World Cruise Day 43/152 - Puerto Montt, Chile - Lost the Emerald, but oh, those volcanos!

Cruise day: 43/152
Ports days: 15
Sea days: 28
Countries: 5
Continents: 2
Ports: 10

Teaser photo! (it's really because I want this to be the thumbnail image for this entry)

Communication. It's a wonderful thing. This morning, we were to either anchor or dock in Puerto Montt, Chile. The plan called for anchoring but if container ships moved, we'd be able to dock.

Aaron, the cruise director, stressed to check the Viking Daily for the updated time to be in the Star Theater. Per that document, the anchor time was 8:30. Be in the theater at 8:25. Hmm... That seems odd but OK.

We got to the Star Theater at 8:20 along with about 200 others as instructed. At 8:32, Aaron announced that we are delayed so don't come down until instructed to do so.

I'm no time wizard but announcing that seven minutes after the published time for the first nine buses of guests who already arrived seemed backward. Perhaps that announcement would have been more effective at 8:15. Just sayin'.  Viking aims to improve the process and here's an opportunity.

I had some time to kill so I walked around and took photos, of course. It was overcast and in the mid-50s or so.  Ultimately, the day turned out to be partly sunny and in the 60s and a beautiful day for sightseeing.

It was then announced that we would be able to dock. That's a good thing as it is so much easier than running tender operations. At least that's what I thought until I saw the channel. Wowzers, it is narrow.

And we were at low tide.

Imperial Shags (imperial cormorants)

We had a tug pulling us along and keeping us centered as we backed (yes, backed) through the channel. 

Here we are finally arriving at the pier.

This was insane to watch! Kudos to the Captain, local pilot, and the tug crew for their incredible skill in threading this needle of a channel and getting us docked, especially at low tide. As we approached, the tug lined up on the side of the ship, I assume to help us snug up to the pier if needed.

As we continued to wait, at 10:00, Rob, the Shore Excursion Manager gave the announcement that given the delay, the lake cruise portion of our excursion was canceled. We would still stop by Emerald Lake (Lago Todos Los Santos), but there would be no cruise on the lake. We're pretty disappointed as that is why we booked this specific excursion. I mean, if Teddy Roosevelt said it was the most beautiful lake in the world, it sure must be something to see, right? Nine busloads of people were instantly disappointed.

Our tour finally departed at 10:15 AM - almost two hours late.  We walked out on deck #2 to the gangway and basically walked flat out onto the pier - at most a two-foot drop.  Remember, I said that it was low tide.  More on that toward the end of the tour.  

Speaking of the end of the tour, we got back at 4:30 so our 7.5-hour tour turned into a six-hour tour.  More grumbling on the bus. I'll spoil the ending here...as we pulled into port and before we were allowed off the bus, Johann, our cruise General Manager boarded and made an announcement.  Viking was unhappy that they had to both shorten the tour as well as make us miss Emerald lake all due to the delays in docking.  Therefore, Viking was refunding everyone's tour fee.  Wow!  Everyone seemed quite happy with Viking's response to the situation.  Thanks to Viking for caring about our experience and ensuring that everyone felt good about it.  Impressive.  I point out areas that Viking can certainly continue to improve on, but I am also compelled to point out the ways that Viking steps up and does the right thing for its passengers, working hard to keep this not only a world cruise but a world-class cruise.

On to the tour.

We headed out and drove through Puerto Montt which was unremarkable.  Even our guide commented that there isn't much to see.  Much of it is under construction and there simply wasn't a lot for tourists to see in the city.  We headed north on the Pan-American highway - route 5.  The Pan-American highway runs from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska all the way to Puerto Montt - about 19,000 miles.  Depending on how you view it, it does continue farther south in Chile and into Argentina, but Purto Montt is recognized by many as the southern end.  We continued north to Purto Varas - our eventual lunch stop.  

We were able to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Calbuco volcano, an active volcano in the area that erupted as recently as April 2015.

We then went east along Lake Llanquihue to Vincente Perez Rosales national park - the home of the Petrohué Waterfalls and stunning views of the Osorno volcano.  We caught our first glimpse of the Osorno volcano.

