Castro is a small fishing port on Chiloe, an island off the coast of Chile.

Whilst the Balmoral is small enough to navigate the narrow channels between the islands, it is far too large to dock in this small port and so had to drop anchor offshore. The ships tenders were used to ferry passengers into the port.

Although nowadays there are several roads on the island, Castro is famed for it’s waterfront houses, built out into the sea on stilts for access to the boats which traditionally, are their main method of transport.

Quite a change from temperatures in the 30 degrees in the Atacama desert. We have now journeyed quite a way south so the climate is similar to Britain but we have encountered some wet and windy weather and although it is summer here, it’s only about 14 deg and a bit damp.

Today’s plan was to learn about the islands fishing culture and to meet some of the people making a living from coastal activities.

Our first stop was at a mussel farm owned and run by “Tinto”.

The mussels grow on ropes suspended in the sea from floats and are harvested and eaten all year round. (We tried some later, they were delicious.)

Occasionally other crustaceans are harvested with the mussels and Tinto extracted one that he said was popular due to it’s strong flavour and aphrodisiac qualities. None of the group members volunteered to try it.

Our next visit was to a seaweed farm run by “Conner” or “El Gringo” as he is known locally.

Conner has inherited his families business and started gathering the seaweed when he was four years old. He is now just 24.

The seaweed looks like strands of hair and is carefully harvested by hand in order to protect the roots. It is dried and exported and used in cosmetics and disposable nappies.

His local name “El Gringo” is apparently due to his European appearance.

We visited a UNESCO registered church built 150 years ago by local boatbuilders using just boatbuilding techniques.

Our last port of call was to meet the local wholesaler and his family.

This man runs a small business where they clean and pack the fish and supply shops and restaurants. Some is also frozen and exported.

We were invited into their garden where his family had prepared a feast of the finest local fruits of the sea, all to be enjoyed with plenty of the delicious Chilean cocktail “Pisco Sour” and Chilean wine.

We left in the evening with the warning of heavy seas overnight but by morning we would anchor outside the port of Chacabuco within the calmer waters of the fjords.