The Most Unusual Church I’ve Ever Seen – Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Jan 18th, 2007 | By admin | Category: Travel Journal

We were back in Puerto Chacabuco again. This little port fascinates me. It’s rained every time that we are here and it’s summer. I can’t help but wonder how it must be to live in this cold, damp and isolated place. It’s very beautiful but can the beauty make up for constant gloom and low temperatures?

I went on a tour to a park called Aiken del Sur. It’s a few minutes drive from Puerto Chacabuco and privately owned. Our guide Tim had an interesting story. He was English but lived in Coyhaique with his Chilean wife. He met her years ago while volunteering in Chile with Raleigh. He’d learnt Spanish and had a business making furniture. He told me in the winter all the roads here were impassable because of the snow, and that no-one or anything could go in and out. And that every time he went to the supermarket in the winter, there were less things on the shelves.
The park was very beautiful and we followed a narrow trail that ended at Barba del Viejo (Old Man’s Beard) Falls. Along the way we saw many different plants and trees and also a hummingbird.

After the tour I walked around Puerto Chacabuco. I found my way down to a lake and watched fisherman at work. Then I found what has to be the strangest church I’ve ever seen. It was made of tin and even had two small square towers. A sign on the front said

‘Iglesia Metodista Pentecostal de Chile
Pto Chacabuco
Fundada en 1909’

So it looks like this little church has been here for nearly 100 years.

All photos from Parque Aiken del Sur and Puerto Chacabuco