#2604 Remembering When You Believed in Fairy Tales on Chiloé Island, Chile

It is a stretch to call Chiloé an island paradise—certainly it lacks the climate and golden beaches that characterize a typical tropical getaway—but while this isla is a little rough around the edges, it does offer an escape of a different kind: into the fantasies of childhood storybooks. The folklore and legends of Chiloé are rich and belief is strong—the mythology is filled with stories of sorcerers, sirens, and ghost ships. Elaborate multi-tiered, candy-colored churches resemble fairy-tale castles, and the brightly painted palafitos, lining the waterfront, are tiny homes held up by stilts. No fairy tale is complete without feasting, and Chiloé has that covered too—by cooking “a little bit of everything” inside a huge pot and calling the dish curanto.