Ship run aground on rocks 40 years ago, comes out of the mist like a ghost ship.
Woke up at 3am this morning to find smooth sailing, so must have left the ocean some time before then - quite a relief, actually. Our guide, Andrea, told us that the waves were only 1 1/2 metres and the people on the previous journey got waves of 4 metres, so we were very lucky. Noel has decided that his dream of taking a boat to Antarctica is no longer on the agenda, after last night´s seas! We both feel much better in the smooth waters, and can enjoy the rest of the trip. The view this morning at 8am was quite spectacular - mist on the mountains, waterfalls off the hills and the sun rising and shining off the snow on the mountain tops. We saw a shipwreck coming out of the mist at one point, very ´Marie Celeste´.
Closer view of the wrecked ship.
It went aground on rocks in 1963 when the captain tried to sink it to claim insurance. The ´sinking´went wrong and he eventually went to prison and lost his captains licence for life. We arrived in Puerto Eden in mid-morning, but didn´t actually dock in a port. We stayed in the harbour, and a flotilla of little boats came out to meet us. They loaded up their cargo, deposited their passengers, and went back to port. We were given a talk today about the Torres del Paine National Park. Having seen the slides, it looks spectacular, but we have no desire to walk around it in this weather! A few people on the ferry are keen hikers, and they´ll be walking and camping - think it´s too cold for us to even attempt that. After watching Happy Feet, we played bingo tonight - didn´t win, but enjoyed ourselves immensely!
