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Chiloè: magical land of rain, fairies, puppies, food, livestock, awesome sweaters, bad american music, and simultaneously brightly colored yet faded life.

I`ve been trying to get a feel for Chiloè since we arrived in Ancud almost a week ago and i think i might have it down. you know how people say something "runs like a well oiled machine?" well Chiloè is kind of the opposite. it definitely runs. but it´s more like a really old machine whose gears are all rusty or borrowed, that creaks with every turn, and has a brightly painted exterior that has been weathered and chipped by a few too many Pacific storms and earthquakes. But it`s beautiful at the same time. Like a priceless antique that should be on a shelf being admired but instead is still functioning like it always has. And there is nothing that could take it`s place if it did decide to retire. Nothing can do what Chiloè does. So it keeps going, rain or shine(but mostly rain), creaking out a lovely little song.

So here`s a quick run down of events in breater detail than the last post:
We got to Ancud and couldn´t find the hostal we had reservations with, so we found a random one(and by found, i mean God gave it to us) with a sweet yet crazy señora who thought that it was helpful to scream in our ears whe we couldnt understand her rather than just speak more slowly. We went to Pingüinera Puñihuil(say that 5 times fast!) where we just sat in a motorboat and looked at some penguins on a rock 20 feet away for lie 20 minutes...but the drive there was really beautiful and fun. we made friends with our guide, Franco, who is our age and went out to coffee with him and discussed the idiosynchracies(how does one spell that?) of Spanish and English.
We were a little frustrated with Ancud, so we left for Quemchi, a little fishing village an hour south, found a perfectly lovely hostal(of course) with psalms on the walls and really sweet owners. we heard that there was a little island with a church and a botanical garden that you can only get to by bridge, so we ventured out into the rain to find it. after bussing, walking and yes, hitch-hiking we were crossing a sketchy old bridge into an enchanted land...we then proceeded to revert to our childhoods and make up an awesome fairy tale as we explored the island. the magic cannot possible be described by photos, words, and especially not by a blog. so you´ll just have to read the fairy tale that Catie wrote someday.
after a night there, we used the connections of a family at the hostal to find a farm where we could go stay and do some kind of agro-tourism stuff. we went for a walk on the beach and stumbled upon 11 roly poly lovey dovey puppies! we sat and suggled and played with them for a while, and went on down the beach to some cool moss covered rock formations. we got some delicious cazuela(chilote stew with meat and potatoes and rice and carrots and some kind of squash-ish thing and whatever else they feel like throwing in). while enjoying the steamy goodness, some young chilean men came into the restaurant and struck up a conversation, it was sufficiently awkward, so we left pretty quickly after we payed the tab. but a few minutes later as we waited ofr our bus to the country,the same guys walked by and started chatting again. after a confusing exchange of chilean Spanish and broken gringa Spanish, one ran back to the cafe and brought back two flowers made out of napkins attatched to a note. he had left them there for us in case we went back but then realized we were leaving that town for good. the note said something like "sorry for the late exchange" using a spanish adjective i had never heard and had his name and phone number and "call me, molly!" it was so freakin funny! anyway, we took a quick photo with them before we hopped on the minibus and went on our way to the strangest two days ever.
we were greeted warmly in the road my Ema, the señora of the farm and ushered into the "fogòn," their family restaurant, and then on a rocky path back to the house. the farm is amzing! they grow everything they need including tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, other vegetables, apples, plums, sheep, cows, bees for honey...its basically entirely self sustaining. she Ema even uses the wool from the sheep to make yarm which she dyes using only natural things, and then knits it or uses a loom in her home to make clothes to sell. its aweosme.
so we spent the mext few days eating. thats basically it. we tired to help out and do work, but they wouldnt really let us and then we wouls just sit and wait for the next enormous meal. we did go out to the orchard and pick plums and apples, rode the horse, bought some stuff from Ema´s shop(like the ridiculousy cozy sweater duster that i will probably not take off until next summer). and, the highlight of our time on the farm, we saw a sheep be coralled, caught, tied, wheelbarrowed, bled out, decapitated, skinned, gutted, butchered, skured, cooked over a fire, and then we ate him. it was one of the strangest things i´ve ever seen. not gross or scary, just strange. anyway, as a whole our time on the farm was good i guess, i just wish we could have done more. it was weird to just stand around and watch them work. not to mention the fact that even though they were supposedly speaking spanish, i could only understand about half of what they said, if that.
anyway, we left there saturday afternoon to come to Castro, the capital of Chiloé for the Festival Costumbrista (culrtual fest). its a pretty big deal. there´s a stage where they play traditional Chilote(from chiloé) musica which sounds a lot like tejano and do traditional dances which look a lot like polka. and theres a HUGE area lined with booths from schools and organizations and fire departments with all kinds of traditional chilote food: cazuela, milcao, anticucho, empenadas and a ton of other things that i can´t remember the names of. and then theres another area where artisans sell their wares including hand made sweaters and carvings, liquors, jams and such.
so i´ve oficially been on the internet for entirely too long, so im gonna skip straight to the things ive learned:
*i never knew how much i like meat. however, this has gotten me into trouble becuase i´m pretty sure i got a little food poisining from some sketchy meat at the festival. eek!
*i DO like wine! well certain types and in extreme moderation...
*Chiloè has a culture all its own including food, music, dance, folklore(which you should just google because its super interesting).
*sometimes God can take the form of a cup of coffee or a perfect hostal.
*speaking of perfect hostals, it is pointless for us to pretend like we have a plan or try to do things ahead of time because God already knows what´s going on and has it all ready for our arrival...
*I don´t speak Spanish.
*chilean Spanish is hard enough, but Chilote (form Chiloé) Spanish is another story! (see previous point)
*plug your ears with fairies in order to protect yourself from being enchanted by the song of the phantom pirates of Chiloé
*puppies are the best thing ever. period.
*pupu suave is STILL funny even if you have pupu suave
*Catie is way too excited about her toenail that finally fell off after her super intense blisters...
*i now owe 145o pesos for this time on the internet, so that will have to be it for now!

we, of course dont know where we´re going tomorrow or what we`ll do, so just check back here in a few days after God gives us our next adventure.
and look at the photos catie posted on facebook or on photobucket through the link on her blog.
¡besos!