During the night I noticed the rocking of the ship had stopped...well almost. I had two alarms set and was startled awake when the backup alarm went off on my phone at 6:35 am. Bob informed me that the travel alarm had also gone off at 6:30 am but I had slept through it. (He got a good scolding for not waking me!) Puerto Montt was our first port and I wanted to get an early start.
We dressed and went to breakfast in the Lido buffet. I stepped outside by the aft pool and took some photos of Puerto Montt as we approached. Tender tickets were to be handed out beginning at 8 am but at 7:30 there was an announcement that the ship had been cleared and tickets were already available at the Ocean Bar.
The four of us plus another couple from Australia were booked on an all day tour with Denis Purtov from Puerto Montt Excrusiones. I had met the other couple, Peter and Paula, at the Cruise Critic meet and greet and we had made plans to meet at the Ocean Bar to get tender tickets so we could go ashore on the same tender. Here is a description of the tour we had booked online:
Your tour begins in the port and industrial city of Puerto Montt. This city is also known as the "northern door to Patagonia", because many trips through the south of Chile to Patagonia start here. The first settlers came to Puerto Montt and neighboring areas from Germany more than 150 years ago. Here we'll visit the main square, the cathedral and the scenic lookout Manuel Montt, which has a panoramic view of Reloncavi Bay and the city. From there we'll visit the city of Puerto Varas. At this time Puerto Varas is the most popular tourist center in the south of Chile, with German-influenced architecture and summer activities. It's located on the shore of Lake Llanquihue, one of the largest natural lakes in South America. Next we'll follow the shoreline of Lake Llanquihue past the foot of Osorno volcano to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, where we'll visit Todos los Santos Lake and the Pertohue rapids. These rapids were formed when the lava from volcanic eruptions blocked the river's course. Then we will continue our journey to the Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon), where we will stop to take pictures. Next stop we'll make in a restaurant on the shore of Lake Llanquihue to have lunch. After it we begin our return to Puerto Montt. Passengers may ride directly to the port or remain at the Angelmo Handicraft Fair. This market is famous for local handicrafts and fresh seafood, and is a five minute walk from the port.*In good weather there's an optional trip up the slope of Osorno volcano to a ski base located 1300 meters above sea level. From there you'll have a panoramic view of the whole region, including Calbuco volcano and all of Lake Llanquihue. (Extra charge applies)
We hadn't even finished eating breakfast when another announcement was made that the tendering was being suspended due to large swells. When the captain's voice came over the speaker a short time later we knew the news would not be good. The swells were already washing over the tender platforms and the weather was to get worse later in the day. Puerto Montt was going to be skipped.
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| The shoreline as we sail away from Puerto Montt. |
Paula called our cabin and said she had an internet connection and would let Denis know that we would not be able to take the tour. Since we did not pay for the tour in advance, no money was lost...at least on our part. I feel bad that the tour operators suffer a great loss on days when the ships miss a port. I did hear others talking later who had not gotten refunds from private tours booked through agencies such as Viator.
The cruise director scrambled and got activities planned to fill up the day and a new "When & Where" was to be delivered to our cabins later in the morning. A lecture on seals by EXC Guide Scott was added at 11 am which we attended.
The captain was making his noon announcements as we were walking out of the theater following Scott's lecture. We just caught the tail end of his comments but learned that the Zaandam was proceeding directly to Castro and we would be able to tender ashore until 9 pm that night. The ship would stay docked in Castro overnight and we would still have our planned day there tomorrow.
Laurel was very disappointment that we had to miss Puerto Montt, but an unplanned sea day was OK by me. I took a nap in the afternoon while Bob and Kent worked hard to finish the daily crossword puzzle available at guest services each day. Later the three of them played pickleball.
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| A disappointed Laurel. She was looking forward to a much closer view of the Osorno Volcano. |
I was up from my nap in time to watch as the ship sailed into Castro.. I thought the hills and shoreline coming into Castro was so scenic. The ship passed by many shellfish and salmon farms in the water. Checking my phone, I had a signal (yay T-Mobile!) so I sat in a lounger by the aft pool enjoying the warm afternoon and did some texting and emailing.
I met Bob back in the cabin close to 5 pm and I suggested a swim on the ship rather than going ashore. Kent and Laurel also decided to join us but there was a little miscommunication and they ended up at the mid-ship pool instead. Eventually we all got together and had a nice time enjoying the warm water in the pool.
After showers it was definitely too late to make it to the dining room so we ate at the buffet. I had short rib and mushroom lasagna with a delicious salad from the salad station.
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| Castro on the island of Chiloe. |
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| A zoomed in view of the church in Castro. Yellow and purple...the colors of the Minnesota Vikings football team! |
I met Bob back in the cabin close to 5 pm and I suggested a swim on the ship rather than going ashore. Kent and Laurel also decided to join us but there was a little miscommunication and they ended up at the mid-ship pool instead. Eventually we all got together and had a nice time enjoying the warm water in the pool.
After showers it was definitely too late to make it to the dining room so we ate at the buffet. I had short rib and mushroom lasagna with a delicious salad from the salad station.
We cut it close, but were able to get to the theater by 8 pm for the production show, Variations, which had been postponed from the previous night when the ship was rocking so much. It was a show that had been performed on our last Zaandam cruise and I quickly recognized the music and costumes although it was a new set of singers and dancers.
It was a bit cool, but after the show we sat out on the promenade deck watching the sunset over Castro.
Bob wanted some ice cream, but between 8:30 and 10:30 pm there is no food to be found on the ship. We each had gotten a $25 beverage card as a promotion when we booked the cruise so I suggested he go to a bar and get a smoothie. He also stopped by guest services and picked up a couple of DVD's. (Each cabin has a DVD player and the ship has a library of hundreds of DVD's that are free to watch.) The berrie smoothie Bob got was delicious but neither of the DVDs worked (which was pretty common.) Instead he watched the ending of the movie "The 33" about Chilean miners who had been trapped underground. The movie had been shown in the Wajang Theater the day before and then played on TV today. That seemed to be the pattern throughout the cruise.
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| A bedtime smoothie! |
