Puerto Chacabuco , Chile

Today we stopped in Puerto Chacabuco, Chile. We are finally away from all the cold and ice. The valleys and bays are carved from glaciers long ago with peaks and lots of jagged bays. The original forecast was for rain, but it turned into the most beautiful sunny day.
Our excursion was a 2 mile hike in Porque Aiken Del Sur, a national park in the rain forest. Through the rain forest our guide stopped many times to introduce us to the vegetation and all the plants native to the rain forest. It was really a great experience to be off the ship for a while, walk around and experience nature that we have never seen before. We stopped by the 'Old Man's Beard' waterfall. It was many stories tall, and very wide. The water flowing out and down the stream was crystal clear.
We ended up at Lago Riesco, a lake with a small lodge where we had lunch and great views of the mountains and valleys with the lake that they form. The lunch was the usual Patagonia lamb roasted over an open fire and we did have our Calafate Sour again. We were able to take another walk down a trail to the lake where there is an overlook with views of the mountains and lake. Along the way we were able to see a Pygmy Owl, which our guide said was very rare.
Then back to the ship for our continued sailing....Read more