Ahoy, landlubbers!

Even after more than 10 hours on dry land, we are still suffering from wonky legs and a tendency to sway while walking - after 4 days at sea, we got used to the feeling of everything rolling with the swell. We spent the last few days on the Navimag ferry Evangalistas, which took us more than 1500km from Puerto Natales up to Puerto Montt (here is the map) at at a leisurely pace of 17 knots (30km an hour) through narrow passages and breathtaking fjord landscapes.

Moonrise over Puerto Natales

We boarded the ship on the evening of the 28th and sat drinking wine with some new Swabian friends on the upper deck, watching the moon rise over Puerto Natales - a perfect start to our voyage. The ship set sail in the night and we were pulled out of our four-bed berth early the next morning by the captain commanding us to get up and watch the sunrise as we were passing through a particularly narrow passage. There is nothing like a brisk, briny breeze to wake you up before breakfast!

Sunrise aboard the Evangalistas

We spent the following four days either braving the weather on the deck (it ranged from brilliantly bright and balmy to wildly windy and wet), playing giant chess and keeping an eye out for albatrosses, whales, dolphins and sea lions (we manged to spot the first and the last on that list!), or sitting in the cosy recreation area, watching the scenery glide past outside the windows, reading or watching informative talks about the area's history and wildlife. And after dinner (the food was excellent!) retreated out onto the deserted deck to sup our wine and avoid the evening's entertainment -  comical karaoke performances and bizarre bingo sessions (if you won, you had to perform a dance routine - so naturally no-one wanted to win :P).

Enjoying the afternoon sun in calm waters

Ready for another round of giant chess on the stern deck

Heading into a storm - batten down the hatches!

Along the way were were treated to views varying from rocky, windswept cliffs, over gently rolling, lush hillsides to wide, open stretches of indigo ocean and no land as far as the eye could see. We came past shipwrecks, eerily seeming to sail towards us out of the mist, and glaciers of varying sizes and shades of blue. Sometimes the sea-gods were gentle and well-behaved and we sailed on serenely calm waters, on other days we were given a jolly good shaking and walking to the toilet became a challenge in itself (as someone who even feels sick when reading on the tram, I would hereby like to thank whoever invented sea-sickness tablets!!)

A rainy visit to one of the bigger glaciers dotting the sounds

Ghostly reminders of times gone by...

The view from our room at Casa Perla in Puerto Montt

This morning we arrived in the bustling, brazen town of Puerto Montt and found our way up the hill behind the port, past the sailors' watering holes and 'ladies of the night' to our lovely little B&B, where we are now enjoying the view of the harbour and trying hard to regain our land-legs once more.