Our Last Port in Chile

We just took the tender boat in from our ship into the small port town of Punta Arenas. It is so foggy outside the window of the internet cafe on the dock that we can't see the ship sitting outside the window. These little internet cafes seem to have sprung up on the piers where the boats dock. There are rows of tiny phone booths for the crew and passengers to make internet phone calls to home, and a wall of computers for us to access the internet at the princely sum of $2 per hour. Compared to the exorbitant rate of 50 cents per minute on the ship (which we are currently boycotting until we are more desperate) this is heaven.

Punta Arenas is our final city in Chile. We have traveled down the entire southwest coast of South America, past the Chilean fiords and through the Magellan Straits and we are in the final city before we start up the other side of the continent. Punta Arenas was a powerful trading city for ships making the trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa before the opening of the Panama Canal. Since then it has languished so that it is now a beautiful little town with several mansions left from the days of rich wool traders now turned into museums for the tourists coming through on ships. We have seen numerous other ships both in front of, and behind ours as we make our way through relatively narrow channels such as the Magellan Straits and the fiords. It is clear that the trip we are on is popular with other tourists as well. Unlike the other cruises we have taken, this one appears to have a minority of North Americans and many others speaking languages we don't recognize. There are also many Spanish speakers on board, giving us a chance to practice our deadly Spanglish on the poor staff and fellow passengers that we encounter.

Our last stop was Puerto Montt, Chile. We took a long, 8 hour bus trip called a photo safari around the countryside to see the sites. I have some beautiful photos of the lake, volcanoes and city that I will post when we next get access to wifi. The town itself was rundown and poor, but the countryside was spectacular. The nearby town of Puerto Varas was much more prosperous and worth another visit someday when we get back to Chile. The major industry of the area is Salmon farming, and it seems that every tour into the countryside included a salmon lunch at one of the restaurants catering to the cruise tours. Farmed Atlantic salmon is not really a big treat for residents of the Pacific Northwest who are able to eat fresh Alaskan salmon most of the year, but it was accompanied by some traditional foods as appetizers (a small empanada and sopilla) so we were able to try some Chilean food. Our bus was nice looking but missing some important part that holds it steady. We shook and swerved on the country roads. Most of the time it was fine, but it was a little scary coming down the narrow, curvy mountain dirt road at the volcano.

We are enjoying the company of our table mates on the cruise. We come from the four corners of the US, and the center (Seattle, New York, Florida, St Louis, with a nod to my origination in LA). The group are frequent cruisers so we have been able to hear about other great trips they have made.

Well, the fog has lifted enough for us to see the dock outside, but still not our ship. We are going to set off to explore the town. We may log in again in a few hours after walking around. If not, we will catch you in the next port of call. Until then,
Deanne