41. Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile   

           

56 F (13C)     

That's the Whole Town of Puerto Chacabuco

I looked at this port from the railing of the ship, wondering if I should get off. We traveled here after leaving Puerto Montt by going south again. Puerto Chacabuco is a very small town at the end of a long fjord, totally forlorn and I have no clue why we stopped here.

Puerto Chacabuco is different from the town of Chacabuco, which is in the Atacama Desert. 

Fancy Hotel

Puerto Chacabuco has a fancy hotel but who would go here, what would they do?

The roads are gravel, well not all, some are paved. The houses, most of them are in desperate need of repair. All of them are small and remind me of grander shacks.

Why are we here?

We finally did get off the ship, walked the partial gravel road to the fancy hotel to see if we could get internet there and yes, they had it.

We were told US $5.00 for an hour; or if you wanted to sit down and have a coffee while on the internet the charges would be $10.00 for internet and coffee.

Coffee Shop With Good WIFI - At First

We went back out, walked along the tarred road and found a ‘restaurant’ that had Wi-Fi. We could sit down, have a coffee for $3.00 and the internet was fast and fairly good. Well, good until other people from the ship found this place and used their computers and then the bandwidth crashed and the connection was ‘slooow’. Carol tried again to gain access to her banking in Canada but again the message was ‘try another time’.

Coffee - Instant But Not Too Bad

So what do we do in a town time forgot? No matter where you walk, it all looks the dilapidated same. I asked the lady in the ‘restaurant’ if there is anything to see and she just shrugged her shoulders and that was it. 

After our coffee and after we downloaded the emails we walked back towards the harbor where we previously noticed someone had set up some tents that served kind of like shops. 

Carabineros de Chile

The merchandise inside those tents was home knitted goods that the locals tried to sell to the tourist trade. 

It was a clash of worlds. 

Oh, there would have been plenty of buyers had those ‘stores’ had any marketable merchandise for sale, but what they offered was of the poorest quality and totally not appropriate for the spoiled American taste.

On Their Windscreen

I felt for the sellers, even for the town, but what they needed in Puerto Chacabuco was a vision. ‘You will build it and they will come’ only works if you have something people want to see, want to buy or want to admire.

There is nothing in Puerto Chacabuco for most 1^st world countries besides quiet and yes, nature of some kind.

Town of Puerto Chacabuco

We went back on board and watched a TV movie named: Loving Vincent”.

All the scenes in the movie were hand painted, an amazing feat since most drawings were made in the style of Vincent Van Gogh. 

Dinner time was with a couple who wanted to go to Germany next and we gave them some hints and ideas on what to see and do there.

The late show was Rick Steele again, this time in his regalia and guitar…. Instead of pure country music he mixed in Rock…. Not so good!

40. Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Montt, Chile         

66F (19C)    -      Cruise day 36       -       Feb, 28. 2018

We started off early; by 8 AM we took the tender to shore. While most people took the excursion buses, Carol and I walked a little bit to find a ‘private tour’ to the next town named Varas. The town of Varas was supposed to be a German town, full of Chilean Germans. Something I wanted to see. I even wanted to talk to them.

Tenders To Pier

We asked a taxi what his fare would be to Varas and he and others wanted US $100 for the trip to Puerto Varas. 

Hmm, not cheap!  

So we walked a little further (15 minutes) to the Bus Terminal. I found a bus that would take us to Puerto Varas and we each paid the bus driver US $2.00. So for $4 we went to Puerto Varas. (Round Trip = $8.00).

Modern, Local Bus

It was a local bus which stopped wherever people wanted to get on or off. It took us 40 minutes to ride the bus but it ultimately got us to Varas and dropped us off near the Radisson Hotel. The bus driver showed us the stop where we could get the bus later back to Puerto Mott and our Ship Terminal. 

Since we were dropped off near this fancy hotel I thought I would go and ask what their prices would be if we would stay there a night. One-night rate was US $185.00.

A Radisson Hotel

From this spot near the hotel we should have been able to see the Volcano named ‘Orsono’ but it was too overcast. Bummer!

So we started off walking into the casino of the Radisson Hotel but we had to have our backpacks searched, be x-rayed, etc. just so we could use the restrooms; lots of effort just to pee.

Souvenir Shops, A Few Roses

So now that we arrived, let’s find the Germans in town, I really wanted to talk to them. We walked to the main square, the Plaza. There is always a Plaza in any town in Spanish speaking countries. No problem finding the Plaza, but I looked around, tried to find those Germans. Well, I guess I listened to Humberto too much. I did not find even one person in all of Puerto Varas that even remotely spoke German. Puerto Varas is a tourist town. There were souvenir shops mainly on Main Street. Carol tried to find something with Alpaca, since we are in the Andes but no such luck. We listened to Humberto who named the town of Puerto Varas a town of ‘Roses’.

 Yes we found some rose bushes but to name the town with such exuberance is over the top. In my imagination, when you call a town a 'Town of Roses' makes me think of a Cinderella setting, like in Walt Disney movies. Well Puerto Varas is no such thing.

But the Ones We Saw Were Beautiful

 

On the town Plaza were some local musicians who played some haunting tune with their pan flutes. 

The town has a somewhat ‘European’ look to it, but to my eyes it was not as clean as Europe.

German Church

In the corner café of the Plaza we had a coffee, checked the internet, tried to do some banking but the connection for that was not good enough. The screen read ‘technical difficulties’.

We visited the great looking Cathedral (in pictures) on top of a hill, but found it a bit shabby and closed. I tried to sneak in through the side door and Carol managed to get a few photos, but then the priest came and shooed us out.

Inside the German Church

Then from the courtyard of the Church, the fog partially cleared allowing us to see the Volcano Orsono.

Orsono Volcano

 Ah, South America… you never know what you will run into.









We tried to see the town but at every turn we ran into something dilapidated and not too clean, not too organized.

A Little Bit Bavarian Looking

We stepped out of the church yard and I saw a bus go by with the name Puerto Mott written on the front… I stopped the bus, asked the driver if he went to Puerto Mott and when he nodded, we gave him $4.00 dollars for our trip back. 

It was the ideal bus, he dropped us off exactly at the Ship Terminal, and we did not even have to walk from the bus terminal back to the Ship.  Yahoo! 

Puerto Montt is not as attractive as Puerto Varas. Puerto Montt reminded me of Patterson, NJ. There is lots of room for improvement in Chile, despite Chile being the more ‘advanced’ country in South America. 

We were back at the Ship Terminal by 2 PM and just caught sight of our Ship’s Captain, Capt. Turo, leaving the Ship in civilian clothes. He had finished his contract in Puerto Montt and from now on we have a new Captain on the Island Princess. Will the ship operate differently with a ‘new’ Captain?