Sailing the Fjords

---

The past three days we have cruised the Chilean Fjords. The landscapes have been quite stunning, and have changed noticeably as the ship has continued south and further into Patagonia. Just off Puerto Montt the Fjords appeared quite smooth, blanketed with lush forest. As the ship has continued the Fjords have become more rugged and moon-scape like. The trees have thinned out, the 'walls' of the Fjords become higher and there is an increase in smaller land masses, giving the misconception of numerous islands scattered in the waters once occupied by great glaciers - which, of course, still exist, some being very visible from the ship's deck. Of these glaciers for which Patagonia is famed, there are a handful which are still advancing. How do I know this?! Well it's information provided by the very informative lecture team on board. The standard of lectures has been pretty good, with a variety of subjects specific to the cruise itinerary. But that has just been typical of our first experience of boarding a cruise. Initially we wanted to see Antarctica, as cheap as a pair of backpackers can. Never had it entered either of our minds to take a pre-set itinerary while being confined to a cabin. But I don't think either of us could be more surprised. Not only has the saving made by taking this trip over the more 'adventure' cruises paid for my flight to Oz, but being on this boat has added the current fjords section of the journey (an extra week) and has given us the experience of 'cruising'. The mainly Filipino crew couldn't be more friendly, swift, sharp and just good at looking after us. You can eat as much as you like, when you like, from the different cuisines of the world - all prepared to a ridiculously high standard. I had a traditional Sunday roast today, which was the best I've had outside the UK! There's also a full undercard of entertainment from art classes to table tennis. If that wasn't enough, cruising the Fjords while relaxing in the on-deck Jacuzzis comes quite recommended - although not so trying to get out while being bombarded by the Patagonian winds! As we near bottoming out South America, what we've really come this far for looms, but so does the Drake passage - after experiencing what a 'calm' southern Pacific Ocean can be like, I'm not really sure Alton Towers has an answer........
Full Photos on Flickr

---