Had a slight panic this week when I was googling my shipping company to check details. I came across an article describing the grounding of my ship on rocks in a narrow channel in August, around the time I last heard from them to say they were slipping the departure by four days. The bad news was that 200 cattle and 40 tons of farmed salmon drowned but the good news was that all 17 passengers and all crew were rescued. I should explain that I am not travelling Cunard style hence the cattle on board. Anyway, I have just received confirmation that I will still depart from Peurto Montt tomorrow for four days at sea, arriving in Puerto Natales in south Patagonia . They have got another ferry, a bit old by all accounts but will do the job. I have no idea what sort of cabin I am in or who I will be sharing with. I dont know whether I will be climbing into my bunk clutching my panic alarm and ear plugs or whether I will dab on a trace of perfume and my Touché Éclat for an instant flawless face! I am hoping for a gentle passage but I have read some terrible reports of boredom, seasickness and monotonous scenery. I cant see how a cruise through the Chilean fjords could be boring but I have been wrong before! Sailing aside, I stayed for a week in Bariloche, a gem of a town, lakeside, Andes all around and any local bus out of town takes you to yet another amazing place. The streets smell of the chocolate shops and the whole place is like a little Alpine village. I went to El Bolson, a place where old hippies go to make jam and sell beads, I also went to Villa la Agnostura and the very grand hotel Llao Llao , where they wouldnt let me in. Humph. Weather varied, snow, high winds and sun. Spring has arrived , the tulips are in full bloom and apple blossom is out and I had some great walking ( until I thought I saw puma tracks at an isolated track above a closed up ski lift, no one about, noises from the trees, I was off that mountain as quickly as walking poles out of Lidl! On Tuesday I caught a bus back across the Andes to Puerto Vares in Chile, can see three snow capped volcanoes from the lake shore. Very German area also, just beautiful. The churches and larch shingle houses could be right out of the Black Forest. I went up Volcano Osorno as far as I could, the sky cleared and the clouds were the most amazing streaks of white across a bright blue sky contrasting with the brilliant white snow and black lava. Never saw anything like it before. If I saw it in a painting , I wouldnt believe it was natural. Breathtakingly beautiful.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:13:59 +0000
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