blah blah blog: Civilization!

I must be having too much fun because I'm getting too relaxed in the frequency of posts!

We eventually did make our way from Caleta Yvonne through Golfo de Penas, shortly after the last post. It was not a long crossing (about 24hrs from A to B), and the weather was fine (clear skies and not too much wind), however they are not lying about the area being susceptible to confused swell. The waves were all over the place which made for a bumpy, washing machine sort of ride. Needless to say, we were both quite tired post-crossing. We chose to stop just north of the Gulf in Caltea Suarez (46,36S 75,27W) to get some rest before continuing further north back into the channels. The weathe changed the day after our arrival, so we ended up staying in Suarez for about 5 days. It is a beautiful little spot, with a river for clothes washing (and decent drinking), however the williwaws did run through pretty strongly in the worst of the wind. We were not alone in Suarez, and two fishing boats sought refuge there as well. We all tied together in the bay and though there was a bit of a language barrier, we were all pleased to have some new human contact. Both crews were great guys and offered us fresh fish and fruit. I made and shared some brownies with them :) We left them for the crossing up to Canal Darwin on Saturday, April 25^th. They took some pictures of us bobbing away through the fog and swell. I think they thought we were crazy.

The crossing up to Canal Darwin was much better than the previous crossing. Longer, but much more consistent swell. We were happy to be back in the channels once it was over, and spent Sunday night in Caleta Galvarino (45,25S 74,0W) and Monday night in Caleta Gato in Seno Aysen (45,18S 73,12W). Tuesday was an exciting day as we were coming to a real port city – Puerto Chacabuco! So strange to see civilization after nearly two months of very limited contact with other people and no real settlements. We spent one night at anchor in the bay by the port and the next day moved (carefully) into Ensenada Baja, a more secluded bay behind the town (45,27S 72,48W). The entry pass to this bay is quite shallow, but we made it in and discovered another sailboat was there as well! Johann and Silvia from “Alea” are heading south, so we have been swapping anchorage info over the last few days – it has been so nice catching up with these lovely folks, sharing a few dinners, and hearing their stories. We both plan to head out of here tomorrow (Tuesday, May 5).

So, now, some long awaited pictures of our favorite moments over the last 2 months. Enjoy!