The name Chile means ‘the end of the world’ in the local Mapuche language. The Mapuche come from southern-central Chile and Patagonia, and when you get down to Patagonia you understand their thinking. It’s remote, with spectacular volcanoes, sinister low-hanging cloud and strange creatures not seen elsewhere in South America, like the pudu, a tiny deer, and the guina, a wild cat. It is also a land of myths and legends … and where better for a group of writers to assemble for a writing retreat?
The island of Chiloe is home to the trauco, a small ugly dwarf, who is irresistible to women. He lives in the woods of Chiloe and if any woman is foolish enough to go out walking alone, she is very likely to return home pregnant. But because the trauco is irresistible, the woman is considered to be blameless. This has naturally resulted in a lot of Chilote women claiming that the trauco is the father of their child.
We spent our time on Chiloe in a beautiful house with wonderful sea views which were very conducive to creativity. Obviously we also went for many lonely walks in the woods, but the trauco was disappointingly absent.
Pumas and condors are also indigenous to Chile. I didn’t see either during my visit, but I did learn some interesting facts about the life of the condor. Condors are always seen in pairs, flying high over the Andes, and the males mate for life. If the female dies, the male will fly to the tallest peak he can find, close his wings and hurl himself off the top to his death. But if the male dies, his former mate simply flies off and finds herself a replacement. I can’t decide if I admire the romantic or the pragmatic approach the most.
Chiloe is famous for its wooden churches – fourteen of which have World Heritage status – and also for the palafitos, which are colourful houses built on stilts over the water. They were built for the local fishermen to enable them to tie their boats up nice and close to home. I think the idea of being nice and close to home was important for the Chilotes because, in addition to the trauco lurking in the woods, there are several other unpleasant creatures that you wouldn’t want to risk crossing paths with as you hurried home with your net full of sardines …
The Camahueto is a type of unicorn with the power to unleash death and destruction.
The Basilisk drains the life force from people and animals and leaves a trail of destruction.
The Invunche is a monstrous, deformed creature that guards the cave of the sorcerers.
The Caleuche is a ghost ship crewed by sorcerers of the occult and the spirits of the drowned.
La Pincoya is a woman dressed in seaweed whose dances on the beach determine the abundance or scarcity of fish.
It makes me wonder whether JK Rowling has ever visited Chiloe.