Niall & Valerie - South American Odyssey - Chiloé, Chile
Chiloé, Chile
It's the afternoon of the 13th January and we have just boarded the Seabourn Quest, our home for the next 3 weeks. We departed Ireland on Wednesday the 7th January and flew through Paris to Buenos Aires. Our first time to visit Argentina We came down here with Northern Hemisphere colds and flus and for the first few days were in poor shape for touring a city where the temperature was above 35C. We joined a double decker bus tour, which thankfully had a roof on it. Shortly after commencing the tour we were transferred to an open top and we were uncomfortably reminded of Sally O'Brien and the egg you could fry on the seats. We stuck it for about two hours and got a good overall sense of the city. As a city, Buenos Aires impressed a lot. Wide boulevards and very European in design and atmosphere. Our hotel was in the Recoleta district of BA and operated by Hyatt. Built in the garden of an old merchant's palace they managed to retain the style and grace of the old building and mingled it very successfully with the new. Immediately next door was a similar palace, currently the embassy of The Holy See and BA's most famous son. It's quite clear there was a lot of wealth in Buenos Aires in the early to middle part of of the last century and those that had it spent it quite well and with style.. Those familiar with Argentinian financial history will be aware it's a continuous tale of rags to riches. Like a lot of other economies not everybody appears to suffer the 'rags' side of the business. I know Ireland is currently somewhat consumed by the Charlie story and the sums of money he extorted for favours. Poor Charlie, if he was down here he would be measured against the Kircheners et al who managed to accumulate hundreds of millions and CJH's misdemeanours wouldn't even rank. The current economic scenario operates against a backdrop of defaulting on debt to U.S. Hedge funds, that don't appreciate being done out of their money. Depending on who you talk to, the inflation rate is running between 25% to 40% and the cash machines are short of money and when they do have it you are limited to $100. The Peso has devalued by 10% in the past month alone. There is an unofficial market in what is termed the Blue Dollar, in reality greenback notes and they can be exchanged for 30% over the official rate at virtually every street corner. A phenomenon in Buenos Aires is the Eva Peron story, popularised in modern times by the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical. Eva died in 1952 at the young age of 33 and was regarded as a virtual saint. Shortly after her death in 1952 her husband Juan Peron was ousted in a coup and exiled. The Generals were concerned with the 'pulling power' that still attached to Eva and spirited her body away for a secret burial in Milan. In the early 1970's Peron returned to power and Eva's body was returned for burial in a necropolis in Recoleta, BA. Nothing was left to chance and she was interred 15 metres down, in a reinforced vault. The vault remains a very popular place of pilgrimage. The size and opulence of the crypts in Recoleta has to be seen to be believed, one more extravagant than the last.. It certainly is an expensive business. What we found really strange in restaurants at night were the number of middle aged women who dressed and represented themselves as lookalike Evitas. Sixty years after her death the spell still persists. Food in BA focuses on meat and plenty of it. The steaks are fantastic and regrettably put the Irish offerings in the shade. Offal is also popular and I suggest you avoid chitterlings, small parts of pigs intestines, which I can confirm taste at least equally as bad as the name suggests. 13th JANUARY Having previously experienced a heat wave, Tuesday morning brought a torrential downpour through the time period we were transferring from hotel to ship. Water was flowing everywhere as we tried to fight our corner and organise a taxi. When we got to the cruiser port the mayhem continued as we were dropped off short of the overhead cover and required to navigate on foot, pulling our bags, through the flooding. The ship is really comfortable and well equipped. First rate service and all meals and drinks are 'free'. There are 4 restaurants on board, all with extensive and very varied menus. We are real novices to cruising and could very well be the only passengers who are on their first trip. Many many of the passengers have been on multiple cruises and mainly with the same line. Scheduled to depart Buenos Aires at 16:00 we didn't depart until 19:30 but still managed to get into Montevideo for 07:30 the following morning. 