Wednesday-Thursday we came north through the Magellan Strait, on up into the Chilean fjords. Along the way Captain Leo hosted a ceremony commemorating Magellan’s first passage of the strait 500 years ago. Two Portuguese dignitaries participated in an exchange of flags and banners with the Captain, speeches were made, champagne might have been served but unfortunately wasn’t, and with so many people crowding around to do selfies, it is a wonder that nobody fell into the special sheet cake. A nice ceremony. Today they are selling specially labeled commemorative wine, wine blended here onboard.
Nice scenery along the fjords, nothing Spectacular. Some excitement onboard as two individuals got into a heated, somewhat physical, dispute about who had rights to a particular chair in the Skyview viewing area. We are so fortunate to be traveling with so many important people. Yesterday afternoon in the cafeteria, Meg observed a women explaining to the kitchen help that she didn’t care if they weren’t opening until 6:00pm, she wanted food right then and she should be allowed to get it. Oh well.
Yesterday, Friday 22nd, we tendered ashore in Puerto Montt for an excursion with two other couples. We went north up past two lakes, saw the clouds behind which reputedly photogenic volcanoes were hiding, and made a few more stops within the National Park. A rain forest in terrain shaped by volcanic and glacial activity, quite nice. One of the images at the link below is one of those coulda-shoulda shots, an extreme crop of a hummingbird some distance away, feeding on fuchsia flowers… The kingfisher was closer and sat still. We stopped in Puerto Varas for lunch in a small restaurant and had empanadas, local wine, local beer… Different from the Argentine, but good.
Today we are northbound to San Antonio Chile where this cruise ends tomorrow. 498 of us (out of 2800 or so) are continuing on. Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.
Travel Plans and Commentary 