Day 112: January 19, 2025 – Chilean Fjords, Chile

Just like on land, we are sometimes at the mercy of mother nature. En route to Puerto Chacabuco in Chile, I wake up to the captain’s announcement that “something’s cooking in Chacabuco.” Our route is placing us in the path of a storm with the potential of 21-foot waves. We’ve had mostly smooth, glassy seas, but today I can see the waves leaping up my window. I slip on my sea bands, take more Dramamine chews and buckle up for the ride.

Captain Val explains the options he’s considering, which include barreling through it, trying to outrun it, skipping our scheduled port and modifying the route to work around it, or finding a place to wait it out. We end up skipping the Chacabuco stop, and the weather gradually improves as he expertly weaves in and out of the safety of the fjords. And he still manages to deliver us to the breathtakingly beautiful Seno glacier (my next post).