14th JANUARY Travelling east along the River Plate from BA we arrived into Montevideo, Uruguay. Calling it a river is somewhat misleading as you can barely see either shore, more like the open sea. Montevideo is clearly a city that has seen better times, the parts we were in were all rather decrepit. Perhaps our view is partly determined by the fact we did not move far from the port area. Barbecue seems to be the dominant cooking style and as we walked through a street restaraunt area at 10:00 they were already loading up huge barbecues with pounds and pounds of meat, preparing for the lunchtime trade. The Battle of the River Plate, a pivotal event at the outset of World War 2, resulted in the sinking of the German battleship Graf Spee just off Montevideo. Parts of the ship are included in a monument on the quays.. We departed Montevideo at 14:00 and our next stop, in 2 days time, will be Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. Watching the Stanley weather from BA, when we're sweltering in 35C, the Falklands were enjoying 7C. THURSDAY 15th Jan This is the first of 2 consecutive full days at sea. Not much other than the expansive South Atlantic whichever way you look. It's a fine sunny day with a rolling sea swell. The temperature has already dropped to15C. Whilst I hadn't given much thought to it, the rundown city of Montevideo was a strange place to call into. I learned the real reason on this leg. The Argentinians are still smarting over the Falklands and do not allow any direct links between the islands and Argentina so we had to depart Buenos Aires for Uruguay. Another element of the antagonism from Argentina is a law defining that any person who has been involved in the offshore oil sector in the Falklands can be jailed for up to 15 years if they are apprehended in Argentina. The lack of real activity gives time to consider how well this ship, Seabourn Quest, is managed and the planning that has gone into our cruise. It has a capacity of circa 450 passengers supported by a crew of slightly more than 350 and seems pretty full on this trip. It's a one class ship but there are differences in the type of cabin. We are resident on deck 8 with our own verandah, bedroom and ample sitting area. Bathroom facilities are excellent, full bath and separate walk in shower and also a separate good sized walk in wardrobe. Naturally we are assigned a valet for the length of the cruise. The bar is fully stocked and 'free'. The dining facilities include a waiter serviced restaraunt, a buffet restaraunt also with waiter service and a smaller restaraunt. Out on deck there is a further restaraunt and there are about 4 bars and 3 coffee shops through the ship. The various restaraunts pick a theme each day, yesterday it was Mediterranean and today it is Indian, whilst at the same continuing with their standard menu. Everything is operated to the highest standards and again all is 'free'. One real benefit of the organisation is queuing doesn't exist anywhere. Tonight is formal so time to hand the tuxedo to the valet for pressing. Val is making fairly good use of the Spa and related facilities (not 'free') and hopefully will look her best as we set out for the Captain's Gala Dinner this evening. There is an Expedition Team of 17 dedicated to supporting our time in Antarctica. Zoologists, ornithologists and plain simple naturalists who also double up as Zodiac drivers. As we head down to Stanley there are a number of lectures on differing aspects of our adventure and these will continue as we move along. We also saw our first Wandering Albatrosses, with wing spans up to 3.5 metres, they are the worlds largest flying birds and gracefully elegant as they glide on air currents. They spend virtually their whole life at sea, returning to land only to molt and lay their egg, which they only do every second year. They are known to live up to 65 years. Before dinner the captain identified the various nationalities and as we had surmised the passengers are slightly more than 50% American. Ireland has 2 representatives. We joined an American couple for dinner and with our like ideologies discussed and agreed on a number of solutions to correct the ills of the world. Neither communism, Muslim rule or the liberal agenda played any part in our solutions. The dinner was again a high quality event with fine wines. Val had foie gras and filet mignon whilst I had the caviar and Maine lobster. We ended the evening at a show with a singer/impersonator and I differed from Val's view on him - I won't be going back. FRIDAY 16th Our second of the 2 consecutive days at sea, with the possibility of a third coming up. Another bright sunny day Last night the Captain hinted there maybe strong winds around the Falklands which could impact operations. Through the night the wind blew 35knots on the nose and apart from the very odd