Change in Plans

We were dismayed this morning to find out that the Navimag Ferry, that we were going to take from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt, has been delayed. We were told by the agent in Puerto Natales that they developed a repair issue and returned to Puerto Montt to sort it out. (though a later email from Navimag said the problem was due to weather, not repairs).

They gave us the option of rebooking on the next run on April 14, or cancelling and getting a full refund. We have opted to cancel. Dave has already made the trip once, and quite frankly, I am ready to get to warmer weather. We have already seen and experienced penguins, several glaciers, lots of snow-topped mountains, and windy waterways. It would be fun to do the 4-day trip, but I don't want to wait another week either.

So we took our refund and bought 2 one-way airplane tickets from Punta Arenas to Puerto Montt for tomorrow. And we have about $400 left over to play with elsewhere. We opted not to bus this stretch of Chile... the route through Chile is about 2000 KM of gravel roads. The alternate route is to cross over into Argentina, and go up through Argentina. Both bus routes would take a couple of days. For about $140 each we can fly.

So our next stop is the southern end of what is called The Lakes District. We already have reservations for Easter Weekend at a cabin called Brisas del Lago alongside a lake in a little town called Ensenada, about 42 KM east of Puerto Varas. It is in the shadow of Vulcan Osorno. We'll just move those reservations up a couple of days, and have a few extra days to spend in the Lakes District.