Chile & Argentina: Andes To Patagonia Day 11

Day 11 - Thursday, March 26, 2015 - Morning Briefing; Ferry to Mainland; Visit Puerto Montt; LanChile Late Afternoon Flight to Punta Arenas

Following our late night, we had a leisurely morning. After breakfast we had a meeting to make sure we understood the day's itinerary. Christian showed us several maps in order to give us an orientation of where we will be going in the afternoon.

We left the hotel at 10:30 am and drove toward Chacao to catch the ferry. As we left Acund, Pillar gave us information about Charles Darwin and the two years he spent on Chiloé Island as part of his voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle.

We had a chance to stretch our legs in Chacao and see many species of sea birds that were gathering to fly north for the winter. The black berries along the road were perfect for picking and several of us reverted to hunter-gatherers and brought berries back on the bus.

On the ferry we were able to stay on the bus or go up to the top deck for the fresh air. As we looked at the water we saw many more sea lions and jellyfish.

The jellyfish are not natural in this area but come from Australia. Because of El Niño and the warmer ocean temperatures of global warming, even Portuguese Man of War have been seen and some beaches have had to be closed.

Christian had another surprise for us. On the drive to Puerto Montt, he gave us a few pesos and a name of a food to buy at the local market. Our word was LUCHE and we had 2,000 pesos to spend.

We arrived at Puerto Montt at 1:00 and drove through the maritime port. This is the home of the oil industry, many seafood canneries, and most of the service boats that work the southern part of Chile and South America.

The city is also a center for education with several universities that specialize in marine biology, naval engineering, and tourism. Our first mission was to find the "banos" and then we went shopping for LUCHE that turned out to a dried and pressed block of seaweed.

Having completed our shopping challenge, we rewarded ourselves with lunch at a very small; four-table corner cociner (kitchen) called Café Don Carlos where we had king crab and cheese empanadas.

We left Puerto Montt at 2:15 and on the way to the airport we discussed our shopping experiences in the market. By 3:00 we were at the gate waiting for our two hour, 1000-mile flight to the southern end of the world.

Gennie found an electrical plug to energize her iPad and Vic began the laborious task of completing the hotel evaluations for TripAdvisor. He will also do the evaluations asked for by OAT.

Many of us were very apprehensive after our last flight was delayed, but the Departure Board showed an on time flight. We were still scheduled for a 4:15 departure. We could see the luggage carrier out on the tarmac, another good sign.

At 3:45 the flight crew came to the gate and left their bags and walked away - not a good sign. Christian came over to tell us that the flight had been delayed for 30 minutes.

The flight arrived and it was 4:30 when we boarded the plane. After flying at least eight flights with our little red carry-on bag, it was not allowed as carry-on baggage on this LanChile flight.

Even when we watched larger bags being placed in the overhead compartments, the LAN "officials" would not change their minds. The bag was checked but the whole flight we worried about our computers. Lesson learned - never assume because your carry-on fits in the approved “sizer”, it will be allowed!

The pilots made up almost all of the time and our flight landed at 6:40 instead of the scheduled 6:30. After retrieving our luggage and checking our computer bag, we boarded the bus at 7:00 for the 30-minute ride to the hotel.

Our new guide was named Cota and our driver was Roberto. The bus was named Carlotta. Cota gave us a brief history of the adventurous settlers who first came the end of the Southern Hemisphere.

Because this flight was late in the day, we did not get to see or do much in Punta Arenas when we landed. We did have a little tour of the city and Cota promised us we would see more in the morning. We stopped at the city overlook for a twilight Kodak moment.

The itinerary called for only one night at the Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn Hotel) so we did not unpack much. We posted the journal and tried to get some sleep.

Accommodations: Cabo de Hornos Hotel - - - Meal: B

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

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