On the 21st we anchored in the bay of S.
Carlos, the capital of Chiloe.
This island is about ninety miles long, with a breadth of rather
less than thirty. The land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is
covered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have
been cleared round the thatched cottages. From a distance the view
somewhat resembles that of Tierra del Fuego; but the woods, when
seen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. Many kinds of fine
evergreen trees, and plants with a tropical character, here take
the place of the gloomy beech of the southern shores. In winter the
climate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little better. I
should think there are few parts of the world, within the temperate
regions, where so much rain falls. The winds are very boisterous,
and the sky almost always clouded: to have a week of fine weather
is something wonderful. It is even difficult to get a single
glimpse of the Cordillera: during our first visit, once only the
volcano of Osorno stood out in bold relief, and that was before
sunrise; it was curious to watch, as the sun rose, the outline
gradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky.
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