Come Ride the Crazy Bus
The Intrepid Adventures of the Roberts Family
16
Nov

Muelle de Las Almas

Posted in Chile  by chad on November 16th, 2016

I’m not sure where we first read about it as it doesn’t seem to be in either of our guidebooks, but there is crooked bridge kind of thing called Muelle de Las Almas that we want to try and see today. As we understand the story, the original inhabitants of the islands, the Mapuches, believed that when they died, their souls travelled to the Punta Pirulil where a ferryman would transport them to their eternal resting place. However, souls that could not pay the toll were left to wander the shores of Punta Pirulil, where you can hear their some say you can hear their anguished cries in the sound of the crashing waves ocean waves. Some years ago, an artist built the Muella de Las Almas (the Dock of Souls) to pay homage to this legend, with the bridge marking the journey of souls from this world to the next.

From Castro, we head about 45 minutes to the western shore, and then south down a goat path that no self-respecting goat would use. We hear a lot of awful sounds coming from beneath our feet as our tiny rental car bottoms out repeatedly, but checking the rear view mirror, no pieces are falling off and we press on. When we can finally go no further, we lock the doors and head off on foot, for what ends up being a 2.5km hike through some spectacular scenery…

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past some of the local residents…

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and finally to this…

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Of course, I need to climb the hill off to the right (after all, it has a trail on it), but find no other takers in my group. If you look very closely in this picture, you can see my fellow traveler sprawled out beneath the bridge soaking in the energy of the place.

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After a bit of zen time, we head back to the car and start off towards Castro. Not far down the trail, we pick up out first two hitchhikers ever – a German and a Hungarian, both in their 20s who are at least an hour’s walk from any sort of bus service. This good karma comes in handy, as no more than a half mile further down the road, the tiny wheels of our car sink deep into the loose sand and we come to a stop. Fortunately, with a little digging, the pushing power of our extra passengers, and a hand from a few more trekkers walking by, we get back on our way.

Tonight we’re staying back in Puerto Montt, to be close to the airport for our flight in the morning. It’s a shame to be leaving ChiloĆ© so soon as we really did love it here. Still plenty to see, but so far the highlight of our trip.

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