We were up bright an early to get to the NaviMag port to check in for adventure. Turns out we were REALLY early, so after dropping out stuff off, Rachel and I took to the streets of Puerto Montt.
We checked out the Artesian Strip which had all the usual things. But Rachel found a sweet hand knitted toque and at the same booth there as a bin of some small wrapped items labelled “sorpresa” which I took to mean “surprise!”… My curiosity got the best of me and I paid the whopping 100 pesos (about 20 cents) to find out what it was.
Lucky me! It was a cheapy cross necklace! I would have preferred candy, but Rachel had just been telling me how nervous she was about the boat, so I gave it to her for good luck…. Good ‘ol JC looking out for us.
We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch where I was finally able to have some success ordering a cheeseburger (complete with toppings this time).
After some lounging and waiting we finally boarded the boat! We were lucky enough to have a 3 person room to ourselves. The beds were super comfy, but all in all the boat is pretty no frills. We did have a your guide who very animated and looked like Robin Williams. I am realizing now I never got a photo with him! Bummer!
We left port and headed towards Patagonia! The weather was cloudy but started to sprinkle then clear up for sunset, making for some awesome pictures!
There wasn’t too much to do during the day… Especially since the weather wasn’t so great. I took naps, ate food, journaled, stared off into space, took pictures of misty mountains and wandered around the ship.
!
Rachel and I also took dorky Titanic “king of the world” photos.
A couple times they opened up command central and we got to watch the captain and officers do their thing.
We tried our own hand but sadly were not promoted to crew.
The evenings were considerably more fun. I learned from the salt flats to always come prepared, so even though the NaviMag was alcohol free, we brought a good amount of “grape juice”. I bought this one because I liked the label.
Rachel and I befriended an Aussie named Lang and the three of us stayed up into the wee hours playing cards and inventing out own fun.
The second night was super wavy so we still aren’t sure how much our stumbling was due to that or the juice. But we had a great time trying to balance on one foot, surfing with our eyes closed or other silly games. They sent an officer in to check on us, but by then we were back at the card table like civilized humans.
The best game we invented was not so creatively called the Chapstick Game. Where we put a tube of Chapstick on a round table and we gathered around it. The mission was to keep it on the table by blowing air on it… while the waves tossed it around the table. We took no pictures and prayed there was no security footage because I can only imagine how silly we looked. It is one of those things that is best to only exist in our memories. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages!!
The last night they had Bingo with some really great prizes but none of us won. We were sad.
We were advised by Officer Felipe to get up early the final morning for the grand finale of the boat trip and we were not let down.
We were exhausted from a near all-nighter so though we were sad to leave the boat, we were excited to find a bed. Rachel and I made it to our hostel and took a lazy day. We met up with Officer Felipe for dinner and he showed up a couple of the best restaurants in Puerto Natales. One place served a massive plate of French fries covered in cheese and sprinkled with fried chicken!! Call it the Chilean Poutine!
Next entry — Torres del Paine and the beginning of the end
The Adventures of ALi! 