Puerto Montt
A typical port town - rather run down and aestetically challenged with a concoctomy of (not always pleasant) smells, but totally authentic. The highlight was a tasty sea food lunch at a tiny tavern before embarking on our three night ferry trip to the south of Chile.
Life on board
Navimag is not a luxury cruise but a working ferry carrying trucks, people and livestock - with the smells to prove it. On the previous trip, a horse reportedly gave birth in the hold. We slept in shelf like bunks with 42 others and ate meals in strict shifts. And it was brilliant. Great views of fjords, glaciers and mountains and lots of fun travellors to share them with, including a great couple from Sydney. From them, we discovered this trip has been rated by the Sydney Herald as one of the world's top boat trips. It sure beat the alternative 50 hour bus trip.
Drinking games at age 35! I haven't done this since university days and it brought back some interesting memories. We were dragged into it (kicking and screaming of course) by our American friends who we then went on to hike with at Torres del Paine.
Bow jumping. Another cool game we invented on board. Wait till you feel the boat crest over a wave, then jump as the boat sinks down and you get a great butterfly kick in the stomach. Never to late to have a happy childhood.
Our boat mascot. A very friendly fellow who lives on board. We got on famously.
Trip to Puerto Eden
We stopped off at this tiny, ramshackled town (population 250), isolated by hundred of mountains of mountains and fjords. Just check out the supermarket! What the teenagers do here for nightlife, heaven only knows! But plenty of character and fun to photograph during the time we were there.
Locals we met. I am not to sure where the humans were hiding but it seemed close to deserted.
Blue Glaciers
Our first site of a fjord glacier and one we will never forget. 80 metres high and well over a kilometer long. What really took my breath away was the topaz blue colour of the ice. All the fjords we travelled in were created by glaciers like this one during the last ice age.
Pasta loading in Puerto Natales
...to prepare for our Torres del Paine hike the next day.
Ally's account
Please forgive the group email but tele-communcations are done via satellite here, so it is very show. Hence also the lack of pictures on the blog. I hope this long letter makes up in the short term for the pictures.
On Sunday we caught the bus from Pucon to Puerto Montt. It was a great bus and they had movies but with the added bonus of ear phones. However, it clearly was up to the chaps who drove to choose what was played for the customers as we were treated to vampires, wearwolves, gun running in Africa and giant sized man eating anacondas.
I was delighted to be moving on to a new place but I have to admit that my heart sank when we entered Puerto Montt. It is made up of ramshackle buildings, wires and street people. But what it lacks in asethics it certainly makes up for in an abundance of smells. Ranging from that special hot day fishy aroma from the port, garbage, body odour thrown together with a hint of sewer. All this it has to be said was aided and abetted by Graeme who had eaten too much dried fruit.
On the morning we were due to leave we got to the boarding room and met the three girls that we had met in Pucon and camped next to in a park. Fate just keeps throwing us together. It is great to keep meeting the same people who you get on well with.
We checked in early and were delighted that we got two bunks to ourselves (I secretly entertained hopes that we would get our own bathroom). Then we went of to an internet café for our last contact with civilization for 3 days. We met another couple who had delayed booking in and were rather put out that they would be bunking with 22 others.
Boarding was filled with huge excitement and we were all curious. We found our bunks which were cozy – but they were also part of the 22L – only we were at the end bit so we did not have another 2 bunks across from us. Well the girl from the internet café saw us. We were no longer feeling so smug and she was secretly delighted that we had not got a better deal than them. Needless to say we shared a bathroom with 42 others.
Although food was provided those of us in C class – all the backpackers – brought food along. Never interfere with a backpacker and their appetite. Those in A class, I am sure, had visions of us all cooking on our gas stoves and generally bringing down the tone of the ship. The food was excellent but there was a fair amount of red wine brought aboard which definitely ended up brining down the tone of the ship.
The scenery was incredible. It rains 40m per year so each side of the fjords were covered in lush green forests with the higher mountains being snowy and cloudy. It was wonderful to wake up and see it all going past. I also loved standing on deck with the wind going through my hair – and my clothes – watching it all go by. There is something I find so peaceful about being on a boat.
They had an excellent on board entertainment program with movies, talks and music. This time you definitely could tell the movies had been chosen by the girls – subject matter being: love, marriage and meeting the parents for the first time. A big improvement!
Going to bed on the first night was rather nice as the ship was gently rocking. Suddenly G screamed – I hit my head as I came awake and had adrenalin going through my system before the scream ended. He told me he was alright – I thought he must have felt like he was falling off his bunk. The he told me he had felt something fall on his face, then it moved – he reached up to brush it away and a rat jumped off his face onto the floor, which he why he screamed. My eyes widened in shock. Then I found out he had actually felt his computer cord fall across his face. That is what traveling in cattle class does to the imagination.
The highlight of the trip was seeing our first glacier ending in the sea. We saw it in the distance as we leaned over rails gaping at the mini icebergs which had broken off. They were a topaz blue colour which tells us they were very compact and old. G saw a piece sheer off the side of the actual glacier and it made small tidal waves. It is really hard to describe being faced with at least a 2km wide, 80 m high and going back forever – piece of blue jagged ancient ice. The photo’s we took could not do its magnificence justice. It is truly is one of those things that has to be seen.
On the boat we went to a lecture about the native people called Kweskwe. They had been living amongst the fjords for at least 10000 years and had evolved a unique culture of living in canoes, hunting seals and covering themselves in sea lion fat to keep themselves warm when they swim. They are now down to 8 full blooded Kweskwe people due to disease and alcohol. We went on a tour to the port they live in but in the end I could not face going and gawking at a group of noble people staring at the extinction of their culture and themselves. So not feeling terribly cheerful we wondered around the village which turned out to be rather run down. It was a blessing to get back on the boat.
The boat was a great place to meet people. We met another couple from Oz, this time Sydney. They had known us for less than a day and they had invited us to stay at their home. It is truly heartening to meet such friendly and fun people.
They told us that they had read an article in the Sydney Herald newspaper which said that the ferry trip we did was on of the top 5 boat trips to do in the world. I have to say that it totally lived up to expectations!!
Now we are in Puerto Natales having bought all our food for a 5 day hike in Chile’s most famous and best National park. We get to see another glacier and also the peaks of sheer granite which make this park famous. My only reservation is that the weather is 4 seasons in 1 day. I read someones write up of their trip in our hostels book. They said, “ It was nice and sunny during the day but then at night the temperature plummeted. He woke up to find that his feet had been replaced with huge blocks of ice and that his testicles and had take sanctuary in his armpits.” So tomorrow we venture forth. I will write and let you know how we got on.
Right now it is pizza time. We are meeting up with the girls we met in Pucon – they are doing the same hike as us.
Lots of love and thinking of you all.
