After a foggy but smooth night sailing off the central coast of Chile, it has become rougher as the day goes on. Last night, due to the restricted visibility from fog, the ship had to blow it's horn every couple of minutes as warning to some smaller boats (like fishing boats) that may not have surface radar. It did not bother us. An extra officer has to be on the bridge on nights like last night.
Long swells like this today is apparently normal for this area. This evening about 9pm we will be entering the fjords in southern Chile so will be in protected (ie smooth) waters again. We will be docking tomorrow morning is Puerto Montt, Chile. This is the "Lake District" and is famous for beautiful views. We are scheduled for a 7 hour tour to see Osorno volcano, Petrohue Falls, and then lunch in the resort village of Puerto Vargas on the shores of Lake Llanquihue. During the Captain's daily noon update, he says weather forecast is for some rain tomorrow. Hope he is wrong. Just checked online and it says 100% chance of rain with 64F as the high temperture. Well, this is normal as they have heavy rainfall year around. Just hope I can get some decent photos for you.
Puerto Montt is a port city with 175,000 people now and is the fastest growing city in Chile. It was founded in 1853 during the German colonization of southern Chile. It is know as "The Salmon Capital of Chile", and during the 1900's and 2000's, was the second largest salmon producer in the world. Besides salmon, the economy is based on agriculture, cattle, and forestry.
