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W I N T E R I S S U E 2 6
island is wild and windswept, and feels like
the ends of the Earth.
The Viking Jupiter sails around the
continent's stark tip and we dock in isolated
Ushuaia, sitting in misty rainbows where the
Andes slumps into the ocean.
The weather is lowering but Ushuaia's
buildings are jaunty with colour. The streets
buzz with the energy of adventurous tourists
about to hike national parks, or embark on
other cruises to Antarctica. Sea lions
harrumph on rocks, whiskers bristling.
TIME TO JUST CHILL
The several days at sea on this voyage allow
the chance to recuperate from on-shore
adventures and enjoy the ambience of the
Viking Jupiter. We so seldom do nothing in
this modern age, and the enforced idleness of
a day at sea is a rare pleasure. This is what a
holiday is all about. A lazy breakfast, an
intelligent lecture, a wallow in The Nordic
Spa's warm-water pool.
We are now on the Patagonian coast, a
harsh, frigid wilderness with a scattered
population and some of the world's most
pristine and rugged scenery. Blue-ice glaciers
tumble into the ocean where the mighty
Andes meet the Pacific in a stunning clash of
landscapes. The Viking Jupiter's upper deck is
a grandstand onto fjords framed in granite
cliffs, forest mountains cut through by icy
rivers, and the odd fishing village linked only
by boat to the outside world. Next, we're
sailing past Amalia Glacier, a great tongue of
ice that splinters into a brooding bay, backed
by the mound of Reclus volcano. As the ship
pauses to take in the sight, chunks of floating
ice tinkle, as if we're sailing through a giant,
blue-tinged cocktail.
Countless islands pass by on our way north
through the Chilean fjords. Slowly the world
unfreezes until, at Puerto Montt, the
landscape looks like a piece of Bavaria
dropped into South America.
Nineteenth-century German settlers first
gave Puerto Montt its Germanic architecture
and rose-perfumed gardens. The alpine feel is
reinforced by spectacular landscapes of
emerald-green lakes, rivers and waterfalls, to
which are added snow-capped volcanoes and
virgin rainforest.
"Blue-ice glaciers
tumble into the ocean
where the mighty Andes
meet the Pacific."
A FITTING FINALE
Our cruise finishes in Valparaíso, north of
Santiago. Victorian-era villas, ramshackle
houses and sunny plazas tumble down
Valparaíso's steep hills—a southern
San Francisco set against the snowy backdrop
of the Andes.
Terrific views of the UNESCO World
Heritage city sprawl beneath the summit
of a cable car. The heart of the old city is full
of busy street markets crammed with
ceramics, leather, and lapis-lazuli jewellery:
mementos to take home as souvenirs of this
remarkable journey.
This article contains excerpts from the original
version by Brian Johnston, published in full at
MiNDFOOD.com.
GETTING THERE: The 18-day South
America & Chilean Fjords voyage takes
guests from Buenos Aires to Santiago
(Valparaíso), or in reverse.
At lant i c
O cean
Pa c i c
O cean
Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA
Puerto Madryn
Punta Arenas
A m alia G la c i e r
C h il ean F j o r d s
Ushuaia
Santiago
(Valparaíso)
Port Stanley
Puerto
Montt
CHILE
URUGUAY
Montevideo
C ap e H o r n
FALKLAND
ISLANDS
–
C r ui s e
••
O ve r night in Po r t
VIEW
VOYAGE
Clockwise, from top left:
Amalia Glacier; Valparaíso;
Ushuaia coastline
