is 4:30 p.m. when we set our way back to Dalcahue, hoping that the weather there has improved a bit and so we can do the part of the Chiloé Church Route that we leave this morning pending for the bad weather.
We are 40 kilometers that we travel in about 45 minutes, surrounded as always since we arrived in Chiloé with green meadows that transport us, saving the distances, to the English countryside, as we said yesterday and that we visited a few months ago.
We arrive in Dalcahue just when the ferry to Quinchao is about to leave, so we do not think much and after paying 1500CLP we start up to a new island in Chiloé, which will take us to meet 2 new churches.
It takes us to cross from Dalcahue to the Island of Quinchao a little more than 5 minutes and directly we get on our way to Achao, 20 kilometers away, where we arrive in 15 minutes following a paved road. Here we find another one of the Chiloé Churches declared a World Heritage Site, which although closed on Mondays, we did not want to miss.
Achao Church
Church Santa María de Loreto de Achao
Located in the Commune of Quinchao, in Achao, this church is considered one of the oldest churches in Chile since its construction took place in the year 1730. With an excellent state of preservation, today there are still masses.
The tower, with 22 meters of altitude is covered with larch, like the rest of the church and its interior structure of cypress and mañío wood.
After a walk around the area, when it is 18:15 in the afternoon we start towards the last visit of the day: the Church of Quinchao, located just 10 kilometers from Achao, where we arrive in 10 minutes through A paved road.
As soon as we park the car, we realize again that we are alone, and since we arrived in Chiloé we can say that we have crossed with as many tourists as fingers we have in one hand and precisely this has not been in any of the Chiloé Churches, that we are enjoying the two alone since we started this Chiloé Churches Route.
Quinchao Church
Our Lady of Grace Church of Villa Quinchao
In the southern area of Quinchao Island we find this beautiful church, built with cinnamon, cypress and hazelnut, which was built in the 18th century, but which ended in 1880.
With its own architecture of the Chiloé churches, it has a gable roof and a tower, in which we can see the entrance area, the pediment and the tower itself.
Our Lady of Grace Church of Villa Quinchao
After this visit and a walk around, we conclude this Chiloé Churches Route undoing the road made, crossing again by ferry to Dalcahue and then return to Castro, where as soon as we arrive we will go in search of a place to dine and taste the Chilota cuisine that we want to try so much.
One of the options we had in this area was to spend in Cucao de Vélez, a town that we have read is very scenic, but being the time it is, we prefer to go to Castro and leave this visit for the next time we come to Chiloé, Sure, it will be soon.
We arrive at 8:00 pm in Castro and go directly to Avenida Puerto Montt, where one of the most recommended restaurants in the city is: Mercadito.
Views from Mercadito
There we have the great luck of the day, since when we ask the waitress she tells us that she cannot give us a table since everything is reserved and we imagine that before our face of surprise, mixed with sorrow, the owner tells us to wait a few minutes to make ourselves a hole in the lounge, something that we thank you immensely (and more after trying its excellent cuisine).
We ordered a tuna ceviche, a tuna with sesame crust, some hake sticks and some parmesan stains, typical of the area, plus a beer, a soda and an espresso for 42000CLP, which have opened us to the Chilota cuisine of The best possible way.
Dinner at Mercadito in Castro
It's almost 9:30 at night when we start to take the road back to Cabañas Alcamar where we are staying these days and where we arrive in 15 minutes just when the sun starts to set and leaves us with unique images of this incredible accommodation in which we are lucky to be able to stay these days.
Sunset in Cabañas Alcamar
After this very complete day we have enjoyed a part of the Chiloé Churches Route, we have to say that we are loving it and that it is not surprising that they call this island Magic land And it is one of those places where you breathe a special atmosphere.
If you can do not stop coming, yes, minimum to spend 3 or 4 days and thus enjoy Castro, some route through the Chiloé Churches more interesting and another to know the National Park, another of the essentials of this area of Chile.
Day 12: Castro - What to see in Chiloé: Vilupulli Church, Chonchi Church, Lemuy Island: Ichuac Church, Aldachildo Church and Detif Church
