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Once on board the Navimag ferry the Captain gave an interesting speech, 'if we have to abandon ship, it's not true that the captain will be the last off, if you see me running that way wearing a life vest, follow me', 'we have many s***ting facilities on board', ' don't ask me when we will see whales, if you want to definitely see whales you have to spend 24 hours a day at the bridge', 'don't as when we will arrive in Puerto Montt, we will arrive when get there, there is no schedule'. We were then given our cabin keys, informed when lunch would be ready and told we could go ashore but must be back on board by 4.30pm - they will not wait for anyone. We had paid for 2 bunks in a cabin for 4 people. The ship sleeps 110 passengers but there was only 35 of us. Some passengers who had booked the same as us ended up with a cabin to themselves. We were not so lucky. We were sharing with Julia and Killian from Germany which was fine except the cabin was tiny and all 4 of us had big packs with camping gear. We had to be creative with the space. If 2 of us stood up between the bunks it was full, so 4 of us trying to unpack and settle in was not easy. All the reviews we had read of the ferry journey was that the food was rubbish, bring plenty of things to snack on, but the scenery and marine life was excellent. We went prepared with plenty of food but our first lunch was excellent, things were looking up. Along the Chilean coast there are around 10,000 islands which make up a labyrinth of sounds, fiords and passages. It was through these that our 810-nautical mile journey to Puerto Montt would take us. You can off course just take the bus instead but the boat lets you explore a huge part of Patagonia that is uninhabited bar a few tiny settlements. The ship had been loaded with 100 HGV trailers and some cattle trucks. There were no cabs or drivers though - the haulage companies don't let them idle away on a 3-day voyage. A few hours after sailing we entered a passage only 70 metres wide and the boat is 23 metres across, in the nautical world that's tight - especially as the ship has to make several turns as the passage is not straight. We could only go through at slack water hence why we had to wait so long from boarding to sailing. We glimpsed a few dolphins before dusk then it was time for dinner. Things were a little different to our Cape Horn cruise, the dining room was like a canteen, there were no waiters or choices on food. You got in line with your tray and got your starter, main and dessert all at the same time. The ladies serving wear surgical type masks and gloves! Dinner was not as good as lunch - where's that food stash of ours! Alcohol is not sold on board and it's illegal to take and drink your own. It never used to be but two incidents spurred the Chilean government to ban alcohol on all ferries - the first was a female Russian passenger who fell overboard drunk and died and the second was a group of passengers who got drunk, had a barbecue in their room and ended up setting fire to 4 cabins. Both incidents happened on our ferry! Going to be bed was done in rotation to allow each of some privacy and besides it was impossible for all of us to undress at the same time in our cupboard of a cabin. Next would be the complaints about my snoring. As it turned out Julia was also a loud snorer as well so all was fair. Getting up was also done in shifts, we hoped for a great sunrise but it was a grey morning. Breakfast was adequate, nothing more. Most of the day was spent on deck or on the bridge watching and hoping to see whales, orcas, dolphins, etc. We saw a few seals playing in the ships bow wave and plenty of birds but that was it. The afternoon weather improved which meant we could enjoy the splendour of the scenery but still an absence of 'big' fish. We asked if it was possible for 2 of us to move to another cabin as there were so many empty ones, cheeky we know but it worked and suddenly Julia & Killian and myself and Donna had a lot more space. Even though we moved to another 4-bunk cabin it was definitely bigger than our first one. Julia checked the floor plan and reckoned all 4 of us had been sharing the smallest 4 berth cabin on the ship. Late afternoon we moored up by Puerto Eden to offload supplies - this is one of the few settlements in this archipelago. It has 65 inhabitants, but 35 of them are posted here - Park rangers, Chilean navy, Geologists and 8 policemen! At dusk we passed a shipwreck which had purposefully been run aground on rocks so it would sink into one of the deepest channels (to claim on their shipping insurance), but it all went wrong and the ship stayed firmly put on the rocks and is still there now - home to all the birds that have nested on it. From here on we had to head out into the