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Cruising In The Wake Of MagellanBy Rod Lopez-FabregaSnow-capped mountains, glaciers, vast virginal panoramas, salmon-filled waters…no, not Norway, not Alaska, not Scotland. All of these exist below the equator in southern Chile, together with that region’s own unique attractions.
It has been said that East and West do not exist in Chile—only North and South. Along its ribbon-like, 2,700-mile-long coastline lie some of the few pristine and unspoiled areas left on Earth. One of them is the remote and scenic inland waterway of impressive fjords and estuaries that spans a distance of 400 miles from Puerto Montt to the Laguna San Rafael National Park in southern Chile. Cruising these waterways is following in the wake of their discoverer, famed sixteenth century navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
Getting to know everyone on board some Skorpios cruises begins with the welcoming lunch at which Captain Constantinos Kochifas Carcamo, c.e.o and founder of the company, introduces the crew, his wife Mimi, who is responsible for the impressive menus and food presentation on board, and begins his daily briefings about the following day’s activities. A self-styled Renaissance man—seaman, businessman, shipbuilder, public relations man, filmmaker, host, and head of Cruceros Maritimos Skorpios, the captain explains the ecological aspects of the area and prepares everyone for the first stop.
It’s a good way to toast intrepid explorer Ferdinand Magellan for opening up these remarkable landscapes to those of us who follow in his wake. More information on Cruceros Maritimos Skorpios: http://www.skorpios.cl/html-ingles/i-inicio.html More information on Patagonia Connection: http://www.patagonia-connection.com/travel-chile-patagonia-esp/travel-chile-patagonia-esp.html Images by: Rod Lopez-Fabrega, Courtesy of Cruceros Maritimos Skorpios, Courtesy of Patagonia Connection. |
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The
San Rafael glacier, one of Chile’s natural wonders, is reachable by land
with considerable difficulty over largely unpaved roads. But, now, several
cruise companies are making this unique area accessible in comfort and
safety to even the most sedentary armchair explorers. Two companies stand
out as providing the most experienced cruise services to international
standards: Cruceros Maritimos Skorpios and Patagonia Connection. 
Established
in 1978, Cruceros Maritimos Skorpios operates three cruise liners that range
in size and luxury from the original Skorpios I, the smaller and older of
the three ships, accommodating 72 passengers; to Skorpios II, 230 feet in
length, accommodating 130 passengers; to the newest Skorpios III, largest
and most luxurious member of the fleet. Most cruises depart on Saturday,
returning the following Friday. 
All three
ships feature well-appointed cabins paneled in fine Chilean woods and with
roomy private bathrooms, spacious family-style dining salon serving four
excellent meals a day (a buffet breakfast, lunch, Chilean Onces tea, and
supper,) fore and aft lounges, an open bar policy throughout the cruise and
a fully equipped video facility for taping the entire voyage (tapes
available for sale to passengers in any video format.)
Patagonia
connection provides one- to four- and six-day cruises aboard its comfortable
catamaran, coupled with accommodations at its Termas de Puyuhuapi Hotel, a
lodge reminiscent of northern Europe, but with its own Chilean character.
Situated on the shores of spectacular Dorita Bay, the lodge also serves as
home base for shore excursions through the rainforest, local salmon farms,
swims in its geothermal pools, or visits to the nearby national park of
Queulat and its Hanging Glacier.
Cruises
on either line operate September through May—summer in the southern
hemisphere—and will probably begin with an international flight to Santiago,
Chile’s vigorous and cosmopolitan but smoggy capital. An overnight in one of
Santiago’s elegant international hotels to recuperate from the long
flight—possibly the Crowne Plaza or the InterContinental Santiago or the
five-star, boutique Santiago Park Plaza Hotel, or the city’s many more
modest B&B’s, hostels or motels--will be followed by a trip back to the
airport and a connecting early morning flight on LanChile’s non-stop flight
to Puerto Montt. This interesting city in Chile’s Lakes Region, settled by
German colonists in the 19th century, is not one of southern
Chile’s most important commercial centers. It is also the gateway to the
popular lake district and Chilean Patagonia; the warehouse of mountains of
wood chips for Japanese paper mills; the center of salmon farming in its
clean, snow-fed estuaries (approximately 150,000 tons of fresh fish
annually); and the port of embarkation for most Patagonia cruise lines.
For
passengers, one of the pleasures of cruising in Chilean waters is the
opportunity to share the experience with fellow travelers from most South
American countries, Europe, Asia, and a few adventurous North Americans. A
recent cruise on Skorpios II included passengers of 13 nationalities, among
them a noted Brazilian chanteuse, a fireman and his family from Seattle,
Washington, an executive secretary of the World Bank in Washington D.C., a
physician and his wife from Santiago (serving as ship’s doctor,) and many
vacationing businessmen and their families from Chile, Argentina, Peru,
Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Uruguay. On a typical trip, no more than seven
to ten percent of passengers are from the U.S.—this is still unexplored
territory for most Americans—a pity, as Chile is safe, sociable, and
civilized and the attractions of its fjord-waterways are the equals of those
in Scandinavia. 
A
typical cruise might include a stop at the modest fishing village of Puerto
Aguirre, whose main attraction is its children. Their features and shy but
friendly demeanor reveal their native Indian ancestry. The children are at
the dock to meet the ship and escort passengers on walking tours through
their town. It’s O.K. if you buy the small guides a notebook or pencils at
the local emporium, but candy or money handouts are discouraged by the
elders.
Another
stop of interest is the large and colorful town of Castro on the island of
Chiloe. The island is a special place for Chilenos. It is a popular vacation
spot in summer and, perhaps because of its folk mythologies, its forests are
reported to be inhabited by mythical creatures. Its origins are buried in
ancient Indian tales, and it is the source of much of Chile’s folk music and
poetry. Of special interest to tourists is the remarkable Castro cathedral
with its pink and lavender exterior and particularly for its stunning
wood-surfaced interior vaults and arches.
On the
return leg of the cruise, Skorpios makes several stops. One is at the
thermal baths of Quitralco. The name is appropriate. It means “Waters of
Fire” in the local Indian dialect. Here travelers can bathe in either indoor
or outdoor hot pools fed by mineral waters that are heated volcanically,
take a steam sauna, hike up to the high hill overlooking the port, or play a
round of tennis on the resort’s courts.
Unquestionably,
the highlight of any cruise in these waters is the visit to the San Rafael
glacier. As the ship makes its way up the channel approaching the San Rafael
lagoon, snow-capped peaks and half a dozen volcanoes define the horizon on
both sides of the waterway. The approach is dramatic as the awesome glacier
comes into view, spilling its cargo of 30,000-year-old ice into the lagoon.
The San Rafael glacier is a part of the campo de Hielo Norte, the massive
Patagonian ice sheet, the closest body of ice of its kind to the equator. It
measures a stunning six by 10 miles, towers almost 200 feet above the water
and sinks to a depth of more than 750 feet below the sea. Most remarkable of
all are the intense mineral colors in the ice—from salmon pinks to cerulean
blues. 
On
a Skorpios cruise, the show begins when the lifeboats are lowered, just
about everyone on board climbs on to half a dozen of these powered craft,
and all motor through the multicolored, fantastically shaped ice floes of
the lagoon up to less than 100 feet from the face of the glacier. Care is
taken to maintain a safe distance from the great chunks of ice that thunder
down every few minutes off the face of San Rafael but close enough so that
the resulting wake rocks the small boats. Finally, bottles and glasses are
brought out, crews on all lifeboats chip ice from surrounding ice floes to
fill the glasses, and everyone is served 30-year-old whiskey over
30,000-year-old ice.