Spot the different modes of transport
We finally managed to get out of Puerto Montt (and it was still raining) after a slight delay of 12 hours of the boat. There were various stories doing the rounds as to what caused the delay including storms and that it had got stuck on a sandbank down south. I'm dubious as the veracity of the latter, and was not really filled with joy at the idea of the former. But it is almost impossible at this time of year to get south in Chile in any other way than flying, and that seemed like the easy way out - more on that in a second though! And, to be frank, I was beginning to dislike Puerto Montt with such a passion that I would have crawled out of there at this point.
In any event, the boat trip wasn't so bad. It felt a bit like a school trip - about 30 passengers. Mashed potato and stale bread and orange squash was lunch with the most enormous portions of meat. Made friends with some lovely French blokes (well one is English but has lived in France most of his life) and bored them stupid with my appalling attempts to speak French. They were very gracious though, and shared with us their saucisson, cheese and wine as apperitif before the evening meal.
Most of the day was pretty smooth as we wound our way down past the island of Chiloe. There was a minor chunk of the journey where the land protecting the fjords from the blasts off the Pacific is no longer there, and it started to get a bit choppy at that point. Not before we'd seen a lovely sunset however. And then I slept through the rough bit. Good job.
Arrive in Puerto Chacabuco to mist. But surroundings amazing. A couple of hours meandering through the fjords with forested mountains/hills on either side - really quite stunning.
Made some decisions about our next move. We have decided not to go to the San Rafael Glacier. For one thing it costs a packet to do it in one day, and for another, we have managed to get ourselves a flight to Punta Arenas in the south which is where the Torres Del Paine is (the national park with all the mountains one sees on postcards of Chile) and not something to be rushed I understand. We may also get a chance to go see the Perito Moreno glacier at some point. ANyway, faced with a three day bus journey (and I think you will appreciate by now that I am not exaggerating) or a 1.5 hour plane journey, the choice was not a difficult one to make.
So, to pass the time until the flight, we went to a small town called Coyaihaque in the mountains which was a good idea as the weather brightened up away from the coast. Did a great bike ride through the hills. Good to exercise after being on the boat for 30 hours. Absolutely stunning scenery - green rolling hills backed by snowy mountains. And lots of lovely sunshine!! HURRAH!!! Had lunch in a fire station - great local restaurant with portions that defeated me, surrounded by lots of very happy, chatty Chilenos. And are now going out for a few beers...This brings us nearly the end of our third week away.
We finally managed to get out of Puerto Montt (and it was still raining) after a slight delay of 12 hours of the boat. There were various stories doing the rounds as to what caused the delay including storms and that it had got stuck on a sandbank down south. I'm dubious as the veracity of the latter, and was not really filled with joy at the idea of the former. But it is almost impossible at this time of year to get south in Chile in any other way than flying, and that seemed like the easy way out - more on that in a second though! And, to be frank, I was beginning to dislike Puerto Montt with such a passion that I would have crawled out of there at this point.
In any event, the boat trip wasn't so bad. It felt a bit like a school trip - about 30 passengers. Mashed potato and stale bread and orange squash was lunch with the most enormous portions of meat. Made friends with some lovely French blokes (well one is English but has lived in France most of his life) and bored them stupid with my appalling attempts to speak French. They were very gracious though, and shared with us their saucisson, cheese and wine as apperitif before the evening meal.
Most of the day was pretty smooth as we wound our way down past the island of Chiloe. There was a minor chunk of the journey where the land protecting the fjords from the blasts off the Pacific is no longer there, and it started to get a bit choppy at that point. Not before we'd seen a lovely sunset however. And then I slept through the rough bit. Good job.
Arrive in Puerto Chacabuco to mist. But surroundings amazing. A couple of hours meandering through the fjords with forested mountains/hills on either side - really quite stunning.
Made some decisions about our next move. We have decided not to go to the San Rafael Glacier. For one thing it costs a packet to do it in one day, and for another, we have managed to get ourselves a flight to Punta Arenas in the south which is where the Torres Del Paine is (the national park with all the mountains one sees on postcards of Chile) and not something to be rushed I understand. We may also get a chance to go see the Perito Moreno glacier at some point. ANyway, faced with a three day bus journey (and I think you will appreciate by now that I am not exaggerating) or a 1.5 hour plane journey, the choice was not a difficult one to make.
So, to pass the time until the flight, we went to a small town called Coyaihaque in the mountains which was a good idea as the weather brightened up away from the coast. Did a great bike ride through the hills. Good to exercise after being on the boat for 30 hours. Absolutely stunning scenery - green rolling hills backed by snowy mountains. And lots of lovely sunshine!! HURRAH!!! Had lunch in a fire station - great local restaurant with portions that defeated me, surrounded by lots of very happy, chatty Chilenos. And are now going out for a few beers...This brings us nearly the end of our third week away.
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