So count us among the curious. We purchased tickets for the once a week boat from Castro across the Golfo de Corcovado. We'd stay two days and come back on the once a week boat to Quellon and bus back up the island to home. At the very least we'd get good views of the islands of the Chilote archipelago. We'd be at the base of the snow capped peaks we'd been seeing across the gulf.
Despite a drizzle as we left Castro, we spent most of the time out on the deck picking out familiar coves and islands. For the first three hours of the six hour ferry, the boat sailed down the Castro estuary and between islands. When we got beyond Isla Lemuy the swells that the Gulf is famous for set the boat to rocking. Locals watched the on board video and tourists reached for the seasick remedies.
The boat docked a kilometer north of the town. Before the eruption, high tide came right up to the seawall of Chaiten. Now, the town is fronted by 300 yards of ash, rocks, and piled up debris.
Before the eruption Chaiten was tucked between the ocean and the mountains. The Rio Blanco flowed down from the left(north) behind the low ridge, flowed around the town and entered the ocean to the right(south) of Chaiten. Looking at Chaiten from the ocean, the volcano was 6 miles up a valley to the left. The fact that the river used to flow around Chaiten was a shock to us when we got to town. What we saw was a muddy river flowing through the middle of town. Earth movers were building up the banks with granite builders.
Where the river flowed today had once been blocks of homes and stores. When the volcano erupted it sent ash, rocks and trees into the Rio Blanco. Snow on the sides of the mountains melted and swelled the river as well. Debris got caught up on a bridge east of Chaiten damming that section of the river. The river jumped its banks and tore through Chaiten. The next day, water spread further flooding virtually the whole town.
Chaitén - Zona Afectada or el Agua"> Chaiten was under 6 feet of water and volcanic mud. Of 1500 homes 92% received damage. The town's hospital was one of the many buildings swept to sea. Fortunately, Chaiten had been evacuated before and no one was killed. 
Today some sections have deserted houses right next to other homes where the owners have dug out and repaired. The town is dotted by piles of ash. Rather like Bostonians after a snow storm, as people dig out they look for a place to pile the ash. Two years of rain and snow after the eruption, the volcanic ash is more the consistency of packed sand. Berto had endless fun playing king of the hill all across town. Gabi gave him little competition. 
Looking north east up the river valley towards the volcano, the destruction was impressive. Whole mountain sides were gray with dead trees. We weren't sure if the ash had suffocated the trees or if blast had killed the trees. Most likely both impacts.
The gray ledge you see at the edge of the river is about 6 feet of ash. What looks like low clouds just below the peak of one mountain is actually steam coming from the volcano. Fumaroles con still be seen venting steam and gas from the side of the volcano.
As we walked about Mike gave us a geology lesson. Rocks of all sorts of colors and shapes were embedded in the ash. Berto was fascinated by pumice the size of a football that we could easily toss about. He's never encountered rocks that could float before!
On our second day we headed 20 miles in land to a hot springs for a soak. Winding through the steep peaks we could definately understand why people would not want to leave the area. It is gorgeous.
The next day we joined the scrum loading onto the ferry. Chaiten is in the upper portion of the 650 mile dirt road known as the Carretera Austral. Adventurous sorts from Argentina and Chile load up the motorcycle or family car and drive between the mountains and fiords through Patagonia.
Lisa tried to talk Mike into renting a jeep and giving it a go. Mike, still traumatized by a family trip on the Alaska highway, gave that idea a determined 'no!'. As Roberto seems to have inherited his mother's propensity for motion sickness, extended road trips are probably a bad idea for us. Just the same Lisa gave longing looks to the 4WDs heading south.
If you look closely in the back of the black pick up truck you'll see that not everyone on the ferry was a tourist. Chaiten locals were bringing their sheep over to Chiloe for market.
Berto and Lisa tried to do their best imitation of a local in their rubber boots. Gabi, ever the style princess sailed home in her pink horsey raincoat.
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