lurch the ship remained steady. As we go through quite heavy seas it is quite remarkable how effective the ship's stabilisers are. Our dinner partner, a seasoned sailor, said he liked to keep the verandah door open through the night to give a real feeling of being at sea. Following his lead, with a small amount of dissent from Val, we tried the same. It was a good, if noisy, experience and you certainly knew you were on the ocean. This morning, 250 nautical miles north of the Falklands, we were advised of upcoming gales in the region and landing may not be possible. The Captain advised he had considered the option of bypassing Stanley and heading straight for Antarctica but decided to adhere to the original plan. It sounds very much like we will go in for a look-see but probably not land. Six a.m. tomorrow will tell all. SUNDAY 18th January We didn't have to wait until Six a.m. Saturday to hear the plans for Stanley. At 18:00 hours Friday the captain made the anticipated announcement from the bridge. The gales in Stanley were persisting and we were already facing into 45 knot winds. The visit to the Falklands was off. Friday night was might be termed an interesting night. The sea was rough through the whole night and at times we wondered whether we were about to suffer a hard landing out of the bed onto the cabin floor. I think I heard Val cry 'I wanna go home'. The ship had to slow down to 8 knots. All this was happening before we even entered the Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is regarded as the most difficult and stormy sea in the world. It is the infamous sea that must be traversed to get round the notorious Cape Horn. We arrived as one storm depression was passing through and another was on the way from the west. The plan was to ride through the current storm at a slow speed and hopefully then increase speed and get out of the region before the next depression arrived. All this meant that Saturday was spent rockin' n' rollin'. We passed within distant sight of the Falklands at 09:00 Saturday. As we passed the stormy Falklands we could see for ourselves that the correct decision had been taken. Thankfully neither Val nor I succumbed to seasickness. All day Saturday we held a slow 8 knots and at times wondered whether that was even too fast. At 12 noon the captain advised he expected the weather to continue for the day and as a consequence we were falling behind schedule, despite the fact we didn't have a Falklands landing. As we passed Stanley we were still 600 nautical miles from Half Moon, our first landing zone in Antarctica. The captain did however expect the weather to improve around midnight. We woke to calm seas and the ship was smoothly travelling at a speed of 18.2 knots. It's 3 degrees and we have just sailed through our first snow shower. Just like the weather we are reading about in Ireland, but nothing like Canada! The captain had correctly interpreted the weather charts and we crossed ahead of the second of the depressions. With fair weather forecast for the next days we will get back on schedule. This is now our fourth full day at sea and, with all the onboard services to help you pass the day, one wonders where the time goes to. This morning we attended a briefing on landing procedures for Antarctica, how to dress for the conditions, how to get in and out of a Zodiac, how to do what your told, how to respect the wildlife and the environment. Antarctica is a strictly protected zone and you must be sanitised before landing and make sure you leave nothing behind when you depart. Even a pee is out of the question. The planning and preparatory work by the expedition team leaves absolutely nothing to chance and their enthusiasm and expert knowledge is whetting our appetites for the days ahead. We have been given colour coded armbands which are used to bar code us on and off the ship. We will operate in groups of circa 85 and each group will be given a nominated time to depart and allocated 90 minutes on the ice. Ali, a bit like the armband in Rathmines. Zodiacs are used both for landings and sea tours along the shore. This evening we will be allocated our time slots for tomorrow Monday. Over the next 5 days we are planned to repeat the procedures in different landing zones. MONDAY 19th January The weather continued calm overnight and we put down our anchor in Half Moon Bay, South Shetland Islands at 09:00. Today is our first day in Antarctica and Val was quite apprehensive about the Zodiac landings. Would she fall overboard, would the Zodiac sink, would the weather close in whilst we were ashore and have to stay forever? Gladly our experience was to the top of our positive expectations and yet again the Seabourn staff excelled in their management of the boarding and landing