Pacific, there was no sheltered passage that we could take. Part way through the night the ship was rolling and pitching badly. We were rolling with it without choice, from one side of our buns to the other and back. We had a metal bin in our room that started sliding around crashing into the walls. Then a wardrobe door was banging open and closed. One of the metal bunk ladders we had stowed under a bunk also started banging about. Our wash kit bag flew off the sink and scattered its contents on the floor, Donna was on her knees trying to gather it all together whilst being thrown from left to right. I moved the bin to the wardrobe and tied the doors shut and put the ladder back in place with a rucksack up against it to keep it secure. We still didn't get much sleep as the rolling continued and we couldn't escape from the noise of crashes and bangs coming from other cabins - at least I wasn't on the top bunk any more. The ferry sails this route twice a week all year round so you would think they prepare for this part of the voyage - but in the morning, there were smashed plates in the kitchen, chairs strewn everywhere in the dining room and the 'soft' drinks fridge had spilt its contents from the shelves to the bottom of the fridge in a heap! Donna couldn't face breakfast or lunch, I braved both. Each time the dining room was pretty empty. Getting from the food counter to the tables with your tray and contents intact was a test of your ability to anticipate when the boat was going to stop rolling to port and start towards starboard. I moved to the front open deck and sat in the cold bracing wind, singing one song after another. The cold and singing took my mind off how bad I was feeling. Eventually Donna joined me and we sang together before moving onto nursery rhymes - 'there was an old lady who swallowed a fly….'. Around 4.00pm we sailed back into sheltered waters and everyone started to feel a whole lot better. One very distant whale sighting today. Not many vessels ply these waters, there are some private yachts in the summer. The captain refers to these as Foxtrot Sierra Bravos - Fuc#ing Sailing Boats, as they don't show up on radar and often sail at night without warning lights. On our last day we were supposed to leave the ship at Puerto Montt around 9.00am but we were informed we would land around 8.00pm because of our late sailing. We needed to get a bus after landing to Puerto Varas where we already had digs booked! A dismal day transformed into gorgeous sunshine and everyone peeled off layers of clothing. The change in temperature and the calming of the sea was remarkable. Our chances of seeing whales, etc were diminishing. Eventually we saw a whale 'blowing' but way too far off to photograph. Donna missed it as after lunch she started erupting from both ends and having stomach cramps - she really was in a bad way. I ended up packing for both of us and as we neared port whilst Donna lay on her bunk as long as possible before we had to clear out. Our arrival was even later than we had been told, it was after 9pm before we moored. Worrying how we were going to get a bus to Puerto Varas so late I asked the cabin crew for assistance (and I was not the only one). A young lady told us that there was a slight possibility that we could get a taxi to the bus depot 15kms away to catch the last bus at 10.30pm. We decided to ask her book a taxi to take us straight to our hostel, this would still be cheaper than paying for accommodation in Puerto Montt if we missed the bus and in Puerto Varas which we were already committed to. She also phoned our hostel to inform them we would be arriving very late - it turned out they had a 24-hour reception even though our booking email said 10.00pm latest. We stepped ashore at 10.30pm to find our taxi awaiting us. We gladly shared it with an Aussie 'Jeremy' and a Mexican guy both going to Puerto Varas and both being fluent in Spanish and both sharing the taxi fare. The driver stopped several times to phone his office for directions, Jeremy and I were trying to speed things up by forcing on him our GPS / mobiles with maps showing our destination. Jeremy was first out after helping with where to drop him, I then directed him to the 'Radisson Park Inn' for our Mexican friend and then to our digs. We arrived at 11.10pm with our share of the fare being just 10,000 Pesos (£11.77). The ferry voyage obviously can't be compared to our Cape Horn cruise but it was just a quarter of the cost. The scenery was great but the marine wildlife sightings were disappointing, but this is the luck of the draw. It was a real shame that Donna had to leave the ship worrying if she would last the taxi journey without needing a toilet and feeling pretty dreadful. It's not all sunshine and roses this travelling lark.
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