THE SUBSTITUTE
Often when a ship misses a port you receive a small refund in port taxes and enjoy another day at sea. HAL though has been able to replace our stop at Punta Arenas
As this little port does not offer much in the way of interest, we were advised to join a tour and this is what I did. The five hour tour took us to the Simpson River Reserve, Coyahaique (the regional capital) and a waterfall. We had a 15 minute stop at the Simpson River Reserve – a park about a quarter acre in size (I live on a quarter acre block so I know what I’m talking about!), a drive on to Coyhaique where we visited the local handicrafts market, a stop for snacks which turned out to be quite good as they had FRESH FRUIT, empanadas, kebabs, Pisco Sours (a regional drink of Peru and Chile) and unlimited Chilean wines. A few minutes’ walk from this stop was a waterfall we could photograph if we wanted to. It wasn’t until I returned to the ship and read the description of how the Simpson River Reserve covered 98,844 acres that I realised I might have been short-changed in how much I saw of the reserve.
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| Elephant Rock from the Simpson River Reserve stop |
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| In the grounds of our snack stop |
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| Virgin Falls |
I did manage, though, to bag a bargain. In the markets I saw a tanned leather sheep’s hide for US$16 (at home I would have been paying many times more). I make my own travel journals using watercolour paper but haven’t been able to purchase reasonably priced leather for the covers – not the usual tourist purchase but I’m a happy camper. Now I just have to get it through Australian customs.
Returning to the ship by tender, I learnt that other friends just walked off the ship and got a few together for a taxi tour, seeing nearly the same things we did (without the snack stop) for a third of the price. We did have an English speaking guide plus a trainee guide who wanted to practice her English but $119 versus $40 is quite a difference in pricing. This is one port that you really need to take a ship’s tour or a taxi tour as otherwise there is really nothing to see. It is quite a poor area with nothing of interest to visitors at the port or nearby town.
Back on board I rushed up to the Lido for the last of the lunch and managed to grab some lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber, the extent of the salad offerings but a big improvement on yesterday, so the orchids have been given a reprieve.
Tonight was our last formal night so Deb, Audrey, Robyn, Ken and I went to dinner together. I must say that Ken and the other gentlemen scrub up quite well in their penguin suits – chinstrap penguins, that is! On the third last night of the cruise, we’re finally getting into a routine – dinner, chocolate treats and a drink in the Explorers Lounge with others from our group, then moving on to the Explorations Café for another hour or so.
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