February 28 –
Continuing from yesterday…
We walked around Punta Natales this morning which is a quaint little fishing town. Then we boarded the bus and arrived in Punta Arenas, a port overlooking the Strait of Magellan. Our local guide took us on a brief walk around the town. I went to a drugstore and found the face suntan stick that our guide in Easter Island showed us. We had seen it in Argentina, but they wanted $42 for it. Today in Chile, it was only $18 so I picked up a few sticks for friends who had wanted them and also for myself.
We boarded the ship and immediately went to deck 5 for a welcome drink and appetizers, then watched a safety film, followed by a port talk telling us what to expect for the next day.
The ship is really very nice with places to sit with friends and a well stocked bar. We can’t drink the water that comes out of the tap in the bathroom, but they gave us beautiful metal water bottles and on each floor there is a filtered water dispenser. They also gave us wet landing bags that we can keep our phone etc in while on the zodiac so the items don’t get wet.
We found out what to expect on each of the landings tomorrow and Allan and I opted for the easier one. The harder hike involved very steep inclines, a rapid hiking pace, lots of mud, and no information would be imparted about the surrounding area where you would be hiking. Didn’t sound like fun. The easier hike would be at a slower pace and time would be taken to talk about the flora and fauna.
The afternoon would involve seeing penquins from the zodiac, but we would not be going ashore.
We went to dinner, and our OAT group will be sitting together at four tables for six. They served cerviche octopus for an appetizer which I wasn’t excited about, but the main course of hake was delicious.
At the end of dinner, one of the staff announced that someone was celebrating a birthday and the lights dimmed and she told everyone to sing happy birthday as a big cake came out with candles, and was presented to Allan for his special day. Our guide Jon had arranged the whole thing and everyone enjoyed a piece of birthday cake and shook Allan’s hand.
About eight of us went to the bar and had a lot of laughs as we had a few drinks and continued to celebrate Allan’s bday. Lots of fun.
Happy birthday Allan!