I'm ready for going back to Puerto Natales after the leisure weekend in El Calafate.
The familiar Bus Pacheco comes again following the same route just like going home.
In the hlaf way, we take a short break at the gas station.
Though I want to buy a drink, the Argentina peso I have is only six.
A small cay seems to be poor to live in such a wasteland.
Passing the Argentina border is still easy as I entered before.
However, a group of the young guys stay at the border for the unknown reason as our bus leaves.
I just wonder how do they leave here if there is no more bus passing here.
Entering the Chile border is still fine, but the luggage has to be checked by the X-ray machine.
It's siad that some border will let the dog inspecting the luggages.
Basically, meat and vegetables are not allowed for entering Chile.
Around five o'clock, I arrive at Puerto Natales dragging my luggage toward the port.
The Chilean coins I still have is enough for buying the Cola.
Of course, I also exchange a few Chile pesos for the further journey.
Tonight, I will sleep on the ferry which will depart earily at 4 a.m and the meeting point of Navimag Ferry is close to the port along the main street.
Boarding time is 9 p.m, so you could have a cozy dinner time after the check-in.
You could leave the big luggage that would be sent directly to the ferry.
Before finding a nice restaurant for the dinner, I walk toward a specific location for watching the special swam.
The information was provided by the staff of Singing Lamb.
It's said the this kind of swam has a white body with a black head and neck.
If you're also interested, the location is in the south of the town as the map shown aboved.
Walking along the shore and bypassing the big private area (the big black area on the map), the destination is a grass field with the unknown flora.
It's recommended to have telescopes or the telescopic lens with your camera.
Among the waterfowls on the sea, you could find about four Black-necked Swams far away from the shore.
According to the wiki, there were thousands of the swam in the nature sanctuary in Chile once, but dead or migrated away because of the contamination made by the pulp mill.
I change the telescopic lens for taking pictures of them, but maybe the lens with the focsing length of more than 500mm would be better. Other waterfowls are very small in the scene as well.
I'm wondering where I could have a nice meal in this small town.
There is no recommended restaurant from the information by other tourists.
Thus, I choose a retaurant randomly from the list in Lonely Planet.
Afrigonia is a nice but expensive restaurant on the list.
Because I didn't try the red wine in Chile and Argentina, I order a fine red wine that the waiter recommends.
Anyways, I could sleep as I wish in the next four days.
Exceprt for the free breads in the begin, I order a soup as my appetizer.
Before the main dish, I drink the wine and look at the scene out of the window.
I think it's the first time I drink so much (maybe it's too little for others)
The main dish is the medium Fillet with the crispy surface.
With the special source made of mushrooms and walnuts, the beef tastes nice.
Since I spend the money on the wine, I also order an ice cream as my desert.
This champange-flavoured ice cream is another wine for me.
I think this desert is not suitable for the kinds. They might get drunk.
Around night o'clock, lot's of tourists are gathering in the meeting room for the boarding.
Even though the price for the ferry journey is not cheap, it seems that it's a popular trip.
Walking toward the ferry slowly, we get on the ferry from the bottom level where is the area for cargos and cars.
The sleeping cabins are on the second and third level.
As for the top level is the bar and the deck.
The cabins are classified into seven types from AAA (2220 USD) to C (380 USD).
Even I booked the cheapest C cabin, the bed is quite comfortable as the hostel.
Although you don't have a window and have to use the shared bathroom, it's fine for most backpackers.
You could store the big luggage in the locker and the light also provide a outlet for charging.
After taking a shower, I get on the bed in the late night.
I wake up at seven o'clock in the morning. The sailing is stable inside the fiord.
It's cloudy but doesn't rain yet. Howver, the scenery is not so good in such weather.
There is a small island along the way with many seals.
I'm quite looking forward to see more animals during the ferry journey.
Because it's cold and windy outside, I prefer to take photos for a while and then staying in the cabin.
The meals is fine and balanced. If you need snacks and drinks, it's better to prepare in Puerto Natales.
Around the noon, it turns to be a raining day.
