Mar 1, 2020 - To market, to market and then to the kitchen

We took an Uber to Mercado Central this morning where we met Gerardo, our guide and chef for today. This market is 150 years old, now housing mainly fish of every variety. Salmon here is very expensive as it is all farmed. According to Gerardo, its production is strictly controlled and it is safer than wild. Chilean sea bass is about the cheapest fish they have, so there are certainly some differences between our countries. Then we walked to La Vega, which is a much bigger market with fruits, vegetables and flowers. The market is open from...

Feb 29, 2020 - Colchagua Valley

Our third trip with Chile Dream Tours took us almost 3 hours south of Santiago to the Colchagua Valley. This is the largest wine region of the country and is well known for its red wine production. We visited two wineries, Santa Cruz and Viu Manent. Santa Cruz is located in a beautiful valley near the town of Lolol. The winery is owned by a wealthy businessman with a wide range of interests. He also owns the Santa Cruz Hotel, in the town of Santa Cruz. Although he has done a lot for the town, our guide said that the concept of philanthropy...

Feb 27, 2020 - Sparkling wine and chocolate

As we departed the ship for the last time, we were met by our guide for the day, Daniel, from Chile Dream Tours. We booked 3 tours with them, as our time here is limited and we wanted to have a variety of experiences. The theme for the day is sparkling wine and chocolate. We headed to the Casablanca Valley, a cooler area of the country that favours the growth of white grapes. Our first stop was the Emiliana organic vineyard, for a brief look around and a quick taste of one wine that interested Glen. Then we were off to Casa Valle Viñamar,...

Feb 26, 2020 - Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, Chile

This morning we docked in Valparaiso. It is a very large and busy port. The city is built on 40 to 45 hills, depending on who you ask. There is relatively little that is on the narrow strip of land by the coast. Most people live on the hills. They are incredibly steep and climbing them is partly assisted by about 30 funiculars. I am sure everyone who lives here has great cardiac status. Since the protests began in October, the amount of graffiti has increased dramatically. Viña del Mar is a city connected to Valparaiso. It is called the...

Feb 24, 2020 - Puerto Montt, Chile

Our last stop before Valparaíso. We didn't stay in the city, but took a short ride to Puerto Varas. This small city is on the shore of Lake Llanquihue at the border of Chile's lake district. It was established in the 1850s by German immigrants who were given tracts of land to encourage immigration. There is still a German influence in the architecture. It felt very much like a mountain resort, quite touristy. We just walked around for an hour before going back to the ship. The nicest thing about the place is the profusion of roses that are...

Feb 23, 2020 - Amalia Glacier

Today was a most glorious day of sunshine and calm water as we sailed along the west coast of Chile. The highlight was sailing very near to the Amalia Glacier, which is located in Bernardo O'Higgins (great Spanish name) National Park. The glacier originates in southern Patagonia, and is only visible from the water. It is considered a retreating glacier, and has receeded over 7k since 1945. The glacier partially surrounds the Reclus volcano. This has been compared to glaciers in Alaska, but I have not seen those and must say I was very...

Feb 21, 2020 - Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas is located on a Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan. It is the capital and largest city of Chile's southernmost region, with a population of around 125,000. We did not get a chance to visit the city at all, as we boarded a catamaran to go to Magdalena Island. It is home to over 100,000 Magellanic penguins. Unfortunately at this time of the year, most of them had migrated to Antarctica for the summer, and there were a lot more gulls than penguins. It was a bit of a disappointment after visiting Volunteer Point in the...

Feb 19, 2020 - Cape Horn

We had another very lazy sea day yesterday, only taking time out from our busy schedule of doing nothing to have deep tissue massages. This morning we sailed the route of many explorers and rounded Cape Horn. On our way there from the Falkland Islands we passed Isla de los Estados, an island that is an ecological reserve. The weather was cool and very windy, with temperatures around 8 degrees. There is a beautiful sculpture of an albatross that I just happened to catch in one of my pictures. It is a monument to the thousands of sailors who...

Jan 5, 2020 - Coquimbo and La Serena, Chile

Dear All, Unfortunately, we left behind the adapter cable that links Doug's camera to my computer. So there won't be any pictures until we get home or unless we can find an adapter in Lima or some other big city that has computer stores. Also the WiFi on this fancy dancey boat (as Doug calls it) is flakey so we can't send or receive efficiently. Of course that may be because we are at sea today and tomorrow. Anyway we'll do our best to keep you informed of where we are and what we are doing! First, our plane landed in Santiago but we didn't...

Jan 4, 2020 - Fly to Santiago, Chile

We're off!! We actually started our journey on Friday, January 3, 2020 and arrived in Santiago, Chile on Saturday, January 4. We had the usual problems with a late flight, missed connection, rebooking! But we're here, so all is well. This is the hardest part of any journey. Getting there!! Our Oceania ship, the Marina, is beautiful. We were upgraded to a very nice room with a balcony. We just finished our safety drill. Learned how to put on our life vests! But they didn't make us practice getting into the life boats, which we will do calmly...

Dec 3, 2019 - And so ends the journey… for now!

This is the last post for this RTW adventure. I have been away for nine weeks and unlike other “holidays” for the same duration, this one seems to have really flown by. I think its because we kept moving in Europe, with a maximum of five days in one place, and the incredible diversity of destinations. Once again, I packed too much (but only a little bit) but that is what happens when you are planning for all seasons. I thought both Japan and Europe would have been much colder and was sure I wasn’t going to wear the thermals and “doona” that...

Nov 29, 2019 - It started with a hike…

And ends with a hike??? After a very relaxed day yesterday cruising around the fjords and seeing two additional Chilean glaciers, I decided to sign up for the Torres del Paine towers walk. Craig was not feeling well and chose to stay in the hotel and catchup with some work. I was collected at 7:15am and upon entering the minibus, was a little concerned as all the other passengers were sub 30 years! Even though I had done the Kumano Kudo (well, parts of it anyway) I had been indulging a little more since then and wasn’t too sure of my...