Within a week, I am facing a deadline to submit the
manuscript for the upcoming fourth edition of Moon Handbooks Patagonia, and
that will be cutting it close. That means limited time to devote to this blog
but, since I finally made it onto Navimag’s
new vessel M/N Edén (pictured above),
I’ll make a few brief observations on the ship and the voyage.
In one sense, this was the least enjoyable voyage I’ve ever
done with Navimag, and that had to do with the weather – I’ve been
extraordinarily lucky to enjoy clear skies almost every time, but shortly after
we sailed from Puerto
Natales it became overcast, and it never really cleared until we were
approaching Chiloé and Puerto
Montt. Through the most scenic part of Chile’s Pacific fjords, between
Natales and the isolated village of Puerto Edén
(pictured above), visibility was mostly poor. Still, having seen the area many
times before, I was less disappointed than the other passengers.
Some brief words on the ship: Pressed into service for the
remainder of this summer, after being acquired from Mexico’s Baja Ferries, the former Monte Cinto is a worn but seaworthy
vessel whose freight capacity is greater than its predecessor the Evangelistas. On the down side, its
passenger capacity is probably less than half the Evangelistas’ 300 or so, but there's plenty of sightseeing room on the bow when the weather clears.
I personally found the Edén
comfortable enough, but I expect the company will spend some time and money
making it shipshape this winter. Among other things, ideally, this will include
enlarging the cafeteria at the expense of the current audiovisual salon, with
reclining seats, that hardly anybody bothered with. At a later date, after my book deadline, I’ll write a more detailed
report.
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