processes. The best way I can describe today is with the photographs, so no more narrative. TUESDAY 20th January We raised anchor in Half Moon at 19:00 last evening and headed for Cierva Cove, our planned destination for today's activities. The weather as we departed was turning unfavourable. At the outrageous hour of 04:15 we were awoken with an announcement that due to the further deterioration in the weather all activities were likely to be cancelled. At that stage the wind was blowing 50 knots and it was quite unpleasnt. The reason for the timing of the announcement was that the poor chappies on the early Zodiac departure would be getting up at that time. I have previously mentioned the professionalism of the Expedition Team onboard and today they came up trumps again. In searching for a sheltered spot, protected from the winds of the passing depression, they decided on Charlotte Bay. The bay is surrounded by glaciers and there are regular sounds like explosions as they calve icebergs into the sea. The day turned bright, calm and sunny and the temperature rose to 6C. The crew said they had not experienced any better day on any trip. We saw numerous whales, both Minke and Humpback. The pictures take-up on an incredible day in Antarctica. WEDNESDAY 21st January We are anchored off Culverville Island at 64.41 degrees South and the temperature is 2C. The activities today centre on a Zodiac landing to see the Penguins on Culverville. As we look out from the ship the sea is alive with penguins coming and going from the rookeries on the island. We were assigned the first landing at 08:00 and Val decided on the lazy option of staying in bed. On the return trip to the ship we got close up to a humpback whale. As you will have seen from earlier photographs, icebergs are everywhere and they come in all shapes and sizes. A large number reflect a blue fluorescence and I succeeded in capturing this on one of the photographs. Another great day. THURSDAY 22nd January Today we visited a Chilean research station on a place called Waterboat Point. I imagine it is more intended as a way for Chile to lay claim to part of Antarctica than a research station. The Chilean airforce man the base for 5 summer months. The base is surrounded by a penguin rookery and reminded me of an untidy farmyard. As you look at the pictures of the cute little penguins bear a thought for the photographer who had to endure the awful stench of guano. In the sound, between the point and our ship, 2 humpback whales were moving along. On our return to the ship the Zodiac driver followed the whales and we were less than 30 metres from them as they appeared to go for a doze on the surface. We could clearly hear their blowing sounds. Heavy snow started to fall as we were travelling back to the ship and we got a real live experience of Antarctic weather, albeit in summer. At the same time we crossed the path of a French yacht and wondered on the challenges of cold, wind and ice the crew must endure, unimaginable. The onboard event for early evening was Champagne and Caviar out on the deck. Strange to be enjoying a top class buffet out in the snow showers. Everybody was dressed for the weather. As this event was taking place a pod of six killer whales appeared alongside the boat. It caused great excitement with the marine biologist on the expedition as she was able to identify 2 that she had photographed in 2003 & 2004. Each day we have a recap on the day's events and a briefing for tomorrow's. This takes place at 18:30 and lasts about 45 minutes. The expedition team are truly knowledgable on their particular area of expertise and professionally present well prepared lectures. The one topic we have heard a number of presentations on is global warming. As there are unbelievably large volumes of water in the Antarctic glaciers the risks of rising sea levels are truly worrying. Last evening, during dinner we entered the Lamiere channel, but unfortunately the mists blocked us seeing anything. The channel is 30 kilometres long and about 400 metres wide. The ship proceeded very slowly as ice is everywhere and a serious risk. About 21:30 the mists lifted and from then until sundown, at about 23:00, we got the most spectacular views. At 22:00 we crossed 65 Degrees South and the captain announced we had gone further south than any other Seabourn ship has done. This announcement initiated a degree of exuberance and celebration and everybody on board entered into a celebratory mood, as if we had reached the South Pole unaided. Drinks all round, until the early hours! FRIDAY 23rd January. We are now in truly icy waters and the captain has to manoeuvre slowly and carefully as he weaves between the icebergs. Literally, in any direction you look there are icebergs. A feature of Antarctica