Feria de Costumbrista

Saturday, February 21

Today began with fresh homemade plum kuchen in our hostel. Our host was so nice and this had to be the one of the best hostel’s I have ever stayed in. The owner’s name was Claudia and after her kids grew up and moved out, she transformed her large house into a place for wandering guests to stay as they passed through Castro. It felt like I was sleeping over at a friend’s house rather than bunking in an over-crowded dorm room like most hostels. She made homemade breakfasts for us and the price per night was more than reasonable. I would recommend anyone going through Castro in Chiloé to look her up and stay with her.

After breakfast Claudia gave us a ride up to the Feria de Costumbrista in Castro. This was an annual feria that took place on one weekend in February and we happened to be in Castro on that weekend. A feria is Chile’s version of a state fair and this feria was chock full of entertainment and local goods being sold. I stocked up on presents for my whole family made from authentic Chiloé wool. I wish I had known I could barter with them because I probably could have saved some money, but all in all it wasn’t too expensive. We saw everything from handcrafted baskets and wool products to marmalades and honey. There was a smoke house teeming with the strong aroma of smoked fish filets, and in the rear of the grounds were small pens showcasing the local livestock. Circling the fair grounds were carriage rides pulled by oxen with a yolk…just like Paul Bunyon and Babe.

On our way out of the feria we passed by the food stands and stopped at the most authentic and well-known food spectacle in all of Chiloé…the Curanto. Under a huge wooden gazebo structure was the cooking grounds for this massive curanto fenced off from the public and surrounded by make-shift picnic tables. Everyone buys a ticket to enter and then watches the entertainment unfold. A curanto is a traditional Chiloéan meal in which a huge hole is dug into the ground and lined with stones and fire wood. The wood is lit and burned for a bit to heat the stones and then a massive amount of muscles, clams, and pork are piled on top and covered with giant leaves from the nalcahue plant. Between the layers of nalcahue leaves are a sticky tasteless bread-type biscuits made from Chiloé potatoes. Finally the hole is covered with sod and the food cooks underground for a couple of hours.


When the hole is uncovered, everything is cooked to perfection and everyone under the gazebo tent gets a massive helping of all the curanto components. It is quite an experience and a must when visiting Chiloé.

Stuffed to the gills, we hopped on an afternoon bus Cucao on the Pacific coast. We hiked on some paths through the dunes until we finally made it to the Pacific Ocean. I was immediately reminded of Cape Cod. There were wind swept sand dunes covered in dune grass that ran into long flat beaches ironed out by the changing tides. Razor clam shells littered the dark gray sand as large waves crashed at a distance about 100 meters away from the shoreline. Remnants of the large beasts that crashed out on the sand bar continued pushing forward up the shallow sandy expanse creating a calm rippling pool that mirrored the rays of the setting sun. I approached the water, took off my sneakers, and for the first time in my life stood in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The setting couldn’t have been more perfect with rays of sunshine beginning to poke through the clouds as the sun set into the sea.

Like a shamwow! I soaked up everything before Lily woke me from my blissful trance to inform me that our return bus was leaving in 15 minutes. We rushed back to the bus stop and made it just in time to head back to Castro. When we made it into the city we met up with Pearl’s family friend Ines who owned a book store. We had tea in the book store and then walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner with Pearl’s other friend Manuel. After a quick seafood dinner we split a collectivo taxi back to the Claudia’s hostel to rest up for tomorrow’s adventure in Dalcahue.