Canal Sarmiento and The Chilean Fjords

Tuesday 3rd February

Today we were scenic cruising, that is not getting off anywhere.  It was nice to get up when we wanted, have a leisurely breakfast and chill out.  The sun was shining and the sky brilliant blue.  Me thinks we have been amazingly lucky with the weather so far.  Lets cross our fingers that it will continue.

The scenery is amazing.  It reminded me of Norway, but without houses, people and fishing boats.  Everywhere you can see the results of the glaciers onto the rocks, every so often in the distance peaks covered in snow slowly pass by.  A batch of about ten small seals frolicked around not far from the boat, and brown albatross follow in our wake.

At about 9.00 am we passed through the Messier Canal, and a naturalist gives us commentary on desk. At 12.15 we missed the Fjordo Iceberg, how I dont know, we must have gone off somewhere for a while.  We will probably see loads more.

Then at about 1.00 we saw the Tempanos Glacier ahead.  It was simply stunning, and we got closer and closer.  The ship manuvoured into the fjord, and turned on a penny, so we could see the glacier from all side.  It wqs quiet beautiful, and I couldn’t believe how blue and large it was.  We stayed on deck for about an hour before heading out again.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the back of the ship outside on deck, taking in the sun and watching the fjords pass us by just perfect.

A great dinner, a glass of wine and then we went to the entertainment.  Tonight was a lady from Uruaguay who played the electronic harp.  She was brilliant, jazzy, south american, salsary music.  Really enjoyed it.

Wednesday 4th February

We awoke to cloudy skies, but expected as the weather forecast said so yesterday.  The landscape was very much the same as yesterday, but today felt very brooding today in the grey mist.  Occasionally you would get the glimpse of a snow capped mountain, but difficult to see through the low cloud.  We saw a few seals leaping around, but that was about it.

Towards lunchtime it started to rain, and you could see how bleak things could get here.  You would pass huge huge hills that looked glassy from being polished by glaciers.  Little islands everywhere with scrubby bushes, the only greenery that could hang on to life.  We saw a fishing boat at one point.  You wondered where on earth it had come from, so far from any life.

Then through the mist we saw an upturned hull sticking out of the water, backside up.  Still red and misty, it was sunk in 1966,  A reminder on just how dangerous these waters are.

About three o’clock we slowed right down as the passage was so shallow, only about one metre below the keel.

As the murky clouds dissipated, the sun came out and sky turned blue.  We started to sail through the narrow straights of Magellan, and the wind blew up. A hooley   Small islands on every side and amazing skies.

As we turned out into open water we passed an island with a lonely house and lighthouse.  Surely now managed remotely, it must have beena lonely place when first built.

We ate in Le Cirque restaurant tonight, very rich, had to walk around the deck three times afterwards.

Puerto Chacabuyco

Puerto Chacabuco Monday 2nd Feb

I opened the curtains early this morning  to us sailing into a lovel,y bay call Puerto Chacabuco.  We were on our second trip today, but not quite so early.

Chacabuco is the last staging post before the Chilean Fjords start and civilisation stops.  It was really a scenic bus tour, I would have preferred something with a little more activity, but it was a simply lovely driving up and down the hills.  We were headed for the Simpson River reserve, a huge national park.  We had a short stop and walk down to the river, and then drove further into the parks, with a stop at a waterfall and various scenic areas.

If this is Northern Patagonia, and the less scenic part, the rest must be amazing.  It was so lush and green.

Mercedes and Antonio were on the same trip again which was great.  we met them yesterday, they are from Ibiza, and I think we will have some fun with them.

We drove over a hill to look down a beautiful valley, full of farms down to the regional city, and centre of everything here, Coyhaique and stopped for half an hour. That’s al tthat was needed, it wasn’t very big, but a nice place to have a wander.

Then off for a snack, which I thought was going to be a sandwich and a cup of tea.  Nooo, a lovely buffet with empanadas, chilean cheese, meat skewers, little pastries and wine.

A lovely taster to the area.  We sailed out at about seven, past many salmon fisheries, which are the mainstay of their economy in the area.  In winter it is an extreme skiing area, in summer anglers come to try their luck at the salmon in the Simpson River.

After dinner we met Antonio and Mercedes on the top desk and we watched the last light going down, and tthe moon and stars coming out.  We started talking to a guy from Brazil, he was a keen astronomer and knew the sky well, so we had a free sky lesson.

