Day 6

December 26^th 2007

We arrived at Puerto Chacabuco at around 10:30am and due to the nature of the port had to be transported to shore on the ship’s tender boats (small emergency crafts). Once again we were greeted with views of mountains upon arrival to this town. Some gross mismanagement by our cruise staff led us to wait around the dock for about an hour longer than was necessary. Looking at the brighter side, we realize that we’ve been blessed with wonderful weather throughout this entire cruise, and especially at this port. Our tour guide, Marcela (a 24 year old aspiring to be a vet), tells us that the 70-degree weather is abnormal for this time of year. Chacabuco and its surroundings are rained upon for most of the year resulting in a heavy mist shrouding the mountains making it difficult to enjoy the scenery. That was not to be the case thankfully.

Our excursion took us to through the Rio Simpson National Reserve en route to the small city of Coyahique in the Rio Simpson valley. We passed several rivers, rapids and waterfalls on the way to Coyahique – each amazingly striking in its own way. We crisscrossed the Andes on the Austral highway which is the major connector between Chile and Argentina and passed what the locals call “The Virgin Falls”. Legend has it that one winter when the falls froze over, it took the form of the Virgin Mary with her face clearly visible. Ever since then, throngs of crowds visit this site during the time of year it was said to have happened. Many also believe that drinking from this waterfall will result in eminent matrimonial harmony if single. Too bad that we’re already married J

Coyahique is surrounded by snow capped mountains and is one of the major administrative towns of this region. We disembarked at the plaza in the city which is shaped in an unusual pentagonal shape. Apparently the plaza was inspired by the Place de l’Etoile in Paris – goes to show how different cultures have influenced Chile’s different regions. While at the plaza, Neha and I perused the usual tourist shops not finding anything as interesting as the three “legged” native we saw at Puerto Montt. We also managed to acquire some overly priced and rapidly melting ice cream to curb our ever increasing hunger. I should have known better when the sign on the freezer said “Ice Cream Too Soft”.

A short stop at the local museum was proceeding as usual until Neha spotted some gross anomalies with the displayed items. Turns out that the original settlers from 1929, besides using black and white TV’s, archaic typewriters and hand-made rocking chairs, the women also used Elizabeth Arden’s 5^th Avenue Eau De Toilette (something that didn’t come out till the early 90’s)!! Were these settlers aliens from the future? That question remained unanswered as we boarded our bus back to the port.

Marcela promised all of us that we would get a snack at a stop near the Virgin Falls on the way back. By this time we were so hungry that Neha and I could have eaten anything and everything and a “snack” sounded very disappointing. Upon arrival at the “snack stop”, we were greeted not with A snack, but table upon table of neatly laid out appetizers. There were plates of salmon on crackers, quail eggs, kebabs, vegetarian delights and lots of Pisco Sour (Chilean local drink) and wine. Neha and I were ecstatic. Two Pisco Sours and three glasses of wine along with a plate of deliciousness took care of everything.

On the ride back, Marcela ignored all the aerobically challenged on the bus and struck a conversation with Neha and I. She told us how the Chilean government was planning on building a large dam 15km north of Coyahique and how they were going to destroy acres of land and drive people out of their homes, all in order to generate power for the nitrate mines in the north of Chile. This region is also home to the endangered Huemul (way-mool: Mountain deer) and projects such as these dams will no doubt destroy further habitat. Marcela also pointed out to us large regions of land with burnt out tree stumps – a direct result of the Chilean government’s desperate efforts to populate this region. They gave locals ownership of land as long as it was cleared of forest. People did what they had to do and fires spread uncontrollably throughout the region and could be seen as far as the Atlantic coast apparently. This also resulted in the port moving from its original location in Aysen to Chacabuco as much of the land washed away and silted up the port preventing ships reaching Puerto Aisen. We did however notice one wind farm (wind mills) on the way to Coyahique, but apparently such solutions aren’t living up to the expectations of the decision makers.

Our bags got scanned while re-boarding the ship today – funny thing though, there wasn’t anyone behind the scanner monitor to look at the bags. It was almost as if the crew was doing it more out of formality than prevention.

Asta la vista Chacabuco.

After hours activities: Neha and I got dragged into karaoke by our friends Artie and Matt. I have complete footage of Neha and Matt performing “My Heart Will Go On” (from the Titanic movie). It was hilarious!! Neha gestured very passionately while Matt provided excellent vocals (not!!). Artie and I performed “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot!!