Day 26. 31 January.
Early we pulled the hook and moved to
a pier. Today our cabin overlooks the pier and the town. The sky has
cleared and it is noticeably cooler. Having been fore-warned and so
heeding the advice, we dressed in multi-layers, grabbed our backpacks
and headed out for a morning adventure.
Our route took us NE along the shore
of the Magellan Strait then West on a gravel road cross-country
through sheep grazing estancias. Having crossed the continent, this
being a narrow stretch of land between oceans, we came to Otway
Sound.
Rough open land with small scrub
bushes down to the rocky beach with huge breakers pounding in. The
wind blew hard enough from the sound we had to tie our hats on and
lean into it. Walking the wood planked walkways took concentration to
avoid pitching into the grass, avoiding other tourists and stopping
to eye the wildlife. Here the Magellan Penguins come to reproduce and
they were plentiful. Ungainly on land but graceful in the water, it
was most interesting to me to watch them waddle to be surf and dive
into the water then swim, dive and bob about in the heavy surf.
After an hour and a half of wind,
chill and penguins we headed back across the grazing lands, down the
coast to town and the ship. The mid day people feeding was going on
in the buffet area when we returned which makes foraging a trying
experience demanding a nap.
The wind was blowing 46knots against
the ship and so the engines and thrusters were in use. By late
afternoon the wind settled to about 24 knots. About 2015 the lines
were brought aboard and with the aid of tugs we were moved from the
pier with a tall wind making the process tricky. This we observed
from our port side window table in the main dining room. Once we were
turned and heading out into the Strait of Magellan the big wind
heeled the ship to port and some materials from repair and
maintenance went flying off the ship. Crew appeared quickly and
secured the jumble and I returned to my asparagus. Best dinner show
yet. Tonight we will retrace our course down the Strait before
peeling off into another sound or strait.
This was our final port in Chilean
waters. We have enjoyed Chile for the past 12 days and 7 ports.
Good-bye to Patagonia for awhile as we head South.
Total miles now 6,652 nm. Position :
Visit www.turisotway.cl
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