THE SOUTHERN AMERICAN SERIES PT12
VALPARAISO, CHILE
WHERE IS VALPARAISO?
Valparaiso & The Cruise to the end of the World pt3
PUNTA ARENAS
After a day at sea we arrived at Punta Arenas. There isn’t a huge amount to see here although it was a hub of commerce and trade for centuries, due to it’s access to the Pacfic and Atlantic Oceans. We took a walk around the town to see what we could find.
STRAIT OF MAGELLAN – CRUISING
Another unique part of this trip is cruising through the strait of Magellan. This body of water connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and was named after the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan. Here we could see glacier after glacier and as our rooms were on the starboard we were lucky to enjoy it all from our own road. An amusing story was when I got a call from my mum to say how amazing the glaciers were, when in fact we hadn’t passed any.
Valparaiso & The Cruise to the end of the World pt3
CRUISE TIPS:
- Try booking excursions before you depart as they can be a fraction of the cost that the cruise charges and be with the same company. Just be sure to let them know which cruise you are on and when you need to return
- Buy a local sim card so you don’t have to depend on expensive Wi-Fi. However you might not get signal on those days at sea.
CHILEAN FJORDS – CRUISING
The following day was again spent cruising through more incredible landscape, this time the Chilean Fjords. We were also treated to a tour of the ships bridge.
Valparaiso & The Cruise to the end of the World pt3
RELATED READ: PETROL AND FIRE AT MY FIRST FULL MOON PARTY
PUERTO MONTT
Today we docked and Puerto Montt and signed up to some much needed adventure. We opted to go White Water Rafting which was exactly what we needed. It wasn’t like what I experienced in New Zealand or on the Zambezi LINKS but it was definitely good to get off the boat for a few hours.
Valparaiso & The Cruise to the end of the World pt3
THE CRUISE:
- Gym
- Health food cafe
- 4 x Restaurants
- Spa
- Nightclub
- Bar and Lounges
- Theater
- Casino
- Basketball Court
- Indoor & outdoor pool
DAY AT SEA
The decent weather is back and it’s outside to enjoy these final few days at sea. As there have been a few days at sea, the cruise has been good at promoting the activities, whether it’s in the pool or on the stage at night. There was maybe around 15 people on the entire cruise who was under the age of 30 but it didn’t take us long to have our own social circle and rest bite away from our respective families.
VALPARAISO
Our last stop and time to say our goodbyes. In Valparaiso we would stay another few say and enjoy a quick tour of the town and a cookery school before the family heading back home.
RATINGS….
- PEOPLE – 9/10
- BACKPACKING – 6/10
- WEATHER – 7/10
- THINGS TO DO – 7/10
SUMMED UP….
- HIGHLIGHT – It’s always meeting people
- LOWLIGHT – The weather isn’t always good
- MVP – The waiter in the restaurant plus a heap of others!
- CRUISE AGAIN? – yes
- RATING – 9/10
FINAL THOUGHTS
I had met some great people on this cruise and it was a shame to say bye. The average age might have been well into the 50s but it turned out to be the different experience we had hoped for.
NEXT UP
Road trip through the Atacama Desert and the Bolivia Salt Flats! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
78/229
This post is part of The Southern American Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