Puerto Montt

Day 3 Puerto Montt

Up at 6.30 and very blearry eyed. Our first trip out off ship today.  We are in the Chilean Lake District, a huge area of lakes and volcanos.  As we drove through Puerto Montt the city wasn’t inspiring, but as soon as we left the suburbs, everywhere became green as we headed to Lake Llanquihue.  The whole area is studded with glacial lakes, and towering over this lake, with it’s snow capped summit is The Osorno Volcano.. Stunning.

The whole area looks like you could be in Bavaria, not withstanding the volcano in the background.  Around about 1850, 5000 German settlers were invited to come and settle in the area.  The only problem for the staunchly Catholic Chileans, was that the people who came were Lutherian protestants, but there wasn’t much they could do. Especially when they all settled in well and became high yield producing hard working farmers.

The houses, scenery and villages still look German, and the language is still, together with Chilean, spoken at home.  And the kuchen or cakes are wonderful and they have a beerfest every October.

We had a scenic drive around the lake and then drove down to the pier at Lake Todos to catch a boat for an hours cruise past the Osorno Volcano. We were so lucky with the weather today.  As with the Lake District backhome, it is reknown for its rain, over here at least 200 days of the year.  Today the sun shone and we were soon in tshirts.

Man the Ships

Friday 30th January

Today we leave Valparaiso on to our next adventure to the south of Chile and the top end of Antartica.  We got up latish had breakfast and packed. Had a last stroll around Conception and then sat in the lounge chatting and waiting for our taxi to turn up.

We have really enjoyed Valaparaiso, but I am looking forward to a quiet nights sleep, as the distant drums were at it again last night.  Fortunately they only went on until two in the morning, and I was tired.

Our lovely taxi driver whisked us down to the port in 10 minutes, our luggage disappeared and we entered the bowls of the ship.

I know now why our deck is called Dolphin Deck, that’s because it is underwater!  We are on the lowest desk with the waterline just outside. But, I have t to say it is the most stable part of the ship with the least motion, so hey.  Anyway as we were driving up to ship I could see that it is much smaller the other ones I have been on, just over 1000 passengers.

We have a window cabin, hence the water line,  but a lovely bright cabin, the biggest we have been in.  Plenty of space,  a double bed,  a bath in the bathroom and a big sofa.  Plenty of room and hanging space.  We went through the ‘what happens in an emergency drill’.  We were late and got haranged by a couple from Oklahoma, who we met later in the bar and got our own back.

The one thing that struck me immediately, that although the ship seems full, there is plenty of room and space, without feeling hemmed in.  Much more than say P&0.

We toured around the ship, found loads of areas, things to do, met a couple from Leeds who had lived on East Coast US for forty years, had a sangria whilst we sailed out of Valparaiso and started on our next adventure.

There is a lot of information on what to do,but certain things no so.  We had booked on a set table for dinner but they just took us in and put us on the next table.  We found out later that we should have been upstairs.  But our table was a couple from Chile, Switzerland and Holland.  Multi National or what !

We had a great dinner, watched twenty minutes of a show, had a drink in the Crowsnest, and went to bed earlyish.  No drumming, wonderful.  What a nice start.

Day 2 31st Jan

We stayed in bed late and had a leisurely breakfast.  We are at sea today, so what’s happening on board today.

We went along to a Bridge talk with the idea that I would take some lessons, and we both might play.  The teacher said, yes come along we can accomodate a beginner. Well within five minutes I was sitting their with a complete glazed expression.  He was talking at least six lessons into training and gobbledegook.  So we knocked that on the head.

They have a culinarary centre, where they give demonstrations.  So next was Italian chef Sebastian cooking pasta and lemon brulee tart... yum, and very funny, he is a real showman.

After that, yes we went to a talk on diet and fitness....what on the first day of a cruise, a bit daft, but the guy was really good, had some interesting point and we came away with some ideas for when we get back.

Of course then we went to lunch.

I am quite amazed at the range of things, talks, courses and demos available on this ship, my regard for Holland America line is going up.

We then went to the cinema to see The Maze Runner.   It was okay, and obviously a rip off of the Hunger Games.

So back to the room, a rest, a bit of telly, glass of wine, and tonight we found the table we were meant to be on.  Mostly Brits, quite mad the lot of them.  A young third officer sat with us for dinner and by the end he looked like a startled rabbit, poor lad didn’t know what had hit him.

We decided to do something that we don’t normally do on cruises, that is go to the show.  Have to say the standard is miles about P & O/Celebrity.  It was fabulous, the singers and dancers were amazing.  So will be going again.

I won't describe any more sea days in detail as ever much the same.  The food was good, the company fun, the entertainment excellent.  I will only talk about about the wonderful places we went.

