Explore Chiloé
Built on a small promontory at the head of a 20km fjord, lively CASTRO occupies an unusual position both physically and historically. Founded in 1567, it’s the third-oldest city in Chile, but it never became strategically important because it’s a terrible harbour for sailing ships, only flourishing because the Jesuits chose to base their mission here. Today, little remains of old Castro, though some buildings have miraculously survived, such as the groups of brightly coloured palafitos – shingled fishermen’s houses on stilts – on the waterfront to the north and south of town.
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Palafitos
Palafitos
Though deemed unsanitary by some locals, Chiloé’s famous palafitos are still found at several locations around Castro. Perched precariously on stilts above the water, these brightly painted, alerce-shingled, traditional wooden fishermen’s dwellings are an unforgettable sight. The idea was that you could moor your boat at your back door and walk out onto the street through the front one. The most impressive examples are found at the north end of town, off Pedro Montt, where they are perfectly reflected in the grubby mini-lake by the roadside. More palafitos are found slightly south along the same street, while others are used as restaurants at the southern end of town, by the Feria Artesanal. A final batch can be seen from the western end of Lillo, across the Río Gamboa and you can even stay in one.
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Castro: the indestructible city
Castro: the indestructible city
Castro has had its fair share of difficulties through the centuries. It was sacked by the Dutch both in 1600 and then in 1643, destroyed by earthquake in 1646, by fire in 1729, by earthquake again in 1739, by fire again in 1890, by fire once more in 1936, and most recently by earthquake and tidal wave in 1960. Anyone else would have given up and moved long ago, but the Chilotes keep hanging on.
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Festival costumbrista
Festival costumbrista
At the northwest end of Castro lies the Parque Municipal. In mid-February the park hosts an enormous feast, the culmination of the Festival Costumbrista, a celebration of traditional Chilote life, when curanto is cooked in great cauldrons, chicha (cider) flows freely and balls of grated potato – tropón – are baked on hot embers. The inevitable burnt fingers and resultant hot-potato juggling that results from picking them up is known as bailar el tropón (dancing the tropón).
