Fishing and Transportation to Patagonia, Chile

Anyone who has traveled in southern Chile knows that the best way to get around is by boat. Traveling by road south of Puerto Montt is nearly impossible because buses running south to Punta Arenas have to do go through Argentina, an exhausting 37-hour trip. Chile has yet to connect the Pan-American highway (which runs the length of the country from Peru south to Puerto Montt) to the Camino Austral (southern highway), which is still under construction. Plus, the road will never go all the way on Chilean soil because of an impassible region of ice and glaciers.

In the future, there will be more transportation options for travelers heading to far southern Chile, but currently there are basically two: flying or taking a boat. For travelers who have a tight travel schedule I would suggest flying. But for those with travel flexibility, the sea route is a great way to go.

The boat from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales, the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park, normally takes three days, and passes through an impressive area of fjords and islands similar to the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Alaska. I'd heard plenty of positive feedback about the boat journey, so I decided to get on board. On Dec. 5 my combination passenger and cargo ship left Puerto Montt a day late, after a mechanical failure with a loading elevator was repaired.

The ship roster read like a NATO roll-call. It seemed as if virtually every Western nation was represented, and because wealthy travelers are not patient with delays, the passengers were anxious to get moving. We left Puerto Montt with a picture perfect Chilean sunset.

Everything seemed pleasant and normal until the sun broke on our first morning at sea, when I awoke to the boat rocking and listing. I immediately went up on deck to escape the cramped quarters of economy class. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was one of the first passengers on deck, and was witness to one of the most disgusting processions I've ever seen. The amount of heaving and regurgitation I witnessed can only be rivaled by the annual staggering mass New Yorkers call the Saint Patrick's Day Parade.

Fortunately, many passengers came prepared for seasickness. They took motion pills and applied the latest technology, a motion sickness patch, though neither seemed to really help. Nervousness among the passengers grew when the captain informed everyone that the waves at night in the Gulfo de Penas (Gulf of Sadness, which faces the open Pacific Ocean) would be around 10 meters high (about thirty feet). To everyone's dismay, they were rolling at just 1.5 meters at the time of this announcement.

Needless to say, the night was a disaster. I would say that over 80 percent of the passengers where stricken with varying degrees of seasickness. The previous night's complaints of "When will this boat be moving!" quickly changed to "Why did I get on this boat!?" It's often said that between the southern island of Chiloe and the far end of the Gulfo de Penas the fish are very well fed, and now I now understand why.

As soon as the boat re-entered the protection of the narrows, everyone's spirits began to lift and dinner stayed down. The boat pushed on as we gently rolled through the majestic solitude of the southern fjords of Chile. We arrived in Puerto Natales only a day and a half late.

Overall I had an excellent time and was afforded the opportunity to meet and befriend several other travelers. My time on the boat was certainly memorable and I would recommend the trip as a fun, beautiful and only temporarily ugly international bonding experience. When choosing your passage to Chilean Patagonia, take the time to consider your travel schedule. If you have the time, take the boat. Remember to bring plenty of film, motion sickness remedies (in hopes they may help) and a strong set of sea-legs.

How to go: NaviMag is the only company with boat trips from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. Its ship, the Puerto Eden, departs from Puerto Montt every Monday afternoon between November and April (less often the rest of the year) and returns Thursdays from Puerto Natales. There are several different accommodation possibilities. High season rates (December 2000 to March 2001) range from US$318 for a bunk bed to US$792 for a shared double room (per person) and include all meals. NaviMag also has a luxury cruise ship, the Costa Australis, that goes from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia, on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego Island.

Austral Adventures (www.austral-adventures.com) and Skorpio, as well as Navimag, have various inside passage trips to the Patagonia coast as far south as Lake San Rafael National Park.