is the ever changing weather pattern. This morning started off wet and by the time we boarded our Zodiac it was dry and the sun was peeking out. The sea was a little rougher than previous days and shortly after we landed other excursions were abandoned because of wind and weather. The drop zone today is called Port Charcot and we were given the option of a Zodiac tour and also a landing to see another penguin rookery. During the Zodiac tour we smelt enough guano to help our decision to decline the landing. The tour was interesting as we were brought to an area where icebergs coming down the channel get locked in and await release by the next storm. A type of iceberg graveyard. It's now 15:00 and we are underway, looking for shelter from a sea where 40 knot winds are blowing. SATURDAY 24th January We succeeded in getting good overnight shelter and awoke to a calm morning. The plan is to take a Zodiac tour of Neko Bay followed by a landing. Due to packed ice near the shore a landing was not possible. Neko Bay is yet another stunningly beautiful inlet and again is full of icebergs. Thankfully we were not on the 1st trip out but our time of 07:00 is still plenty early to be booted up and ready. From our Zodiac we got a terrific sighting of Humpback whales, so close we wondered about the risk of one surfacing under the boat. We completed our trip and retuned to Seabourn Quest, our last Zodiac tour in Antarctica completed. This afternoon we set sail for Ushuaia, two days at sea and the Drake Passage are all that is between us and our next landing. Thankfully the forecast for the Drake is good, we shall see SATURDAY 24th January - UPDATE I closed the blog around 15:00 hrs. yesterday as we set sail in pretty murky and windy weather. We were leaving Antarctica and I expected the next activities would happen when we reached Argentina. How wrong I was. At about 16:30 there was great excitement on board with the announcement that killer whales had been spotted. The Captain slowed the ship and a Zodiac was launched for the Orca experts in the Expedition team to get up close. There were more than 20 killer whales ahead of the ship and virtually every passenger was out on deck. The weather quickly improved and so did the whale sightings. Humpbacks were blowing and surfacing on all sides but were unable to attract attention away from the Orcas. By 18:00hrs we were in blue skies, the sea ice was behind us and we were again enjoying the incredible scenery of Antarctica as we headed for the Drake. I have included a number of pictures taken as we were leaving. Being more a 'point and shoot' photographer, with a pocket camera, I don't have the ability or equipment to capture the true sense of Antarctica and in a way I believe that cameras are not capable of taking in the scale of our experience. Reflecting on the Antarctic element of our trip we are left with unbelievable memories of a true wonderland. Everywhere around there are tall mountains, sometimes, rising vertically from the sea and reaching right into the clouds, an ice covered continent with unending glaciers, seas littered with icebergs, penguins everywhere and right up close, whales surfacing all around us, all combining to form the most incredible scenery in an uncontaminated environment. I will leave the last observations to the Ancient Mariner: The ice was here, the ice was there The ice was all around It cracked and groaned and roared and howled Like noises in a swound Let's all hope mankind has the sense to respect and preserve it. MONDAY 26th January We crossed the Drake Passage through Sunday and arrived off Cape Horn around noon. Apart from an early swell, which lasted about 6 hours after we left Antarctic Peninsula, it was an unbelievably calm crossing. The weather was so benign it allowed us make up 12 hours on the planned schedule and we would now arrive in Ushuaia at 19:00 as opposed to the scheduled 07:00 on the 27th. Contrary to my previous understanding, Cape Horn is not the end of the South America land mass but is an archipelago of offshore islands. We transited between Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn as we entered the Beagle Channel and sailed in calm waters into Ushuaia. As we came up the Beagle whales were continuously surfacing around the ship. We were quite busy on board with lectures on Giant & Colossal Squid, Antarctic Fishing, Galley Tour and at the same time taking in the great views as we navigated the Channel. I joined a game of Texas Hold Em which was operated on a knock- out basis, when your cash was gone you were gone. I was the last man standing and came second to the only woman in the game. The ship docked in Ushuaia at 18:30 and we took a short walk into town. By this time we have become 'institutionalised' and quickly