Tomorrow we will disembark at Talcahuano so today was, as so many last days are, a matter of packing, settling bills etc because tomorrow will be an early morning start. As always we experienced mixed feelings of sadness and excitement as this significant day dawned - our last day at sea. The sea is where we so love to be but we looked forward with anticipation and excitment to our onward journey on dry land in South America.
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| The end of all journeys have a certain sense of sadness |
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| These lovely local people were lining up before the sun was up, bless them. |
We were awake before dawn for an early breakfast and watched a troupe of musicians and dancers line up on the wharf before the sun rose. They, plus a few of the local indigenous people, were there to welcome us. Quite delightful to our bleary eyes.
We were in the port of Talcahuano, Chile’s largest fishing port. Once ashore we were bused to Concepción where we boarded a plane for Santiago.
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| A wonderful voyage |
It had been a fascinating voyage along a coastline that must have been designed by Slartibartfast. Que? some will understand but to explain if you are not a Hitch Hikers' fan, Slartibartfast was a Magrathean and a designer of planets. His favourite job was creating coastlines, the most notable of which are the fjords found on the coast of Norway on planet Earth. He must surely have also designed Chile's coastline because it truly is magnificent and intricate and I think must rival the fjords of Norway.
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| Slartibartfast from Douglas Adam's 'Hitch Hikers Guide to the Universe' |
We had travelled from Ushuaia sailed around Cape Horn on through Drake Passage, along the Beagle Channel and the Magellan Strait, passing the Cordillera Darwin to explore magnificent glaciers. A pretty amazing voyage of 2227.7 NM (4125.7Km) in 14 days. We eventually landed in Santiago and from there headed into the high desert of Atacama, a dream of many years about to come true - callooh callay! Thank you Ponant for a wonderful voyage.
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