Strait of Magellan and Chilean Fjords

We departed Punta Arenas around 6:30 Tuesday evening and would not arrive in Puerto Montt until Friday morning around 6:30, making our time underway just about 2 1/2 days. As I mentioned in the last post, we followed the Strait of Magellan south and westward until we arrived in the South Pacific and then made our way northward.

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Once we exited the Strait of Magellan and turned north in the Pacific and began using a series of channels along the coast. This route afforded us smoother sailing among the islands than the open sea. It also presented spectacular views of the Chilean Fjords.

You can see we used a series of connected Canals as we made our way north. The weather was overcast, rainy at times, so the pictures were not great, but I will post a few.

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We had not planned a shore excursion here in Puerto Montt. I am glad we didn’t, because it was pouring rain when we arrived and continued to rain into the afternoon. We stayed onboard and enjoyed lounging, reading and lunch. By 2 PM, the skies cleared, but it was too late to take a tender ashore and be back before all aboard at 4PM.

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We sail this afternoon toward San Antonio, Chile, the halfway point of our cruise. Many of our new friends will depart there and we do not know how many new ones will embark, given the current travel warnings. I am sure that had we been only scheduled for the 2nd part, we would have cancelled. But since we are already here, it seems the prudent course to remain on board and sail back to San Diego. We are safe, healthy and enjoying our time, but fully aware of the travel turmoil circling the globe. The ship is taking precautions, both onboard and with medical screenings for those boarding Sunday.