returned to Quest in case we might miss dinner. The food on board, both quality and variety, continues to excel and we saw little point in seeking out a restaraunt onshore. The Quest crew, on the other hand, were quitei excited with the opportunity of getting ashore and were eagerly looking to the end of their shift to experience whatever Ushuaia has to offer. In general the crew work 4 months on, 2 months off. Whilst on board it's a 7 day week with at least 10.5 hours per day. Turnaround times between cruises are very tight, as for example our ship docked in Buenos Aires at 07:00 and we were boarding at noon. The time saving we made crossing the Drake gave the crew an unscheduled and very welcome opportunity to get ashore as through November to end February not many such opportunities arise. Talking of the crew, to a man and woman they are outstanding, in every aspect operating to the very highest standards, and always courteous and helpful. It's certainly a case of a well deserved three cheers for the crew. TUESDAY 27th We took a walk thru Ushuaia before our 13:00 sailing. There is not a lot to note in this most southern town in the world, self proclaimed by the Argentinians as the Capital of the Malvinas. Three other cruise ships were in the harbour, each of them smaller than Quest We set sail in a northerly direction along the Beagle Channel, through a section called Glacier Alley. The glaciers are impressive and close as the Quest moves along the channel. We have a journey of 260 nautical miles to Punta Arenas, Chile. WEDNESDAY 28th We docked in Punta Arenas at 08:00. The city is on the shores of the Magellan Straits, the waterway that separates Tierra del Fuego from the South American continent. Considering it is high summer we expected the temperatures to be higher and walking along the harbour from the ship there was a stiff cold breeze. One doesn't need to contemplate what the winter would be like We walked through the city, which for a long time was regarded as the most southerly city in the world. Its heyday was in the late 1800s and early 1900s when there was considerable wealth generated in the region. The source of the wealth was cattle and sheep rearing and lumber. The city has seen better days but you can clearly see that it was at one time a significant business hub and has been planned and built on the grid system. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 had a significant impact on Punta Arenas. Prior to that, shipping to the west coast of North and South America, from the Atlantic, had to pass Cape Horn and the city gained from the shipping trade. Since the opening of the Canal shipping very much favours the new route and avoids the hazards of the Drake. We left harbour at 20:00 hours and are now set for 2 days at sea. Chile is a long narrow country and stretches about 4,000 miles from the North to the South. We will travel around 2,000 miles along Chile's coast. The current leg is approximately 1,000 miles. A large part of the trip will be in protected waters between the mainland and a continuous string of islands along the coast. We are told there still remains an opportunity for rough seas. THURSDAY 29th January. We are moving along the Chilean fiords for the entire day. Speaking to members of the expedition team one said the weather on this trip is clearer than he has experienced in seven transits. Normally the region suffers from low cloud and heavy mists. The scenery is stunning and ever changing. The photographs relate the story. FRIDAY 30th January There was a big swell through the night and the ship was rolling a lot. A real threat of seasickness, tablets for both of us avoided any serious discomfort. Mist persisted through the day and evening and the captain was continuously sounding the foghorn. There was nothing to be seen and it was a cool 14C. There was a big lunch arranged with as good an array of hot and cold food as could be found anywhere. It was termed the Galley Market and was a chance to parade all the capabilities of the kitchens and acknowledge the contributions of all the kitchen and service crews. I have included pIctures of the cold food presentation and there were equally impressive hot food presentations. One feature which Seabourn are proud to boast of is their caviar service. You may order caviar at any time of the day or night and have it served in any of the bars or dining areas or even your suite. Yes of course it's 'free'. Interestingly, when Val was on the galley tour they were shown caviar sock valued at more than US$100,000. We have had some, but not gone the hog on it. A typical day at sea includes rising at about 9 and down to a buffet breakfast with a huge selection. Next it's time to pick up on the newspapers which are available 'free' over