You get to see a lot from the ship that you could not see otherwise, but seeing is all you get to do. For me sitting on the deck watching the world sail past was just about as frustrating as being a kid on an escalator in toy store at Christmas time, kept from exploring all the wonderful things on display by the restraining hand of a parent. O nce, however, just looking was enough. Stepping out on the deck on the first clear night and seeing the blazing stars of the southern sky was a revelation. Our first stop is the fishing village of Puerto Aquirre, the weather is gray and drizzling.
Children come to meet the boat, offering to take passengers on walking tours.
Bonnie and I hike up the hillside and down the few streets, enjoying the wild fuchsia, holly hocks, and cabbages in the kitchen gardens. The shingles are made of alerce, a weather resistant wood, and are laid in series of overlapping rows. Some are cut with straight edges across the bottom, others are curved, some pointed. The combination of cut and pattern seems limitless, and the overall effect is a sort of needlepoint texture. On a island across the water from the village lies the cemetery with little houses built on the graves.