Castro is the capital of Chiloé and has a character that is unlike anything else on mainland Chile. It is a port town of about thirty thousand people, climbing a hillside above a long inlet, and its most famous image is the row of palafitos, wooden houses built on stilts above the tidal water, painted in faded blues, yellows and reds. At high tide they seem to float; at low tide the mud flats show and the stilts are exposed, and boats lean on the shore at odd angles.
Above the waterfront, the town centre is dominated by the church of San Francisco, a large wooden building painted in yellow and violet that looks almost like a toy from a distance and is more serious inside, with soaring wooden vaulting. It is one of the Chiloé churches on the UNESCO list, and the interior shows how local shipbuilders applied their skills to carpentry. The town also has a lively market, where you can buy woollen goods, local potatoes in dozens of varieties and smoked fish, and the surrounding hills hold small farms and wooden houses.
For riders, Castro is a base. The main road, the Panamericana, runs along the island's spine, and from here you can reach small villages along the east coast, such as Dalcahue, with its Sunday craft market, and Chonchi, with its old wooden houses, both within half an hour. The ride is gentle, with gentle curves, low hills and glimpses of the sea. Surfaces are generally good on the main road but patchy on the side routes, and rain can arrive at any moment, so keep waterproofs handy. In the evening, the town can be busy, so book accommodation ahead in summer.
Castro has fuel, supermarkets, workshops and plenty of places to eat, so it is a convenient spot to resupply. The local food is hearty, with curanto the best known, along with fresh salmon, seafood stews and fried bread. It is worth walking along the waterfront to see the palafitos from the street, and if the weather allows, take a boat or a kayak to see them from the water.
The mood on Chiloé is quiet, a little melancholy and deeply attached to the sea, and Castro captures it well.