the Internet. Round about 13:30 it's time for lunch and perhaps a few glasses of wine. With so much 'free' drink and such variety one has to be careful, as you could be flat out by 16:00. Pre-dinner drinks around 18:30, Dinner at 20:00, post-dinner drinks at 22:00 and off to bed by 23:30. I have learned to watch one of the bartenders when mixing the gin martinis, as one evening I noticed he was putting three measures into each drink - could land a lad in trouble! SATURDAY 31st January The day a warm sun came out. We are now back North to Latitude 42. It's counter intuitive to those from the Northern Hemisphere that down here the further North you go the warmer it gets. We woke as we were coming through the channel into Castro, Chile. As we moved along we could see the protected bays are home to a large number of fish farms, salmon and oysters. We are now back into a land of green rolling hills and the scenery is reminiscent of Tuscany or even Southern Ireland. The Quest anchored in the bay off Castro and we took a tender into the pier. The town of Castro has a number of interesting features. The first that we encountered was a sharp steep hill, Val wanted to take the 'free' bus and I wanted to walk. Soon I wished we had taken the bus, as Val was puffing and getting grumpier and grumpier as we made the climb. It was in the low twenties C and the sun was quite strong whenever it came out from behind scattered clouds. The town was quite busy with the local population going about their Saturday shopping , more for the essentials of living. The merchandise in the shops, and also the shoppers, reflected a much lower standard of living than we are used to in the Western world. In many ways we saw the kind of shops that we knew in Ireland pre 1960. The Chilean population, in this largely rural area, have racial features that are clearly Andean, perhaps Inca. It was interesting to get into a town that has not yet been contaminated by Westernisation or tourism. I imagine that not many cruise ships come into that bay, but they do seem to be gearing up for growth. Another feature of Castro is the large church, clad in yellow corrugated steel, which dominates the small low wooden buildings of the town. The external cladding did not lead one to expect the unique quality and construction of the interior. This was a seafaring region and the skills and experience of the locals was in the art of shipbuilding, using timber. The Jesuit church is totally different inside to anything we have seen before, all timber and very well finished. Tonight we have been invited to join a couple from 1 hour north of Barrie, Canada for dinner. I will ask do they know Auntie Audrey in Barrie. It's his wife's birthday, we have already been invited to 2 male birthdays a 65th and a 70th, but as this is a female birthday we probably won't be allowed count the number of candles on the cake. I suppose it's no great honour to be invited to a birthday party when it's a'free' tab, even for the hosts. SUNDAY 1st February We lifted our anchor at 20:00 and headed out of Castro Bay in beautiful sunshine. The overnight journey was less than 100 nautical miles to Puerto Montt and we anchored there at 07:00. The city is the hub for the Chilean aquaculture industry, producing salmon, oysters, mussels and clams. It is the largest aquaculture industry in the world, even ahead of the Norwegians. At about 11:00 we took the tender into town. The tenders double-up as lifeboats and are fully enclosed. The short run into the harbour was a little rough and it was difficult to convince Val she wasn't in mortal danger. It got even more difficult to convince her when the wind rose higher on the return journey. Hard to believe she had forgotten all her Zodiac experiences, in the ice. We are in the region where, in 1960, Chile suffered the greatest ever recorded earthquake. It measured 9.5 on the Richter scale and the resultant tsunami impacted Hawaii, Japan and New Zealand. The town didn't appear to have a lot to offer as we walked along a seemingly endless string of stalls, all selling identical local artisan wood and coarse wool products. I was tempted to pick a colourful Andean design poncho for Katie but Val said she wouldn't wear it. We eventually ended up in the fish market, your nose could have lead you there. Plenty of salmon as you might expect, plain oysters, smoked oysters, mussels bigger than your fist and clams not much smaller, they were all there and not very appetising. Normally I like visiting fish markets but this was one I wanted to get out of. When we got back to Quest it was gloriously sunny and warm. We raised anchor at 15:00 and set off for our next stop, Valparaiso. This was our last 'sail away' as its termed, the next will be a 'bus away' on Tuesday morning.