After reaching the southern edge of the Lake District on our way to Patagonia, we only briefly stopped in the ‘charming’ port town of Puerto Montt in order to connect with our next adventure, a cruise through the Chilean Patagonian Fjords on Navimag. Whilst not being over enamoured on first impressions, we did find a lovely fish market at the port with little restaurants, and enjoyed a fish meal. Local delicacies on sale in the market include strings of dry seafood, smoked salmon and delicious looking little pots of local ceviche. We tried the smoked salmon one and it was to die for! We ate whilst watching some sea lions in the bay, hanging around the bins of the fish market like stray dogs of the sea! A nice change from the ubiquitous Chilean stray canine!
We chose to take the 4 day, 3 night Navimag cargo and passenger ship from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales, as it offered an interesting means to cover a significant amount of distance and did not involve sitting on a bus for days. There was also the promise of dramatic scenery in the pristine fjords, and the opportunity to (hopefully) observe wildlife.
The Navimag ship had received some polemic reviews on Trip Advisor, and it really seemed like we would be in for a 50% chance of loving it and a 50% chance of having made the biggest mistake of our trip! There were horror stories of storms, sea sickness, delays, poor food, conditions and having to share the ship with distressed livestock. Luckily, our voyage was mainly a positive experience, but it is easy to see how the weather can be the deciding factor.
Our ship was actually an old French passenger ship called the Eden, built in 1983. The ship can carry 150 passengers and ours seemed to be fairly full. The ship itself seemed to be decently geared up for passengers of the human type (at least we didn’t see any livestock being transported, just vehicles, salmon feed and timber!). It seems that taking passengers may have been something opportunistic in the past, but that it is now an important part of the service that Navimag provides, and quite a tourist attraction.
Our cabin was a room for two with a window and sink, but external shared bathroom facilities. The other types of room available were those with a private bathroom (almost double the price), those without a window (how depressing!) and triple rooms (no way!). We did try to get upgraded to the double room with bathroom the day before, but the lady at the office just laughed at us, we guess she had heard that one before! Despite the space being quite tight and having to sleep in bunk beds for the first time in about 20 years, we soon got ourselves organised and cosy. Generally the ship was warm, but this depends on how many times a day people open the doors to get to the viewing platforms outside where the climate in October/November is not exactly tropical! We also found ourselves sleeping in jumpers as the blankets from the 1980s that were provided weren’t up to the task of keeping as warm at night.
The rest of the ship had seen better days, but if you have the correct expectations (that is, no expectations!) then you won’t be disappointed. There was a canteen, lecture room, cinema room, deck access, ample bathrooms and showers. The level of cleanliness was generally good, with bathrooms attended to throughout the day. Meals were above average for a canteen environment and the portions were hearty (important when it’s cold). There was also hot water and cold drinks available all day along with a small bar/shop. There is no alcohol allowed on board but if you took some little bottles and drunk them in the room, no one would know (Of course we did no such thing!). Just try not to do it if the sea is rough-bad idea!
The ship also had a guide who spoke Spanish, English and German and he provided all information and lectures on flora, fauna and the route. Access to the bridge was also permitted, it kind of reminded us of the command room of the submarine in that film “The Hunt For Red October” with Sean Connery-Cold War type of aesthetic, but then again what do we know about boat bridges?
So, as we said, generally the cruise went well for us. The weather was dry but cloudy and inevitably windy, but it was possible to be out on deck at most times, in spite of the cold. The worst part was the open ocean stretch which started on the 2nd evening and lasted for 15 hours. The waves were about 3m high (apparently nowhere near as scary as it can get) and so this made for a rather wobbly ride. It was sufficiently rough to mean that sitting or lying down was the only option, and we did hear several people being violently seasick. Luckily for us, neither of us experienced more than a little nausea. Of course sleeping through that night was particularly hard due to the constant motion, but lying down is certainly the best option to combat sea sickness. On the last day we were meant to dock at Puerto Natales at 12.00, but windy weather delayed our landing for 9 hours. We were fed two extra meals, but obviously that day was quite boring without any views to look at. If anyone is considering the same trip, we would advise having a fairly flexible schedule, just in case of delays.