Unless you have your computer, iPad or books, the only thing you could do in listening to the speech about the nature and relative subject of Patagonia, or watching the movie, such as Ice Age 4.
In the evening, we arrive at a glacier that is an extra activity depending on the weather and sea condition and only available in the high season.
Though the rain is little, most of the tourists still gather outside for taking pictures.
The second day, the weather becomes sunny in the morning and we reach a small village Puerto Edén.
Puerto Edén located in the Wellington Island is considered one of the most isolated place in Chile, and is known for the home of the last Kawéshkar people (Alacalufe people).
The only transportation is the ship with the population of less than 200 people.
Except for watching the scene of this small village, the meaningful purpose for the tourists is to communicate with their cellphone. It's the only monent of the whole journey that you could use the cellphone.
The time is short, so you could find the toruists speaking the phone while some are taking photos.
Since the scenery is not so changable, I aslo observe other tourists.
If the scene is fine, I will take some photos of them even though I prefer the nature.
In the sunny day, the scenery of the fiord is good. Besides, you could find the animals if you spend most of the time on the deck.
Around 1:30 and 3:30, I see the dolphins twice.
The last time I watched dolphins on the sea is the weekend trip going to Gueishan Island in Yilan last year.
Though the dolphins are a lot, the distance is far.
It's a pity that the dolphins swim so close to the ship but I don't get ready with my camera and don't take any photo of dolphins.
Afterwards, I also find seals swiming in the sea. No doubt, the telescopic lens is necessary.
About four o'clock in the afternoon, the ferry leaves the fiord and enters the open sea.
It's a terrible time for me because of the big swing for more than three hours.
Even the plates on the dining table also are moved by the swing, and my seasickness makes me eat nothing and get throwing in the bathroom.
When I'm sleeping, the swinging bed reminds me of the time when I was a baby.
As the bed becomes stable, it means that the ferry enters another part of the fiord.
My nightmare was gone.
I really think thta it would be very horrible if I have a chance sailing toward Antarctica.
According to the schedule, we will pass a narrowest channel along the fiord.
The silent water reflects the beautiful scene of the mountains.
Nearby the Messier Channel, you will find a obvious shipwreck, Bajo Cotopaxi.
This English ship got aground in early 1889 and becomes the home for many seabirds.
If you feel bored when there is no activity in the dining room, maybe the big chess is the fun on the deck.
Besides, there is a Wii the bar for the kids.
Someone may prefer a pool in the sunny day but that is not available on this ferry.
In the last section of the journey, the chances for finding wild animals are more than the previous days.
I see the jumping seals for three to four times and take a nice shoot while the seals show their fin-foot.
Because this sea area is near to Chiloe Island, it's possible to find Magellanic penguins swimming on the sea,
The penguins are very small so you need the telescopes.
Taking photos of them is not so easy even with the telescopic lens of the focal length 300mm.
Seabirds are also the good subject and they are common during the sailing.
The bird that is ready for flying leaves waves on the sea just as Japanese Ninja.
No doubt, taking the great view of the fiord with the wide-angle lens is the must-do that you should not miss.
The blue sky with while cloud is spectacular while sailing on the sea.
Four-day journey is reaching the end quickly while the tourist is coloring.
When we arrive at Puerto Montt, I will meet Shan soon.
In summary, this ferry journey is fine.
Though the weather and the animals are not predictable, you always expect a nice scene.
The service, meals and activities are also nice.
As a tourist who want to see more animals, it may not be a ideal choice.
This is not the specific whale safari so the ferry will not chase the blue whale for you.
If you want to see Magellanic penguins, the tours in Punta Arenas would be proper.
If you want to see seals, the seal bay in Australia is a perfect place.
If you want to experice the fiord sailing but don't want to get throwing as entering the open sea, New Zealand or Norway may meet your need.
However, if you just want to enjoy a leisure time with your family or firends on the sea, I think thos ferry journey should be nice for you.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Puerto_Ed%C3%A9n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alacaluf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Swan
http://www.navimag.com/site/blog/atracciones-ruta/bajo-cotopaxi/
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