I’m writing this on Wednesday and we’re having the roughest passage we’ve had so far. We’re between the Chilean Fjords and the Darwin Channel, on the way to Puntas Arenas. The Captain asked us last night to batten down the hatches because it wasn’t going to be a smooth sail overnight, and he was right. We shook, rattled and rolled all night long. This morning he told us the current was so irregular and the swells so high that he had to slow down substantially during night. Consequently, we won’t arrive at the Darwin Channel until 1PM instead of 9AM. And this morning the ride is still “bumpy” (he pronounces it boompy. He’s so cute).
So Monday in Puerto Montt was our first Virtuoso tour. There were about 20 of us and we got on a luxury bus with our guide, Eric. He spoke wonderful English and had a cute, witty personality. The first thing we did was go to the ranch of Nelson Garcia, who is a wealthy landowner and businessman in Puerto Montt. Senor Garcia’s hobby and passion is Chilean rodeo, which is the national sport, and he has built his own rodeo arena on his property and holds amateur tournaments there. We arrived on a cold, windy morning to a serenade by a trio of musicians and 6 young dancers. We were alternately entertained by them and the hueros, or cowboys, as they showed us how the rodeo is performed and scored. Mr. Garcia did the narration in Spanish and Eric translated; they were both very proud of the whole event but I think most of our people were a little bored, not to mention COLD.
After the program Mr. Garcia invited us into his lovely pavilion where we were served a lovely breakfast. We were not prepared for this big meal; we had heard we were going to be served empanadas and juice. We also knew we were having lunch at our next stop. They do love to eat in Chile.
Since it was 11:30 when we left the ranch, Eric suggested we go to a nearby lakeside town where we could walk around and do a little shopping before going to lunch. Sharon and I bought alpaca sweaters for $20. They look great on the ship but don’t know if that look will be quite as becoming in the real world. (Oh my, we just hit a great big wave. I feel sorry for all the old folks who are unsteady on their feet or on walkers.)
Next was our lunch stop at an out-of-the-way restaurant. It was unique in that the food was cooked on a grill that was in the middle of the dining room. We had a delicious pumpkin soup for a first course. Next was salad which very few of us ate because of the threat of food borne illness. The meat course was a type of steak with the consistency of shoe leather and a taste to match. A nice flan for dessert was the last course. A couple of midday glasses of Chilean wine made it all go down a little more smoothly and was a good way to get to know the others in our group. We were all given a gift by the tour company, Abercrombie & Kent. They are hand-knitted scarves; the women got the bright, garish colors and the men got the neutral ones. (See picture of Pete sporting his!)
Puerto Montt was settled by German immigrants 150 years ago and we saw little chalet-like houses everywhere. Our last stop was a small seaside town called Frutillar, which was a German village. As we were running late, we only had about ½ hour to spend there but it was good to stretch our legs after breakfast and lunch so close together.
Tuesday: Chacabuco
So Monday in Puerto Montt was our first Virtuoso tour. There were about 20 of us and we got on a luxury bus with our guide, Eric. He spoke wonderful English and had a cute, witty personality. The first thing we did was go to the ranch of Nelson Garcia, who is a wealthy landowner and businessman in Puerto Montt. Senor Garcia’s hobby and passion is Chilean rodeo, which is the national sport, and he has built his own rodeo arena on his property and holds amateur tournaments there. We arrived on a cold, windy morning to a serenade by a trio of musicians and 6 young dancers. We were alternately entertained by them and the hueros, or cowboys, as they showed us how the rodeo is performed and scored. Mr. Garcia did the narration in Spanish and Eric translated; they were both very proud of the whole event but I think most of our people were a little bored, not to mention COLD.
After the program Mr. Garcia invited us into his lovely pavilion where we were served a lovely breakfast. We were not prepared for this big meal; we had heard we were going to be served empanadas and juice. We also knew we were having lunch at our next stop. They do love to eat in Chile.
Since it was 11:30 when we left the ranch, Eric suggested we go to a nearby lakeside town where we could walk around and do a little shopping before going to lunch. Sharon and I bought alpaca sweaters for $20. They look great on the ship but don’t know if that look will be quite as becoming in the real world. (Oh my, we just hit a great big wave. I feel sorry for all the old folks who are unsteady on their feet or on walkers.)
Next was our lunch stop at an out-of-the-way restaurant. It was unique in that the food was cooked on a grill that was in the middle of the dining room. We had a delicious pumpkin soup for a first course. Next was salad which very few of us ate because of the threat of food borne illness. The meat course was a type of steak with the consistency of shoe leather and a taste to match. A nice flan for dessert was the last course. A couple of midday glasses of Chilean wine made it all go down a little more smoothly and was a good way to get to know the others in our group. We were all given a gift by the tour company, Abercrombie & Kent. They are hand-knitted scarves; the women got the bright, garish colors and the men got the neutral ones. (See picture of Pete sporting his!)
Puerto Montt was settled by German immigrants 150 years ago and we saw little chalet-like houses everywhere. Our last stop was a small seaside town called Frutillar, which was a German village. As we were running late, we only had about ½ hour to spend there but it was good to stretch our legs after breakfast and lunch so close together.
Tuesday: Chacabuco
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