PUERTO MONTT, CHILE

Wow! There's SO much to tell about our fabulous day with Liliana, our personal guide for the day (thank you Petti & Rich!).This beautiful city of 240,000 is located in the Lake District of south-central Chile and is built on 4 hills and 5 levels. The port was completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1960 so not much of the original architecture is left. It is an important fishing center and the seafood is famous -- our ship purchased fresh salmon and hake for a BBQ on deck, and it was delicious! Pope John Paul II came to Puerto Montt in 1987, and there are two large crosses and a small museum commemorating his visit.

We drove through the lush green countryside around Lake Llanquihue, Chile's second largest lake -- it reminded us of Lake Tahoe -- on our way to the Petrohue Falls. The area was created by lava from the snow capped volcano Mount Osorno, towering majestically in the distance (it last erupted in 1835), and Mt. Calbuco which erupted in 1961. Because the water was quite low at this time, we were able to see the lava formations clearly. Mt. Osorno is 8,500 feet high and has a ski resort for winter recreation.

Our destination was to visit the village of Frutillar which means wild strawberries, on the other side of the lake. Again we passed large pastures of sheep and cattle -- 70% of Chile's milk production comes from this area -- stopping for a delicious BBQ lunch. Chileans have their large meal in the middle of the day, and Liliana personally chose portions of lamb, pork and beef right off of the rotisserie for our lunch, along with a very good sauvignon blanc. The typical dish in Chile is curanto, a mix of mussels, smoked pork, chicken, sausage, potatoes and vegetables.

We drove through the village of Puerto Varas, City of Roses, and admired the beautiful roses blooming everywhere on the medians, in the parks and in people's gardens. This is a popular resort town and was bustling with tourists. The beaches were very crowded on this sunny Sunday afternoon.

We continued on to the quaint German village of Fusillar. German colonists first came to Puerto Montt in 1852 and they contributed much to the development of commerce and industry. Their influence is visible in the Bavarian style architecture, German surnames and language, and its famous sausages, cakes and pastries. "Kuchen" signs posted on many shops advertise these delicacies. They also have excellent schools in the area, which are brightly painted modern looking buildings.

There are two large national parks close by, popular with hikers for their natural beauty. All too soon the day was over, with just half an hour to visit the large handicraft market -- and certainly no time to bargain! We hastily bid our new friend Good Bye and raced to the tender, the second last people to arrive! We'd love to come back for another visit to this pretty city.

ROBINSON CRUSOE ISLAND

Isla Robinson Crusoe is one of three small volcanic islands about 435 miles west of Santiago, Chile. In February 2010 there was a large earthquake in Chile which caused a huge tsunami to hit the island. We were amazed at the devastation the ocean left! However, the 600 hearty residents are working hard to clean up and restore their homes and parks. In spite of all the damage, a variety of colorful flowers and fruit trees can be found blooming throughout the town.

A supply ship comes from the mainland once a month bringing supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables, gasoline, spare parts etc. They earn their living fishing for the spiny lobster, but tourism is slowly increasing. A German ship sank during WWI, and scuba divers like to explore the wreck. We met a scuba diver happily carrying his catch of the day home, an octopus!

Seven original cannons from Santa Barbara Fort, built to defend the island against pirate attacks in the 18^th century, can still be seen. Chile was fighting for independence in the 1800s, and this island was used by freedom fighters for refuge. They hid in and lived in the hills in the Patriot Caves, which we were able to explore.

In 1704 a Scottish sailor, Alexander Selkirk was left on the island after a disagreement with the captain of his ship, with only a musket, gunpowder, carpenter's tools, a knife, a Bible and some clothing. He survived in a cave on the other side of the island for four years and four months (last picture) before being rescued. The novel Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe, was based on his actual experience during those years.

Juan Fernandez National Park is home many flora and fauna, and some marine species that only survive here, and hikers like to come to this nature reserve. It was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977.

