Saturday, January 29, 2022 – Photo of the Day – Castro, Chile

SATURDAY, 29 JANUARY 2022 CASTRO, CHILE
Arrival: 8:00AM Last Tender: 12:30PM Departure: 1:00PM

TODAY’S WEATHER Partly Sunny High: 52°F 11°C Low: 36°F 2°C

DRESS CODE: INFORMAL
For Ladies: DRESSES OR PANTSUITS
For Gentlemen: JACKETS (TIE OPTIONAL)
No shorts or flip-flop-type footwear after 6:00 PM in indoor venues

Castro is a city on Chiloé Island in Chile’s Lake District. Colorful wooden stilt houses line the waterfront. On Plaza de Armas, the yellow, early-20th-century San Francisco Church has 2 steeples and a distinctive wooden interior. Nearby, woven baskets are sold at the craft fair. The Museum of Modern Art Chiloé displays works by Chilean artists. To the west, Chiloé National Park is home to sea lions.

The capital of Chile’s Chiloe Island, Castro is big, bright, and boisterous.

Colorful wooden huts (called palafitos) teeter on stilts over the city’s waterfront, inviting you into a slice of life that’s sure to brighten any day. Warm welcomes abound, music seeps from the street corners and life is celebrated with gusto all over the city. If you are looking for a healthy mix of culture and cosmopolitanism, then you have found it in Castro.

The island is renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage Site wooden churches. Around 70 churches were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, embodying the intangible richness of the Chiloé Archipelago, and bearing witness to a successful fusion of indigenous and European culture. Just 16 of the churches are classified by UNESCO, as prime examples of the full integration of the architecture in the landscape and environment, as well as to the spiritual values of the communities.

The city is Chile’s third oldest city in existence, founded in 1576. Castro lived peaceably – bar a few attacks from Dutch pirates – until 1837, when it was destroyed by an earthquake, wiping out most of the population. By 1912 the railway had arrived, allowing the town to develop again. Tragically, the city was once again destroyed in 1960 by a series of earthquakes, tsunamis, and fires.

History lovers will definitely enjoy The Regional Museum of Castro. Not only does
the small museum house an interesting array of Huilliche relics, but a series of photographs depicting Castro pre-1960 is on display.

SIGHTS
• Museo de Arte Moderno de Chiloé
• Museo Regional de Castro
• Plazuela del Tren

IGLESIA DE SAN FRANCISCO
Any tour of Castro begins with this much-photographed 1906 church, constructed in the style of the archipelago’s wooden churches, only bigger and grander. Depending on your perspective, terms like “pretty” or “garish” describe the orange-and-lavender exterior colors chosen when the structure was spruced up
before Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit.

Today’s Schedule

Due to covid restrictions, we had another “Panoramic Bus Tour” of Castro and the surrounding countryside. We were fortunate to have a sunny day in a city that averages over 200 rainy days per year.

2:30 Enrichment Lecture with Tracy Fleming: Today’s Topic: Improve your photography by discovering some easy compositional tips.