After Catherine sold Chiloe to us in Pucón (she'd been on a previous trip), I decided to go even though it was quite expensive. And I did not regret it.

We set off on the bus and I sat next to Clive and we talked all the way to the ferry. He's a dental technician thinking about retiring, and in his youth he spent a few months flipping burgers in Spain. At some point he decided impulsively to catch a ride with someone who was going back, which was the end of his Spanish adventure and to this day he is wondering what would have happened if he had stayed. We were talking about how some life changing decisions are made in the blink of an eye.

The bus got on the ferry and we got out, straightaway spotting some seals! A bit later, Leigh spotted a dolphin fin. Margaret is also into bird spotting, but to be honest I'm not really into them so I didn't pay much attention. We did see some black necked swans though.

On Chiloe, we were met by Britt, our tour guide for the day. We had a wander around the town of Chacao, which has all these houses made off wooden shingles. They are made of alerse wood, which does not rot. Needless to say the alerse is now protected as they have all been cut to make houses and boats...

After a toilet stop (basically a lady renting out her toilet to desperate tourists) we went on a search for 'fishermen in chunky sweaters' as the Journey Latin America brochure promises us. We saw a few, collecting seaweed, using two oxen and a sleigh (sp?), which is exported to make shampoo and beauty products in Japan and the US. Britt told us they get 100 pesos per kilo (about 10 pence) which is absolutely nothing for a lot of work.

OYSTERS AND CAKES
The next stop was an oyster restaurant. These oysters are as fresh as they get, brought in in the morning and on your plate a few hours later. I had a few and they were absolutely lovely. I think I'm developing a taste for them.

Outside the restaurant were figures from the local mythology and Britt explained about the creation myth of Chiloe. There were two serpents, one living in the sea and one on land, and they had a huge fight. The land snake vanquished the sea snake, and banished it to the bottom of the sea, forcing it to have its tail above water for people to settle on, which is Chiloe. But the sea snake does not like humans and occasionally tries to shake its tail, which accounts for the earthquakes in the region.

Next stop was Ancud, where we went into a pasteleria (Pedersen Salon de Te) to have Kuchen. Britt told us loads about the history of Chiloe, so here is what I remember of it (any errors are purely my lousy memory). Chiloe was one of the last strongholds of the Spanish and held out 8 years after Chile had become a republic.

Afterwards, to populate the region, Chile opened its borders to immigration, and lots of Germans and Belgians settled there (hence the Kuchen). Agriculture and fishing are the main industries and of the 40.000 people in Ancud, 1200 are employed in one capacity or another in one big salmon factory. A fourth of the world's salmon comes from Chiloe.

In 1960, there was a huge earthquake which changed the face and history of Ancud forever. The quake lasted about 6 miinutes and hit 8-9 on the Richter scale. Lots of the fishermen thought it would be safer out at sea and took their boats out to the water, but moments later the water was sucked out of the bay, the boats got stuck in the mud, and when the first tsunami wave hit, they were all drowned. The two second waves ate away a couple of hundred metres of coastline, and with it all the houses built by the sea. To this day, the older generation refuses to live on the coastline.

The tsunami ripped apart the railway and changed the coastline, leaving Ancud with a harbour that was nearly impossible to reach for big ships. In the meantime, Puerto Montt was settled and the region's capital changed to there, still a sore point for many Chilotes.

Outside, someone asked Britt where he was from in Chile, to which he answered: 'Ehm, New York State'. Turns out he's from the US, and is married to a Peruvian woman, but has lived in Chiloe for 6 years.

We saw the beautiful green fields roll past (the Chilote countryside has a distinct English feel to it) and we saw the spectacular coastline. We stopped at two viewpoints and at one huge turkey vultures came soaring over.

PINGUINERIA PIÑIHUIL
Next stop were the penguins. Getting there was pretty strange, driving dusty roads in a luxurious tour bus...At one point the bus nearly didn't make it uphill and started rolling backwards. As there was a big drop, that was quite scary!

There are three islands off the coast, where you are not allowed to go onland, so we went in a Zodiac, basically a rubber boat with a motor. In order not to get wet, we got into a pair of waterproof trouserswith wellies attached to them, in order not to drown we got a life jacket and we all looked extremely ridiculous. Getting in the boat, Dave uttered the memorable words: 'I am finding it very hard to get my leg over', which sent Rachel into hysterics.

We got to the islands with the German volunteer, and she told us about the Magellan penguins (which have one stripe) and the Humboldts (which have two). They are small things but very cute. We also saw four huge pelicans in a row, and a playfull sea otter having lunch. I took loads of photos but I'm not sure if you will actually be able to see anything on them...

Afterwards, we got more food: salmon quiche, guacamole and cookies... We had to wait for the others as there was only one Zodiac (the motor of the other one had died the previous day), but as it was a gloriously sunny day - unusual in Chiloe as it rains on average 320 days a year! - we didn't mind.

We went back and had the surreal experience of driving over the beach (the actual beach, next to the waves) in a 50-person capacity tour bus.

THE WEDDING FEAST
Last stop was the house of Hardy and Maria Luisa, where dinner was waiting under patches of earth. Curanto is a typical Chilote dish and is made in a hole in the ground, by putting hot rocks at the bottom, shellfish on top, vegetables and meat over that, then a type a rhubarb (sp?) leaves on top, cover everything in earth and everything slowly cooks itself.

So we had loads of huge clams and mussles, lovely sausages, smokes ham, jacket potatoes and loads of other stuff to eat, plus a lovely Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. I'm not too sure about the music, which had a distinct 'humpapa' element to it (the fault of the Germans as they introduced the accordeon) but it was a brilliant feast (a bit like a wedding feast, but without a bride and groom).

Also found out Irish girl Maire and I are twins: we were both born 6 August 1975. We got home about twelve at night, which Duncan said was about the latest he had ever returned from a Chiloe day.