A travel "lemon" surprised us about three days before we were to embark on a cruise through the Patagonian channels and fjords from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. The ship blew an engine and would be out of commission for at least two weeks. This is when travel agents really earn their commission.
Paola Furniss, Comapa Turismo, www.comapa.com had arranged our tour from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales, and side trips to Lago Grey and the Moreno Glacier. She contacted us via an SOS e-mail that I fortunately read the following day. She had an alternative trip tentatively scheduled for us, just needed our approval.
How fortunate we were; four people in our party, four spaces left on the plane. The cost was $180/pp more than the cruise down the Patagonian channels, but we were so glad we made lemonade and took this trip. It was one of the highlights of our five weeks in Argentina and Chile.
We flew LAN Chile from Puerto Montt to Balmaceda, then onto a mini-bus for one hour on a good, but winding road, to Cohiaique where we changed to a larger bus for the one-and-a-half hour ride to the Skorpios that was docked at Puerto Chacabuco. The scenery was beautiful, Andes on both sides, cows, some desert, very small farm houses.
We got onto a small boat and took a ride around a small lagoon, stopping on an island for lunch.
The most amazing thing on the island was the giant rhubarb. We've
seen rhubarb in many countries, but never like this! Three feet across, eight feet high, stalks three inches thick and three feet long. One stalk would make a lot of pies. We had several rhubarb desserts, but none as good as an old-fashioned rhubarb, custard pie.
Salmon hatcheries along the way.
We were disappointed when the day dawned foggy and drizzling rain. We brightened up when our captain told us that this was the perfect weather for seeing the glaciers and icebergs. The color would be more spectacular. He was right on. Feast your eyes on these pictures. We were surrounded by icebergs, each one more beautiful than the last.
The dining room and only area outside the sleeping cabins. We spent time here reading and playing cards. Meals were at 9am, 1pm and 9pm. Entertainment and dancing started at 10:30pm. 
We had red and white wine at both lunch and dinner. Other liquor available at all times. Every meal, including breakfast, had at least ten cakes. All looked and tasted the same; one-layer, round desserts that tasted like whipped desserts. Only thing different was the frosting and decorations. The last night we had an "American" dinner. It consisted of two hot plates-roast turkey and octopus. The food was excellent.
Vodka on glacier ice at the San Rafael Glacier.
This was an unbelievable day, one of the most breathtakingly beautiful acts of nature we have ever seen.A boat ride back to Cohiaique where we stayed at a very nice hotel. The next day a return bus trip to Balmaceda and a flight to Punta Arenas.
Next up, penquins and a zodiac ride to Lago Grey Glacier in the Torres del Paine (Piney) National Park.
