Day 1
Boarding the ferry.
We just boarded the cargo ferry, Eden, in Puerto Montt, Chile; the boat is bigger than I imagined. Maile has been extremely excited for the ferry ride, saying it is the part she is most looking forward to. She is even more excited about the ferry journey than seeing penguins in Antarctica! Maile and I are a little bummed because we were just informed we would not have bunk-beds but instead, two rooms. Before we could explore the ship, we had to climb four flights of ladder-like stairs, each of us carrying 30 pounds of luggage. After dinner, the realization of what this journey will be like has finally sunk in–no Wi-Fi!
Day 2
We woke up to cloudy skies and had breakfast. The sky outside was cloudy and rained for most of the day. The breakfast was small and not like any other meal on the boat. Maybe they were giving us less food, so the fish would get fed less. After lunch, we left the safety of the fjords and headed out to sea. At first, I thought it was fun, the continuous movement of the waves rocking the ship back and forth. Then my stomach started to twist and turn. I couldn’t imagine what I would have felt like had I not taken a Dramamine pill. For the next several hours, I barely left the safety of my bed. In the time I was in my bed I came to the realization that we were in a prison. A prison continuously moving up and down, swaying side to side, at the mercy of the cruel ocean.
Day 3
We woke up to the sound of the overhead announcements declaring that breakfast was ready. We were on still water and had great views of the Andes mountains with waterfalls fed by the snowmelt, even though it is Summer down here. The waterfalls created an even more elegant view of the breath-taking mountains, with the snow-capped peaks against the cloudy skies. Oh, what a beautiful morning. During the lecture on the uniquely adapted plants of the region, we saw a pod of dolphins playfully jumping in the wake of the boat. After three days on the boat, I have realized that boat life is not very active. Most of the time it was raining, like right now, but when it is not raining there is a strong wind. Most of the time we spent inside sitting down. The things to do were very limited, as the boat was made for commercial purposes, like transporting cows and salmon food, not for transporting people in a luxurious way. There was a naturalist on board who gave informative lectures every day. During the lecture on Torres Del Paine, we were blessed with the presence of ten to fifteen penguins standing on a rock, watching us.
Huge bags of salmon food. There are a lot of salmon farms in southern Chile.
Day 4
Today we finally made it ashore. Before we could dock the crew had to pass a very large rope—probably 6 inches in diameter—to the dock workers. It was very windy and they didn’t catch the rope, so we had to power away from the dock and circle around the bay to try again so the wind wouldn’t crash us against the dock. Luckily, on the second try, we made it with no harm done to the boat. The pier, on the other hand, did not fare so well. It had a giant tire to stop the boat from hitting the concrete that got caught in the rope and when the rope pulled tight it jerked the tire off of the pier and it sank. Terra firma has never felt so good.
