Around the world in 168 days: The Motion of the Ocean will get ya......

Some late posting about our time on the Navimag!!

Our bunks

The hallways and the bathroom

Whats the best way to enter the Torres del Paine National Park? In steerage on a supply ship of course! And thats just what we did. 4 days, 78 passengers in total, some bunk beds on the bottom floor, a handful of horses, and countless hours of cards and beer and we end up in Puerto Natales, the gateway to Torres del Paine.

Being on this ship was a crazy experience....one I think is once in a lifetime as I know we all enjoyed it but I don't think it would be repeated. We boarded in Puerto Montt, got our cabins...which were actually pretty nice considering. There were little groups of 2 sets of bunk beds....each bed had its own privacy curtain and we were lucky enough to have a window in our little corner. Shared bathrooms for the whole sleeping area but they were kept clean and were definitely sufficient.

The first day we set off around 4pm. It was a smooth ride to start...everyone was anxiously awaiting the 2nd day...the day we had read about in other people's blogs....the day where we had to come out of the straights and into the open ocean water, bringing 12-15 foot swells with it. Our captain came on over the loudspeaker to warn us when to take our Dramamine (or ginger pills or whatever you had that would prevent you from getting sick)....and the rocking started. For those of us who didn't end up feeling sick (me), the waves were pretty fun once you got used to them. We heard and saw the first person get sick on the "pub deck" as we called it....and she was kind enough to throw up twice about half an hour apart in a common area....that really helped everyone who was on the edge. But most people seemed to do okay. Watching everyone try to get dinner while in the open ocean was pretty funny. While waiting in line for the buffet you had to hold on to the ceiling or a pole, whatever you could find so that you didn't lurch forward with every wave.

The third day was a little different in that we were able to get off the boat! I'm sure this town that we stopped in just cracks up every time Navimag passengers arrive....the town has no roads, so obviously no cars- and there are not even paths stable enough for bicycles. The one pathway around the town is essentially on gangplanks....so we were all forced to wear lifejackets as we followed the captain around and learned about the town....so subtle. There wasn't a whole lot to see in Puerto Eden but at least we got to stretch our sea legs for an hour or so.

after multiple hours of Uno you need a picture

Late night crew drinkin Pisco Sours

Shipwreck

Puerto Eden

And then finally....the last day. We were all set to dock in Puerto Natales around 1030...imagine our surprise when instead, we anchored just a short ways from shore and were told that the winds were too strong to dock the boat. Fast forward 6 hours and you would see us FINALLY disembarking.....frustrated and tired of being on a ship that essentially spun in circles due to the wind all day. However, we safely made it into Puerto Natales, found our hostel, grabbed some food and called it an early night as we were starting our hike the next morning.