39. At Sea to Puerto Montt

Sea Day towards Puerto Montt       

59F (15C)     Feb 28, 2018

On sea days we try to listen to Humberto who gives the Destination Talks. He tells us what we can expect to see. Humberto is very positive on many things, sometimes so much that reality is not at all even close to what is there. He talked about Wi-Fi connections when there were none. He showed pictures of what we could look at but it was like an advertisement… in reality, it looked very much different when we got there. Yes, he is hired by the ship, but even so, he will say when we are better off taking a local guide. 

Exclusive Retreat - Not For Us

Well, a Ship’s tour is the easiest way to see a town and gives the assurance that no matter what, the whole ship will wait for us should something occur such as a traffic accident, etc. while being out on an excursion.  Many people use the ship excursions, they book them knowing that they are ‘safe’ from eventualities. Buses hired by the ship carry the ship tourists from the ship to wherever, there is little risk. 

It is a cookie cutter tour most of the time. 

Exclusive Retreat Also Included Massage Tables

After taking a few cruises now I know it’s a money-making venture for the ships. And boy, does the ship make a mark-up. The prices are at least double, sometimes triple what the trip costs if you do it on your own. 

Yet I listen to Humberto because I have no clue what is there to see in Puerto Montt for example. I have never even heard of this town.

Effy knows women, the place is always crowded, and I never knew that jewelry was such a big draw for women. The sales personnel at Effy’s know their stuff. Give-away items are raffled off on a constant schedule. Today, Carol tells me, they had 2 raffles; she did not win in either of them.

 

Dining Room

We made a mistake at lunch time; we were seated at a table for 10. It took a full 45 minutes to get served. I do not like large tables with so many people that you cannot talk to anybody. To me having a meal with someone is a social affair. Six people are about the most I can handle and 8 people already are a crowd. But we had 10 for lunch, way too much cross talk, and some people speak so softly that my hearing aids do not pick up their voice. Ugh!

We did somewhat better for dinner. We sat with Jim and Mary from Alaska. They had 25 cruises with the Princess line and had an ‘Elite’ status. They received many perks that normal passengers had to pay for, like laundry service, Wi-Fi, etc.  Jim spoke so softly that even Carol could not hear him well and Mary only talked about their children, grandchildren, etc. Nice people but way too ‘domestic’ for me. I like to learn from other people, I did not have the feeling I could learn anything from Jim and Mary.

 

A Couple of Fun Characters We Hung Out With Sometimes

Rick Steele was our entertainer for the night show. Country Music and a guitar was his shtick. He had to borrow a tux from the ship’s crew to perform. The tux was way too big and he looked somewhat like a scare crow. His whole luggage got lost by the airline; all his stage props and regalia were in the lost suitcase. What to do?

His show was pretty good, he loved to schmooze with the audience and the women loved it.

38. The Amalia Glacier

The Amalia Glacier.

2 Arms Feeding Into the Bottom Glacier

Fire, Ice and Sea; it is a cauldron of nature. Volcanoes surrounded by glaciers, bashed by wave after wave of the Pacific Ocean. And on top of it all a large ship with thousands of people, gawking at it all. The Glacier is one of the fastest receding glaciers in S. America… I think it lost 7 km (about 5 miles) in the last 50 years. That is a lot of loss. It is weird to sit at dinner in a fancy dining

Right Hand Arm of Glacier

room, near a window and watch the frozen world outside. The ship sent out a Zodiac to gather some ‘icebergs’ to show the people on deck what the glacier is made out of.

I felt like we are too civilized, or let’s call it removed from reality when I stood on deck watching the crew gather those mini ice bergs. Some folks complained that the large ice cube, the iceberg, was ‘dirty’ ice. 

Top of the Left Arm Is Obscured By Clouds

I guess they would not put some of ‘that’ ice in their drinks.

