| On our first day in Castro we drove to a town nearby called Dalcahue. The Castro locals told us that the best “feria artesanal,” or craft fair, was in Dalcahue on Sundays and we happened to be there on Sunday, lucky us. It’s summer here but in the south it’s colder than in Santiago, so we had a beautiful crisp day in the 70s with plenty of sun and wind. We arrived in Dalcahue just in time for lunch, so we stopped at a huge farmer’s market full of fresh seafood and had a delicious meal of fresh fish and seafood soup before hitting the craft fair. We spent a couple of hours walking through the fair, talking with the artisans and figuring out exactly what we wanted. Javier and I left the fair with a new, thick handmade wool throw and a few smaller items. I’m so excited to bring that throw home! | En nuestro primer dia en Castro, manejamos al pueblo de Dalcahue. La gente de Castro nos dijeron que la “feria artesanal” era buena, que se abria los Domingos y que justo era Domingo asi que tuvimos suerte. Era verano pero el sur es mucho mas frio comparado con Santiago, asi que tuvimos un dia soleado con 20 grados y una brisa refrescante. Llegamos a Dalcahue justo a tiempo para almorzar, asi que nos detuvimos en una deliciosa cocineria llena de platos con frutos del mar y nos comimos unos platos deliciosos antes de ir a comprar a la feria artesanal. Pasamos un par de horas en la feria, conversando con los artesanos y viendo que cosas queriamos. Javier y yo nos fuimos con una Hermosa frazada, gruesa de lana y unos cuantos articulos pequenos. Estoy muy feliz de llevarmela a casa! |
^^ the famous wood shingles of Chiloe
Javier’s favorite, Paila Marina ^^
| We walked around the town for a while taking photos, and on our way back to the van we stopped in a little yarn store and proceeded to fall in love with everything we saw. We spoke at length with the owner, who told us that most tourists stop in her store first, then head to the fair looking for better prices. Her prices for the wares were unbeatable – all of the things she makes are protected in the store instead of exposed to the elements at the fair and none of them are hung up and stretched out. So, if you go to Dalcahue, please visit our friend Nilda and her store “Textil Lana Chiloe.” You can find the store at: San Martin 001 in Dalcahue – and you won’t be disappointed. She has yarn from sheep and alpaca, dyed or not, wound or not, and tons of items she knit or crocheted herself. I couldn’t decide between two different beautiful ponchos…but the prices were so great I left with both of them. Javier bought a hat, and Maca made off with a few items as well. We left extremely happy – and we were especially happy to be able to support Nilda. Shop local! | Caminamos por el pueblo por un rato sacando fotos, y en nuestro regreso al auto paramos en una tienda de lanas y donde nos enamoramos de todo lo que vimos. Conversamos mucho con la duena del local, que nos conto historias de como los turistas se detienen en su tienda primero, y no compran nada pensando que tendran mejores precios en la feria. Pero sus precios eran mejores por los articulos que vendia y la calidad mejor – todas sus obras estaban bien cuidadas y guardadas, no expuestas a los elementos como en la feria, y no estan colgados, lo cual estira los tejidos. Asi que si van a Dalcahue, por favor visiten a Nilda y su tienda “Textil Lana Chiloe”. Pueden encontrar su tienda en San Martin 001 en Dalcahue – y no se arrepentiran. Tiene lana de oveja y alpaca, tenida y natural, hilada y no hilada, y un monton de cosas que teje ella misma. No me podia decidir entre dos ponchos hermosos…pero los precios eran Buenos asi que me lleve ambos. Javier compro un gorro, y Maca compro un par de cosas tambien. Nos fuimos muy contentos – y especialmente felices de apoyar a Nilda en su negocio. Compren cosas locales! |
| After Dalcahue, we stopped at a few churches around the island. Chiloe is known for its old, wooden churches, and recently the government invested several million to restore the churches to their former grandeur. After a full day as tourists we returned to our cabins for dinner. The sun stays up until around 9:30 here so we ate dinner pretty late. After dinner we played Mexican Train again for a few hours – a great way to close out our first full day in Castro. Nothing better than a glass of wine next to the fire and a fun game with the family! | Despues de Dalcahue, paramos en un par de iglesias de la isla. Chileo es conocida por sus iglesias antiguas hechas de pura madera, y recientemente el govierno invirtio millones para restorarlas y dejarlas como en su apogeo. Despues de un dia completo de turismo volvimos a las cabanas. El sol esta arriba hasta mas o menos las 9:30 asi que cenabamos tarde. Despues de la cena jugamos tren mexicano de nuevo por un par de horas – una gran manera de finalizar nuestro dia en Castro. Nada mejor que un vaso de vino junto al fuego y un entretenido juego con la familia! |
Los Rodriguez Life 
13 responses to “Visiting Dalcahue, Chiloe”
Loved seeing this. Thanks for good reporting and pics. Wd like to be there!
Sent from my iPhone
GORGEOUS pix! Thanks so much for them! I’ve sent the link to several of our CHPC folks who work with yarns. I know they’llbe drooling over the colors and variety of textures. One of our guys even gets raw wool and spins his own yarns. Thanks so much for sharing yur wonderful trip!!
i would be in heaven with all that yarn! What wonderful pictures- yummy. Leslie, my son leaves in a few weeks to spend 6 months there- great places for him to go.
anaMaria
Simply amazing pictures! What a trip.
Amazing!
What wonderful photos! The colors and textures are spectacular–I especially love the ones of the wool products!
What a wonderful day and colorful town. The churches are absolutely beautiful. Can’t wait to see what you’re bringing home!
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I love all the colors! So much beauty. Happy New Year to you two!
Ahhh! Love seeing your shots of Dalcahue and Castro- I took a lot of the same pictures, although of noticeably lower quality and on a gray day: http://gmtnunez.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/al-sur/
It was our first time in Chiloe and we just loved it. It is a magical place!