CHILEAN FJORDS & DUTCH LUNCH

How better to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and glaciers of the Chilean Fjords than with a glass of wine on our verandah?! Our weather has been amazing because most of the rainy, gloomy days are when we're at sea. The first of our two days cruising the fjords was overcast and showery, but the next day was beautiful. We saw isolated homes with large landing rafts from time to time -- the only way to get to them was by boat or plane -- some of them might have been bed and breakfast hideaways.

An interesting thing happened on the second beautiful day ... we had to stop the ship because hundreds of tiny krill and shrimp had clogged the filters, propellers, air conditioning systems and motors of the ship!! The captain later told us that they collected over 5 buckets of these tiny fish. They were very plentiful and whales and other fish feed on them. The Chilean pilot on board contacted the local fishermen to guide us to an area where there were no krill so that we could flush out all of the systems. Our crew worked from 1 a.m. until 6 p.m. to finish this task! Happily we were able to enjoy the sunshine as we floated leisurely while the crew worked frantically. We could not have continued into the channel and on to Puerto Montt without doing this clean up. We occasionally saw the spouts of feeding whales and the sun glistening off of their backs as they rose to start a new dive.

We were treated to a special Dutch Lunch buffet -- excellent dishes followed by wonderful desserts. This is the life!

Chile is the longest and narrowest country in the world, and has a spectacular combination of landscapes. The country is rich in minerals, along with oil and natural gas. The central region is filled with orchards, vineyards, wheat fields and lovely green pastures where cattle and sheep are raised. Chilean wines are considered among the best in the world. The Andes mountains mark a fault in the earth's crust which causes frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. We witnessed some of the devastation of the results of some of these earthquakes.

After 2 days resting at sea, we were ready for a new adventure in Puerto Montt.

PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE

Punta Arenas means 'sandy point' in Spanish, and is the southernmost city on the mainland of the South American continent -- Ushuaia is farther south, but is on the island of Tierra del Fuego. In the mid 19^th century it was a penal colony and disciplinary posting for military personnel. A mutiny in 1877 led to the destruction of much of the town and the death of many citizens. It is still a major military base, naval shipyard and employer.

Steamers rounding the Cape, or on their way to the California Gold Rush stopped here for supplies, and the town had a flourishing ship repair industry. The harbor was considered one of the most important in Chile before the Panama Canal opened in 1914. In the early 20^th century the region prospered because of the discovery of gold and the growing sheep industry. Fortunes were made from sheep farming and the sale of mutton. Chilean wool was often stored in ships to avoid taxes!

We visited Fuerte Bulnes about an hour's drive south of the city. Passing by the many old grounded sailing vessels along the sandy beaches, fields of grazing sheep, and a very modern cube building which was a mineral water plant, we arrived at the fort originally built in 1843 . Many of the buildings were constructed of peat and we had fun climbing up into the tiny jail. The views of the windswept landscape were beautiful. On the way back we saw hundreds of cormorants sitting on two abandoned piers.

After a 5-star lunch -- and our first Pisco Sour (delicious!) -- we visited the Palacio Braun-Menendez, originally the mansion of the businessman Sr. Braun-Menendez, which is now a regional history museum. It was a really interesting glimpse into a prosperous colonial merchant family's life. There was also a photographic exhibit documenting the ethnic and geographic development in the region. We had a brief stop at a small handicraft market in the main square before returning to the ship, tired but happy.

Observation:

Residents of the southern cities that we visited love their dogs! They all seem well cared for and friendly, but wander freely through the towns. In Punta Arenas they all seem to sleep (anywhere they want, in the parks, on the sidewalks and even in the streets) until 5 o'clock, when they wake up to chase the taxi drivers! This really amused most of us waiting for our shuttle bus.

GLACIERS IN BEAGLE CHANNEL

Sailing up the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia we passed by five named glaciers, from south to north: Holanda, Italia, Francia, Alemania and Romanche, and of course saw many others which were unnamed.

Many of these glaciers are volcanoes, most of which are no longer active. They have snow covered peaks year round, and some also have large ice fields. Some of the peaks have been worn down and rounded over hundreds of years by the force of the melting snow. In the summer as the snow melts, many little rivulets form on their way to the sea, and some are very powerful falls. This fairly calm channel is a pleasant place for small boats to sail, and sunsets can be lovely.