In terms of the scenery, many reviewers had complained of it being repetitive, which it is to an extent, but then you are on the boat for a long time! And what else where they expecting, live commentary from Sir. David Attenborough? On the contrary, we found it dramatically barren and enigmatic. The feeling of distance and space was also immense and the waters looked beautifully clean. The mist had a wonderful effect on the mountains at varying distances, causing shadowy outlines in a hue of greys. It also allowed the small mossy islands to suddenly appear as the ship ploughed slowly forward. Snow melt drained down the flanks of snow-capped mountains through light forest into the water.
Highlights were seeing small icebergs flowing away from a melting glacier in the distance and navigating through some quite tight canals (the narrowest being 80 metres). We also saw an abandoned ghost ship, salmon farms and a place called Puerto Eden. This is a very remote town of only approximately 180 inhabitants which relies almost completely on the Navimag for trade and transportation. The town is also known for being the home of the last indigenous Kawéshkar people. The boat did indeed stop for 45 minutes to let people and their goods in. It was really nice to see all the boats coming out to meet us.
We were told by our guide that the salmon farms might not be as idyllic and innocuous as they seem. In Chile there are not many restrictions on the hormones and antibiotics that can go into the tonnes of salmon feed required for the farms. Inevitably, these things have ended up in the waters and have entered the food chain via the krill. Whales feed on krill and there is evidence to suggest that they are presenting skin and other ailments due to these additions to the environment.
In terms of wildlife, to be honest, it is quite hard to see! We didn’t have a zoom lens for the camera or binoculars, but we did manage to observe sea lions in Puerto Montt sleeping on the buoys, get a couple of glimpses of sea lions or seals along route and see 1 dolphin jumping out of the water near the shore of an island (Alex still thinks that Jess made it up!). We also saw many albatrosses, evil-looking black petrels, gulls, cormorants, geese and other birds that were not so easy to identify! We had hoped to see whales, but it was a long shot as it is not quite the season.
After a nine hours wait for the wind to calm down so that the boat could dock safely, at about 22.30 we finally touched firm ground in Puerto Natales, tired and wobbly-legged (we didn’t get rid of our sea legs for a few days) we made our way to the B&B. Never was a normal non-rocking bed so appreciated! Puerto Natales, the capital of the Ultima Esperanza region, is a cold and windy town. It is generally used as a gateway to Torres del Paine National Park. We stayed there before and after our trip into the park, and the town did grow on us during our stay. There’s not a great deal to do though, and it is also expensive. We cooked at our hostel for most of our stay but we had to check out a local micro-brewery called Baguales. We enjoyed the beer here, but the burgers were a little sad. We had really wanted to have Patagonia asado (BBQ, normally of lamb), but our budget was hurting and we had to skip it. The main attraction in Puerto Natales is the port; we had a good stroll around it and took some pictures of bird life and its beautiful still reflective waters (on possibly the only day of the year when it was not windy!).
In conclusion, for the price that you pay, at least for the level of cabin that we chose, we do not think that Navimag is bad value for money, especially considering that you don’t need to buy anything for the duration of the sailing, and there is a good guide. We found that there was always enough to see and be occupied with (apart from when we were delayed!). It’s not always the most comfortable experience, but if you think about covering the same immense distance by bus, then it is certainly better as you can have access to an awe-inspiring part of Patagonia only available from the water.
Wow that sounds like quite an adventure! I would however hate to see how rough it can really get. Thanks for sharing. I have not come across this cruise in our research yet. We are still now sure of our plans but we are seeking out as much info as we can about Patagonia and this is handy. 🙂
Hi Elizabeth, sorry for the delayed reply but internet isn’t great here. Yeah it can get a lot rougher than what we experienced, but fortunately the ocean bit is mostly overnight and you can sleep through it (hopefully). The cruise is definitely something to consider if you enjoy vast and desolate scenery and are fed up with busses 🙂