Navimag!

From Puerto Natales, I boarded a ship called the Navimag with my new found friends. The Navimag is a 3-day ferry ride through the fjords of southern Chile to Puerto Montt. It was borne after years of travellers finagaling rides on cargo ships and military vessels to see the narrow channels and en-route glaciars. Before boarding I heard a wide range of rumors - it could be an amazing nautical journey rivaling similar routes in Alaska and New Zealand, or maybe a bumpy, stomach-turning passage of sea-sickness, or maybe a 3-day drunken fest. Who new what to expect.
It turned out to be a bit of all three! The first day rained continuously. The entire boat (around 150) was confined to the dining hall where food, drink and chatter competed for attention. We laughed away the day playing cards, dice and dominoes. At midnight, we ceremoniously downed our sea-sickness pills after the public announcement to do so. Thankfully, we all slept through the worst of the journey to wake up to a glorious second day. Sunny and warm, everyone enjoyed the gorgeous views of the endless uninhabited fjords from the top deck. The last night brought bingo night where the winners had to dance with a staff member in order to get their prize! We cheered as out table-mates, a couple of cute older women from Brazil rose to accept their ¨winnings.¨ Then tables and chairs were cleared for a Chilean-style dance party into the wee hours of the morning.
Was on the boat March 17-20