Two days later, we returned to the clinic, and were presented with a sheet of diagnoses, which was not entirely comprehensible; a combination of being in Spanish and containing unfamiliar medical terminology. Another doctor gave a rough translation of 'desgarro parcial del ligamento cruzado anterior' as a partially torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament. This was later confirmed by Google Translate. Earlier that day we have got a taxi up to Glaciar Martial, where Dave briefly snowboarded on dubious rental equipment, and Sarah enjoyed a chairlift ride and some cafe time. The powder snow was waist deep at the top; it snowed this day as it had for the previous two.
The following day, we went on the boat trip along the Beagle Channel. The trip out of Ushuaia was quite rough in the medium-sized catamaran, which wasn't great in the waves. The first stop was a beach landing on an island with a cool old timber hut. The main part of the trip was spent visiting other rocky islands covered with 'lobo marinos' (sea lions) and cormorants. The boat got very close to the rocks, so we could hear and smell the animals! The boat then went out to the Les Eclairues lighthouse, the southernmost point of our South America trip, and then back to Ushuaia. It was a beautiful sunny day, with amazing views of the mountains covered in snow down to sea level. We were only about 1000km from Antarctica, and it felt like we were there! We later re-planned our travel to reach Puerto Natales in Chile without any long bus journeys that would not favour Sarah's knee, where we hoped to get the ferry up to Puerto Montt.
The journey to Puerto Natales involved a two-leg flight with LADE again to El Calafate, and then a short cross-border bus. The LADE booking system was down in their town office, so we were told to go to the airport at 6pm (nearly an hour after the scheduled departure time). We got to the airport in Ushuaia, with no idea if the plane would go, and with no tickets. Eventually a LADE staff member arrived, we paid him cash and he gave us the usual un-named plastic boarding passes. The plane arrived at the halfway point at Rio Gallegos and we were told to go to the terminal then get on another plane parked nearby. We were a bit concerned as we had no tickets, boarding passes or luggage! To our relief, we were rounded up by one of the crew, who pointed us in the right direction. We made it to El Calafate, albeit LADE-style. They say that kiwis are laid-back, but Patagonia is on the next level!
After a bus journey through the coal-mining border towns, we arrived in Puerto Natales, possibly doubling the population. This town in winter is completely empty and most places are closed, so we just waited for the ship to arrive.
On the Monday, the Navimag office was open and the 132m-long ferry Amadeo 1 arrived late morning, an hour early. We had been told by many people that the ferry was either not running or not taking passengers. However, we easily booked our cabin, increasing the number of passengers to 14. Winter really is the best time to do this voyage, as we had a 6-bed cabin to ourselves for a third of the normal price of sharing. That evening we boarded the ship and waited for it to depart. That occurred at 7am the next day. Once we were underway, we quickly realised we were the only non-Chileans on board, and the only tourists. Cows outnumbered people by 10 to 1. The first day was smooth sailing through the narrows of the fiords, just wide enough for the ship to pass through. Although cloudy, the views were magnificent, and we braved the cold on deck wearing all our clothes. The other passengers stayed in the dining room watching movies for the entire three-day voyage. The ship was very basic, but the cabin was comfortable enough, with a better shower than many hostels!
At 4am the next morning, the ships horn was sounding, so we went outside to have a look. From the small town of Puerto Eden, a dozen small boats rushed out to collect their supplies from the ferry. There are no roads in this region of Chile, so the ferry must be their only supply route. At lunch that day, one of the crew explained to us in his simplest Spanish that it would get rough soon. He wasn't wrong, for the next ten hours the ship was broadsided by what appeared to us to be big waves. It was uncomfortable for us, and the cows didn't like it either! The next day, the only English speaking member of the crew showed us around the bridge, and explained how yesterday was a 'very calm' day. This final day was spent in a wide channel, passing distant mountains and a steaming volcano. The ferry arrived in Puerto Montt in the evening, but we slept on board and disembarked the next morning.
Puerto Montt was a pleasant town of old pioneer-style tin and timber buildings, although it is a busy port and had a less savoury feel at night as the wood-fire smog descended. We took the bus up to a small hamlet called Ensenada, which offered a short walk to a lakeside picnic spot, and another point that gave great views of the volcanoes on either side. Given the knee situation, we couldn't go very far, but it was still a good day.
In the meantime, Sarah's knee had not improved, and so the only option was to call off the last three months of our trip, that involved volunteering and hiking in Nepal, neither of which she could realistically do. We flew up to Santiago, staying at the same hostel we had three months ago, completing an awesome trip, and then on to Auckland. Thanks to our fantastic travel insurance company, Sarah was upgraded to Premier Business Class for the 13hr flight from Santiago to Auckland, so was able to lie flat with her knee outstretched; Dave had to remain in cattle class. We are now back in Christchurch, waiting for the result of further assessments of the injury and facing the reality of going back to work. The next task is to write a new list of places to go when we can, starting with Nepal.
Sarah icing her knee in the snow at Glaciar Martial.
Ice on the catamaran in Beagle Channel, an indication of how cold it was!
The Les Eclairues lighthouse, complete with ice.
Lobo marinos!!
Cruising through the fiords on the ferry Amadeo I.
Calm waters in the fiords.
On the deck.
'Cattle Class' on the Amadeo I.
