The focus of the exploration was the peguinery on the north west short of Chiloe. This is the only place in the world were both Humbolt and Magallenes penguins can be found living together. (inter-species cohabitation; and you thought Chiloe was traditional and conservative!) Puñihuil bay was off a dirt road that wound along the coast. Mike thought the cliffs, low trees, rock bordered bays and grazing cows were reminiscent of Point Reyes in West Marin county, California. After about 1okm we switch backed our way down to the bay.
We would later learn that the penguin viewing boats are run by either locals whose families have long lived and fished the bay or by tour operators based in Ancud, most from the continent (as locals call off Chiloe island). We were glad we opted for a local boat. While we waited for the next boat to go out, the daughter of the boat captain gave us a tutorial on the natural and social history of the area. Like so many times, local folks took to us when we told them our story of living in the area. If only our Spanish was that much better, the stories and we would learn!To get through the chilly waters to the boat, the captain offered to wheel us out.
We opted to wade out and had frozen toes for the rest of the morning. Bird watchers be jealous. We saw penguins, boobies, cormorants, vultures, sea gulls, and penguins swimming and feeding on fish. 
Our boat reflected the mix of tourists visiting Chiloe in the summer, a couple from Uruguay, two Chileans with their Massachusetts born now Miami living friend and the four of us. While we were boating across the bay, a dolphin swam by. We caught only brief glimpses as the dolphin focused on feeding rather than entertaining. One sea mammal who did come close by was a sea otter. After a dive under the water, he surfaced with a mollusk flopped over on his back and had a floating snack for all of us to see.Back on shore we hiked to the top of the cliffs for a view of the bay. At the edge of the bay, big waves rolled in and curled to foam on the shallower water. The waves reminded us that to the west the next landfall is weeks away. (When we have fewer adventures to blog about, I will relate what we have learned about Chiloe's maritime history as a port of call for Pacific sailing ships.)
Today the edge of the bay is marked by steep rocky islets. Prior to the 1960 earthquake (the largest ever recorded 9.5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake) the islets were part of the shoreline. The earthquake was so strong that it broke off the islands and caused the land to drop 6 feet. What we had boated over, we could have walked on fifty years ago.The day was getting along and nap time called for the Gabi and Berto. We piled into car in search of more roads to explore. If we were going to pay the premium for Chiloe based car rental, we were going to make that little Chevy earn it on some more dirt roads! Lisa did her best imitation of an off road rally race as we left the beach for the dirt road.
From Puñihuil bay we drove back towards Ancud and made our way to the east side of the island. Since both kids were asleep and we had 5 more hours of daylight, we decided to explore the coast north of Quemchi. If you googlemaps Chiloe and look to the north east quadrant you'll note two things, it is a straight visual over to the Patagonia Andes and no town names appear. The second part of our adventure was a dirt road 50km though dense scrub punctuated by sheep fields and intermittent jaw dropping views. Someday those views will be owned by a luxury spa and the road will be paved. Today we saw rickety farm houses and a million dollar view. (sorry we were so much enjoying the view that we didn't take a photo)Eventually we reached Quemchi, a fishing town tucked in the northern edge of the Chiloe archipelago. Today fishing village means numerous fish farms taking advantage of the protection of the off shore islands. We stopped for a snack and a run around the Plaza de Armas. While we were enjoying the warm day, the local shrimp were not. Just below the sea wall at the edge of the plaza, the shore was thick with dead shrimp. The water had gotten too warm for the small cold water shrimp. Millions of dead shrimp had washed ashore. Two warm days later I don't want to think about what the lovely town of Quemchi smells like!
Lastly, if all this sounds appealing to you, I saw an indicator of the job for you!
Teachers, come be the boat borne educator to the islands. Just make sure you always carry along your tooth brush and some extra lesson plans. We're told that it is not uncommon for bad weather to strand folks on the islands for a few days. I've also learned that island schools with their outhouses and lack of heat make Carpe Diem seem like the Taj Mahal. On the chilly memory of my heated 55 classroom, I will sign off and go outside to enjoy another sunny Chilote summer day.
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