Patagonia Patagonia!

The Navimag ferry through Patagonia will go down as one of the coolest experiences of my life, and I am so happy I got to share this experience with Smash! First of all, it was super relaxing, which is exactly what we needed after the assault to our bodies delivered by Villarica, and in general the disorder, stress and exhaustion that comes with being on the road. We had lots of quiet time, lots of tea and coffee, lots of reading, lots of sunbathing, lots of heart-to-hearts, and most importantly, lots of gorgeous views of Patagonia! The experience of floating through the chanels and fjords is so magical, and a little spooky. Mountains and glacier-scarred hills loom above as you seemingly-effortlessly glide past. It struck me on this journey how huge and ancient the earth is, how insignificant I am--it is a miracle that I am here at all, seeing this. The forces and power of nature amaze me. The entire landscape of our journey was shaped by glacial movement 12,000 years ago (I think, don't quote me on that!), and it was very apparent by the appearance of the jagged Patagonia peaks, the many rough islands poking out of the water, and the glacial scars on the surrounding hills and mountains.

We lucked out with amazing weather, since we had met a French couple in Pucon that had come up on the Navimag. They had told us that their weather was terrible and it really hadn't been worth the money for the ticket. But, we had calm waters and blue skies, which was perfect because the whole point of the trip was to sit out on the deck and just watch the landscape.

Highlights included multiple sightings of dolphins and seals (or sea lions, who can tell the difference?) and the general beauty of the hills, mountains, and snow-capped Patagonian peaks. We also passed a ship wreck from the late 1800s. Apparently, the captain had heard of another ship that had wrecked on this particular rock. He sold his load of sugar to Uruguay and then attempted to wreck his ship on the same rock to collect the insurance money on the sugar, but the ship didn't sink, it merely got stuck on the rock! I would have loved to see his face at the "Oh shit!" moment he realized his boat wasn't going to sink! We also went through some very narrow channels, including the English Narrows, which were verdant islands of scrubby evergreens, and the White Narrows, which were more rocky islands covered in bright green foliage. We also occasionally saw waterfalls cascading from the heights of the mountains. Our first and second days on the ferry brought clear blue skies, but as we neared Puerto Natales, the sky clouded over and provided for some spectacular pictures! Also on our third day, after a quick stop in Puerto Eden to deliver and collect cargo and passengers, we visited a glacier (shoot, I can't remember the name of it!). As we began to approach it, the water changed to a milky blue-green color, the result of the glacial minerals dissolved in the water. We saw chunks of ice, small ice bergs if you will, as we approached, and parts of the glacier appeared deep blue. It was incredible! But after standing out in the wind on the bow of the ship for two hours, awaiting the final approach to the glacier, we were freezing, and for me at least, the glory was short-lived, as I had to dash inside to fend off the cold! Patagonia is incredible, from what I could see of it on this trip, and I totally understand now why people travel from all over the world to behold its beauty.

Our first sunset, which we fought off our volcano-related exhaustion to witness.
Smashley's on a ferry!

Glassy and blue, pristine and peaceful.

The boat that got stuck!

I am on a ferry in Patagonia!

A couple vistas of our route through the English Narrows, which were very pretty, green, and spotted with little islands.

This shot makes it perfectly clear that the landscape was formed by massive glacial movement. I was intrigued by the almost parallel lines scratched into these hills, and I could envision the giant glaciers scraping their way through thousands of years ago.

The view surrounding our quick stop in Puerto Eden.

Puerto Eden, a Patagonian village so small there are no cars or roads.

Sunbathing on the top deck.

Lots of gorgeous scenery.

The clouds added even more magic to the vistas.

From the first moment we spotted it, it took us two hours to creep up on this glacier.

Tiff and Smashley are at a glacier!

The narrowest part of our passage, in the White Narrows, only 80 meters wide!

Another view of the White Narrows, for me the prettiest part of our voyage.

More pretty Patagonian peaks!

Pulling into Puerto Natales to set our feet on dry land!

Our vessel, the Evangelista.

Ashley had to leave me the next day to meet her sister in Buenos Aires, so we celebrated our incredible journey together and all the memories (and treated ourselves, after three days of bland ferry food!) with gourmet hot chocolate and a nice meal in Puerto Natales. By chance, we found an African restaurant (Ashley lived in Tanzania for a year), so we had to do it, especially since it's been forever since I tasted delightful ethnic food! The meal ended up being a more upperscale take on African fare, but nontheless it was super rico. I was really sad to say goodbye to Smash, as she was an excellent traveling partner. We didn't seem to annoy each other too much, and things went very smoothly--no crises on the road! The night we landed in Puerto Natales, Sarah rolled into town on a bus, so I traded one blonde friend for another. But, I missed Smash immediately, especially since I knew she would have loved all of my subsequent adventures in Patagonia!