Thursday February 12, 2015 - Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Thursday February 12, 2015 – Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

We got up at 6:30 and went to Horizons to watch observe the ship sailing through the fjords.  It was cloudy but still pretty sailing through the narrow passageways with a little bit of sun peaking through the thick clouds.  It is cooler yet as we have sailed further south toward Antarctica.  I’m glad I got to Horizons early as a lot of people are up early to see the sights and we got a table right in the middle of the front in the lounge.  It was interesting watching the ship sail in to the small openings in the channel between the quickly rising mountains.  We could see snow as we got further inland.

We anchored in Puerto Chacabuco.  This is a relatively new town and we are where the Andes meet the Ocean.  There are a couple of glaciers on the top of the nearby ridges.  We had an early lunch at the grill and then took the tender ashore to get our tour.  Phillippo was our guide, a young college student studying electrical engineering in Santiago.

We went to a nature reserve first and walked around.  He explained the trees, plants, and animals that are here.  Then we went to the Virgin Falls – a natural waterfall right by the highway.  Then we returned to Puerto Ayanes and walked around the town square – not much here – and no shops.  Our last stop was by the river for photos and then we returned to the port.

Sleepy Chacabuco, Chile

Lots of salmon farms along the coast

Beautiful plants all over

Colorful flowers in the forest

Walking along the river outside of Chacabuco, Chile

Selfie by the waterfall

Shrine to the Virgin Mary next to the waterfall

Downtown Chacabuco, Chile

Snow covered mountains peeking out from the clouds in Chacabuco, Chile

We took the tender back to the ship.  Tim did his workout while I went to High Tea – yummy!!!!  Then I walked on the track while Tim ran.  I walked over 2 miles and stopped when it started to get very chilly.  It is chilly in Chile and it is summer time!

We showered and dressed and I went back to the top deck to take panoramic pictures of the Andes and glaciers.  It is really pretty.

Beautiful scenery

A somewhat deserted ship as we sail out of Chacabuco, Chile

 

 

We went to Horizons about 7 and had drinks and had intended to watch sail-away but we never left.  I taught Putu another new drink – the “woo woo”.  And it must have been strong as one did me in.

We went to the Grand Dining Room at 8:15 and got a window at the table and saw that there were 2 tenders full of people coming back to the ship – that’s why we didn’t leave on time – people still on tours.  We had a good dinner and good service.

We went to the Lounge at 9:30 and watched Maestro performed by the 4 singers – Amy, Megan, Erik, and Evan.  It was entertaining and they were excellent – great harmony.  Tim thinks they sound like Manhattan Transfer!

We then went to bed – I was zonked out quickly and slept through the night.