Cruising Patagonia (Small Ship – Stella Australis)
After the long journey from Australia, I arrived in Punta Arenas. The small Chilean town was cold and surprised me with their European style Architecture. Getting into the spirit I tried out some Spanish which was met with a lot of smiles - I assume it was the accent and me getting the words wrong.
Being a small ship of only 210 guests, we boarded the ship relatively quickly and found our rooms. Unsurprisingly, the room size was small, but you had enough room for your cases and to move about easily. It then didn’t take long to explore the whole ship and find the bar to warm up. On all cruises, your meals are included but, on this ship, the beverages are too. The small size also means there isn’t the variety of restaurants and entertainment venues on board. Some may see this as a disadvantage, however on a cruise like this, you are there to get closer to and experience nature in its natural state which is what sets a small ship apart.
We would have a lecture before each tender ride, to let us know what we should be looking for animal wise and a brief history of the area. Some areas we disembarked the tenders for small hikes and some we just sat in the water, engines off observing the beauty around us.
The small size also means the ratio of staff to guests is quite high. We made great friends with all the staff who loved to have a joke and a laugh and would join us in the evening for a chat about what we had seen that day.
My favourite part of the cruise was getting so close to a glacier on the tender boat and watching a glacier naturally “calve” an iceberg.
Every time I look back at my photos of this trip the same thought pops into my head – “Just Beautiful!”
Photo: Patagonian Sea Lion, Glacier Alley