Thursday, January 25

At sea again today. I really like the sea days with not much to do. I did finally see the comet this evening. It is called Comet McNaught for the Australian who found it about a year ago. It is only visible in the Southern Hemisphere and supposedly is the brightest comet (or was at perihelion around January 12) since one in 1965. Now that I know where to look, I should be able to see it easily from my own verandah.

Friday, January 26

Today we were at Puerto Montt which is at the southern end of Chile’s lake district. The difference in general appearance of the towns is amazing. This is due to the very strong German influence from an influx of German immigrants in the early 1900s. The architecture of houses in particular is very different from the Spanish influence areas of the country, complete with pitched roofs, shaped shingles and even some half-timbered effects, not to mention the basic paint schemes which are far more Germanic than Spanish. Some of that is going away as the city has been greatly rebuilt since it was almost destroyed in an earthquake in 1960. However, you can still see it clearly in the resort city of Puerto Varas where our tour went (photo).

This afternoon we are sailing south through the Golfo de Ancud with the Andes rising most majestically to the east of us.