This area was settled by German immigrants and has a distinctive German feel.  They still have a German school that operates.

We arrived at the national park and headed out to take a look.

The Petrohué Waterfalls is downstream from Emerald Lake and that contributes to the blue-green color of the water. Volcanic rock is strewn about in currently dry areas.

The falls themselves are a chute type of waterfall where the water accelerates through a stone chute before dropping.

The Osorno volcano is viewable from the park.

It's hard to take a bad photo of the volcano because it is simply stunning.

We walked partway down a nature walk before it was time to head back to the bus.

On the way back to Purto Varas for lunch, we stopped at a scenic overlook by Lake Llanquihue for another look at Osorno.

We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Radisson hotel in Puerto Varas. You can definitely see the Germain influence on the town's sign.

Lunch started with a decidedly Chilean/Peruvian cocktail called a Pisco Sour. Pisco is a type of brandy, in that it is a spirit distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice. That's where the similarity ends.  The drink consists of 1-1/2 oz Pisco, 1 egg white, 1 oz lemon juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup.  Shake it vigorously and enjoy!  They're pretty tasty.  They also served a flatbread of sorts with a dip/spread that was slightly sweet and tomato-based.  The main course was a huge piece of salmon with what tasted like a potato-based mash with corn under it.  It tasted great.  We also had a choice of red or white wine with lunch. Dessert was a German pie/cake with mixed berries and a crumble top.  We enjoyed lunch.

After eating, we were given one hour of free time to explore Peurto Varas on our own.  We wandered around and did a little shopping.  Chile is very strict when it comes to COVID.  Most of the small shops had signs like this and they were serious about it. Two people allowed in the store at a time - no exceptions.

Back in the main square, there was a nice view of Osorno looking past the Chilean flag in the center of the square.

We browsed a local artist's market and then went to the water's edge for more stunning views.

There was a sculpture display as well as pieces for sale.  Of course, that gave us license to pose.

The real stars of the show, though, were Osorno and the lake.

On the way back to the ship, we finally spotted a monkey puzzle tree. Araucaria araucana is an evergreen tree that grows to about 3-5 feet in diameter and can reach over 100 feet in height.  We only saw a few small ones, but they are really interest looking trees.

Remember my comment about getting off the ship at low tide and basically walking straight off on the pier - perhaps a two-foot drop from the ship to the pier? Here, the gangway is on the same floor, but this time, we had to climb perhaps 18-feet.  Tides are amazing.

Also, we were pleasantly surprised to hear The Village People's YMCA blasting in the pier. Bar staff were handing our Pisco Sour shots and everyone was having a great time. It was Awesome!

From the ship, we could see some gulls lounging around and taking advantage of a warm metal roof.

The views around the harbor were much prettier with the blue sky backdrop.

This cross sits high atop a hill at the entry to the harbor.  You can see it on the right in the photo above.

We could just make out Osorno from the front of the ship.

Since we ate a late, and large lunch, we weren't keen on a big dinner.  Doh!  Tonight, Chef Thomas whipped up an Asado Grill dinner!

Asado grilling keeps the meat vertical on skewers over the grill. The meat is then hung at the table, allowing the juices to flavor the side dishes. (Thanks to Connie & Rogan for letting me photograph your dinner!) And yes, they were also serving pisco sours.

It looked amazing but was going to be too much for us.  We went into the World Cafe where we were able to try small portions of some of the dishes, and that worked perfectly for us.

Our delay this morning was partly due to waiting for container ships to move from the pier so we could dock.  As we sailed away tonight, it looked like a little "right back at ya" as there was a container ship that looked like it was waiting for us to move so it could dock.  As we sailed out, a tug went out to help them in to the port.

The sail-way views were stunning with clear skies and outstanding views of both volcanos as we headed on our way to cruise the Amalia Glacier on Sunday.

Tomorrow is a sea day as is Sunday, but we'll be cruising the Amalia Glacier which should be beautiful, assuming the weather holds.  Then on to Punta Arenas, Chile for our last Chilean stop before Uraguay.