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We arrived in Puerto Montt from Puerto Varas early on Friday 5 October to catch our ferry to Puerto Natales.
Puerto Montt is an industrial fishing port, but also a tourist stepping-stone into Patagonia thanks to the Navimag ferry which sails south once a week.
Our ferry, the Evangelistas, was first loaded with its commercial cargo and then we were bussed to the embarcation point together with a small number of other tourists. After more waiting, we eventually set sail in the late evening heading out of port and on towards the Chilean fjords.
After we had set sail we made our way down to our cabin; a cosy two bunk room in the belly of the ship.
Dinner, like all of the subsequent meals on board, was served in the ships large canteen. It was here we could first get a good look at the other passengers. They appeared a strange mixture of Chilean military, civilian Chileans (who were mainly very civil) and trekkers and tourists of all ages and nationalities. Everyone however seemed to find the food surprisingly good.
It has to be said that I may have drawn the blogging short-straw to some extent with the Navimag leg of our journey. The ship was relatively small and there wasn't a lot in the way of entertainment on board. Our saviours from cabin fever were a lovely French couple, who we shared meals and travelling stories with - as well as some fiercely competitive card games.
That's not to say the voyage was a dull one. In fact the fjords were very beautiful, the weather for the most part crisp and clear and there was some great wildlife to see during the voyage. For example, on one of our many deck walks, just as Steph and I were admiring the sunset, a Minky whale suddenly surfaced in front of us, took a deep breath and disappeared below not to be seen again. We also had the opportunity to take a brief excursion on to Wellington Island to visit a hamlet called Puerto Edén. Accessible only by sea, it is one of Chile's most remote inhabited places. It has a population of around 170 people, descended from the Kawéskar ethnic group. We followed the short circular board walk around the small community; dolphins bobbed and rolled in the harbour.
The fjord was very calm which made for smooth sailing. However just before dinner on the second night we left the fjord and headed out onto the southern Pacific for a 12-hour overnight stretch. The sea became increasingly rough and faces became increasingly green. Luckily we were given some sea sickness pills by a kindly fellow passenger and we both slept well as the ship pitched and rolled.
We arrived in Puerto Natales ready to stretch our legs in the Torres del Paine National Park.
~Chris
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