The large island of Chiloé is a wonderful place. We are in Castro, which was founded in 1576, and it is Chile’s third oldest city in continued existence. 1000 km south of Santiago, this place brims with culture, from the wool weavings of local artisans to the wooden purple and yellow church of Castro. We pass by the front of this remarkable church on our way to eat lunch.

Down by the bay we find a nice restaurant and have lunch.

My dad finishes paying for the delicious meal and then we stand up and walk outside. We decide to wander around the little town before we head back to our rented apartment. We turn right and head along the road.

There are several big boats resting on the shore near the water. This big red one catches my attention, and I wonder what it would have been used for before.

An old guy looks out of the window above another local restaurant, and then he rests his head on the windowsill and watches the street below.

Clouds drift lazily above the calm bay.

And a Tourismo boat takes a few visitors around.

Anyone can wander down underneath the seaside houses on stilts, and that’s exactly what we do.

You could wander on forever underneath the buildings, but we don’t. It’s not that pleasant - there’s trash all over the ground, it smells a little funny, and I’m not sure what happens to waste from the houses above. Instead, we head back up onto the street.

This funny-looking thing catches my attention as we walk by, but I have no idea what it is.

An orange racecar lies abandoned between other parked cars, and green life has sprung up from underneath it.

This graffiti girl watches me go by from the other side of the street.

58 plastic Dalmatians in all different kinds of poses sit behind this window.

And this old lady comes out with a cushion to sit in the sun.

Before we head away from the coast, we spot this old boat undergoing repairs.

And then it’s up the hill, away from the shore. We head back to where we’re staying, happy with our adventure. 

Anders Bruihler is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright Anders Bruihler