Valparaiso day 3

We went in search of a laundry this morning as we were down to the last t shirt as Rod wouldn't let me buy another one.  We found one eventually called The Crazy Laundry and was painted pink.  But a nice man did my washing, dried it and handed me a back a folded pile of clean clothes.  What a lovely man... I could get used to that back home.

Today we wandered around the best of Conception, the hill we are staying on, which had lovely leafy roads and some quite smart houses.  There is such a big art and craft scene here, with lots of small clothes and home shops, each one a individual designer, I was so impressed with the design work. Went to one place doing Lithographs, wanted to bring some back with me, but we wouldn't have got them home in one piece.

Isn't this just amazing

In Chile they have onces, which means elevenes, but they have it at about 4pm, thats Chile for you. Just next door to where we were staying is what looks like an oldish local house called Brighton.  It is a restaurant with lovely views over the bay.  We want for ounces' smoked salmon sandwiches, a pot of tea and cake.. Quite civilised.

Looking down on the roof of the Brighton cafe from our balcony a night.


They have the most wonderful old trams here.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a clear shot of one, would have made a great black and white photo.  They also cover everything in art, even the waste trucks.

Our last night in Valparaiso and we sat up on the balcony watching the city below.  We returned to the Italian for some risotto, and finished off our Emiliana wine on the terrace.  

What a vibrant and sassy city this is, with just an edge to keep you on you toes.

Valparaiso Day 2.

Today we roughly followed same walking route as yesterday and went off piste a bit to discover the back of where are staying.  Found more amazing streets and wall art.

We went to the Museum of Beau Artes which is an old turn of the century house on the top of Conception once owned by a rich trader.  He collected art for himself, and then left the lot and the house to the city.  mainly European artist but a few from Chile.  Great to wander around and then get an odd few out of the window across the bay.

We had a wander down to the market and then braved the walk back to the hotel. Valparaiso is a set of hills that always seem to go upwards.  We found very few which went down,  very weird.

I haven't told you about our lovely hotel, The Manoir Atkinson.  It was built at the end of the 19th century by a wealthy English trader, and together with a row of other houses on the Atkinson Terrace around the corner, was built in the English style.   Judith and her husband bought it two years and have completely renovated it from being a wreck.

We had a room in the attic which was a bit of a hike, but we did have a terrace with the most amazing views.  We went up to the roof terrace every night, with a glass of wine to watch the sunset.

We sat on the terrace in the afternoon and I saw a wisp of smoke across the hill.. Someone had a bonfire.....  no the next minute...whuurf it all burst into flames... I was impressed I just how quickly the fire engines got there to put it out.  It must be a nightmare. That was a bit of excitement for the day.

We think the restaurants alternate when thy open in the evening.  All we could find tonight was an Italian, but I have to say I had the best gnocchi I have ever tasted, the also gave me a bucket of beer... HIC!

They have what they call Vampire Parties which don,t start until midnight, and consist of drumming to the the same beat constantly.  Tonight it went on until 6 in the morning.. Didn't get ,much sleep and wanted to go around to where these kids live and broadcast a loud klaxon all day.    They have a big problem with noise here, but nobody seems to do anything about it.

Valparaiso First Day

We decided to do the free walking tour this morning, down in the square right below us.  This time our guide was Nelson and he walked with us for nearly four hours.

As I said the whole city is built up steep hillsides, Nelson took us up through the conservation area, and down through the city centre, main square and then through the port area.  The centre is small and compact, and the residential parts are sprawling up and out.

The hills of Conception and Alleged are UNESCO sites.  This is both good and bad.  We saw a couple of burnt out houses.  If you buy property in this area you have to renovate it back to it's original condition, hence people don't because they cannot afford it.

Last year there was a devastating fire on two of the hills further out and over 1000 houses were lost.  I'm really not surprised as the houses are so close together and the alleys so narrow,how would you be able to control it.

The Street Art.  During the Pinochet era was hard on Valparaiso.  All forms of artistic expression was banned completely and a curfew at 9pm stopped people getting together. But Valparaiso rebelled with its street art. When the regime ended it became the city of culture.

There is a particular art is who like Banksy has become famous.  He now has stuff all over the world.

we walked and walked but did ride up in two ascensors, many are scattered around the city.  They are publically owned and cost between 10 and 30 pence a ride.

we stopped for a short break and Chilean diet food....Deep fried empanadas... They were totally gorgeous, but think I will have to stay away from them.

Some pictures to keep you going.  Unfortunately I have run out of time and we have to get going down to the port to join the ship.  I will keep writing the blog and hope that when we get into ports that I will be able to load it.  But it will eventually get updated.  Hope everyone is well and will speak to you all soon.

lots of Love Janette and Rod