 
I cannot help but be shocked by the insensitivity or total lack of our fitting into the natural surroundings, the scenery. The ship does not fit. We do not belong here. This is primal, primitive, earthy and still evolving territory. The forces of Mother Nature are at work here.  I felt like an intruder.  While my intellect understood the forces involved

Huge Cracks But No Calving Today

in this part of earth, the reality of seeing them at work made me feel smaller than an ant.

I felt totally helpless watching forces at play that are really unimaginable and uncontrollable. 

Clouds Lifted Just Enough to See the Top (On the Left)

I better focus on my artificial life of being on a cruise ship and eat my dinner of fancy meats and vegetables, cooked just so.

Outside, the grinding of basic elements is beyond my comprehension. The glacier, seen from the ship, or what is left of this glacier, is awe inspiring. The volcano is still active. 

Ice Sculptures In the Water

Even writing this blog page makes me shiver thinking of how small and unimportant we are in sight of what is nature.

It Was Heavy and COLD

 
We missed the late show, heard later it was a good show, but we did see the glacier as close up as the ship dared to go. I was impressed with that.

Bundled Up On Our Balcony

37. Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas, Chile                

Street Lights

52F (11C)

A city that time forgot! That is how I felt when I got into Punta Arenas. It must have been a powerful supply port when shipping still had to go around Cape Horn, but today the city seemed sleepy. Yes, it is a clean city. Yes, it has lots of history and yes, I like this place, but I could not live here… it is and feels isolated. 

We hired a taxi for a city tour at a cost of US $ 50. -. It was worthwhile to have a driver for a few hours and this chap and I had a good time. He spoke no English but rattled on in Spanish of which I understood 10%. (OK, 30%). With many smiles and hand gestures we managed well, however. 

City View From La Cruz Hill - Island Princess In the Background - Obligatory Schlock For Sale On Left

He drove us to get a bird’s eye view from ‘La Cruz’ Hill and then took us to the obligatory Plaza de Armas in Punta Arenas. The cathedral was at one end of the plaza and on the other side was the Palace of Sara Braun Menendez.  

Cathedral

The area, in history, was settled by Croatians and Russians. 

There was a short mining boom when gold was discovered in the area. The height of wealth accumulation was just after the turn of the century into the 20^th Century.

Sara Braun-Menendez Palace

The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 brought the whole shipping industry to a crashing halt.

Sara Brown, a Russian lady, married well and when her husband died of TB early in their marriage, she ran a business of Gold Mining, Gold Transport and Sheep Raising and Wool Production. We could not enter the mansion since it was Sunday and the museum was closed on Sunday’s but from the pictures in the article above, you can get a good idea of how successful this lady was. Lucky for her that the Panama Canal was only in the planning stages during her life time.

Sara Braun-Menendez Mausoleum

We visited a cemetery that felt and looked very much like the famous La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. But here the Sara Braun Menendez Mausoleum is the big attraction. 

German Graves

There is also a spot where soldiers from Germany are interred. I am not sure how they got there. Something about the Graf Spee Ship Crew. I forgot the details.

Monument to the Graf Spee Ship Crew

Most people today cannot afford the elaborate monuments in this cemetery; urns with their ashes are deposited in niche-like memorial spots.

Niche-Like Memorial Spots

Many Other Mausoleums In This Cemetery

This land however is still Patagonia, wild, windy, non-forgiving. Sheep herding is, was, a large business. Very, very large farms (haciendas, estancias) use(d) gauchos to herd the flocks.

Recognize This Gaucho?

I visited a statue to those hardy men who did the herding. Naturally, I had to sit on the iron horse and pretend to be a gaucho. 

We got a good impression of today’s Punta Arenas, too. Driving past a rather large mall, we saw many cars in the parking lot from Argentina. I guess the prices in Chile must be more attractive than in Argentina, or is it that there are very few larger cities around all of Patagonia and people just ‘have to’ visit here to buy what they need?

Supposed to Be Lucky to Touch His Foot

Magellan's Statue

The late show on the ship was David Copperfield, no, not the magician, this David was a singer and had a great operatic voice. Great show!