Navimag Adventure

The Navimag. I choose to take my fearless parents to Southern Chile via a cargo ferry. These same parents are usually taking in the Florida February sun or relaxing on a leisure pontoon boat ride during Michigan summers. To call them South American backpackers…ha. Never. 

We boarded the ferry in Puerto Montt after quite a morning. Someone leaving the W Hotel in Santiago hit our rental car so I had to fill out a police accident report in Puerto Montt, not in Santiago because we had a flight from Santiago to P. Montt at 7AM. 

Want to take the Navimag ferry to Patagonia? Arrive in Puerto Montt the same day you are leaving. There is nothing to do there but wait for the Navimag. Unless run-down hostels are your idea of a getaway weekend. Our flight got us in at 8:30AM and I had time to go to the police station, fill out the report and then head to the docks. 

You check in your bags around 11AM but don't actually board the ferry until around 3PM. Good thing they've built up a touristy dock with hats, scarves, penguin gifts for your friends back home and a few places to eat. There is wireless at the Navimag office but I'm pretty sure they have a cap on the number of connections. I never got to connect but my dad did. Lucky! 

There are some 300 passengers who have 2 places to hang out: the outside upper deck or the inside bar.  We were lucky with sunny, warm weather so sitting outside was breath-taking. We saw dolphins, penguins, lots of different birds, sea lions, seals and whales on our trip! It was like a coastal safari! If watching the fjords, water and islands go by isn't your thing, there's drinking, chess or reading a book.

Seasickness. Yes, I felt a little nausea when we headed out to open sea. But, my Mom had seasickness patches so I stuck it behind my ear and sat in the open air for a while. My dad went white as a ghost. 

Mom braved the chilly winds for a photo-op the morning that we saw the glacier. How many people get to do that? 

Do we look happy? We were! My parents, although outside their normal vacation comfort zone, had fun! Dad and I saw a HUGE piece of the glacier break off and a new iceberg floating around. As a result, a new waterfall is crashing into the fjords of Patagonia. 

What do you do on the Navimag? Take amazing photos of sunsets and play games. The Navimag staff planned Karoake, Bingo, and a showing of March of the Penguins at night. The first night was Karoake - ask any of my friends, I should be paid not to do Karoake. But I did it. With a girl from Switzerland and Australia. 

And, I won at BINGO.

I met fantastic people from Switzerland, Australia, Germany (even learned some German!), the US, and Chile. The common language? English.

Overall, the food didn't kill us. The people we met at the bar, on the decks and in the cafeteria were wonderful. Lots of people in their 20s traveling the world. The world. Around the world ticket. I'm starting to save for that trip today…I'll let you know when I have $20.000 to travel the world. 

For now, I'll stick to traveling within South America (and the US). 

Best part about the Navimag? Getting off in Puerto Natales… according to my Dad. Seeing the glacier, the whales, the sunsets and meeting other travelers!