Toni and Janie's Blog

10th posting on Jan. 13, 2014 ..... Back to the welcome page and listings for other links

We are now down the coast of Chile at ports of Chacabuco today----and Castro on the Island of Chiloe yesterday. Will now be entering the fiords and glacier alley before we hit the bottom of the world and go into the antarctic archipelago. This area is called Patagonia which means big feet in Spanish. Chacabuco is normally a rainforest area with over 2000mm rain a year, so we brought rain gear & gloves etc. And of course yesterday and today it was a record 70+ degrees, sunny, warm and the locals were going nuts with the warm weather. So warm today that locals were out picking wild strawberries that you could almost see ripen!! Also wildflowers everywhere.

Because of rain the country is as green as Ireland. The mts are HUGE and jagged & covered with snow. Now that we are in fiord territory they rise straight up from the channels. It is very very sparsely populated down here & impossible to go very far in one day---very little public transportation. Boats carry stuff to outlying areas and you'd better hope you don't get sick! People are so friendly and kind---it's a pleasure to practice my Spanish because they don't laugh at me! We have a new towel pet to go with quackers---we think it's a shrimp but Toni thinks it looks like a scorpion. Our bus broke down today but our driver fixed it and back in ok condition rather quickly... enough time to soak up sun & play with a puppy in this little village close by.

Tomorrow is at sea day. Going to lectures on Antarctica and who knows what else--(Toni May go to tanzanite--purple stone---show). the list of stuff to do is 2 pages long! Boy is this fun....Wish we could fill the ship with all of you dear friends. Adios from Chile!!

Our email address is janie8500@gmail.com. Feel free to drop a note and say hello anytime!