Today we took the Los Loberias del Sur's excursion to the hot springs, the Aguas Calientes de Ensenada Perez.
The day started off with the promise of sunshine and calm seas. But this is Patagonia and the weather can turn on a dime.
As we left Chacabuco, the volcanic mountains were in full view.
We could also see the distant snow-capped southern Andes Mountains,
but then the Patagonia weather started rolling in.
Waves crashing onto the boat,
and rain smashed on our windows
but there was a rainbow guiding the way to the hot springs.
While onboard, we all received an unexpected gift, our own personal plush terry cloth robe, plush towels and a pair of new crocks to complete our swimsuit attire.
We walked along the shore
and we were in the hot springs.
The hot springs were actually a series of rectangular, waist deep, man-made swimming pools, each pool filled with progressively hotter water. It was a very relaxing way to enjoy a rainy afternoon.
Another unexpected surprise was that the crew made sure an ample supply of pisco sours was always on hand in addition to serving us scrumptious hour devours!
When we returned to the boat we were greeted with Elvis Presley music and a delicious lunch.
The rain let up and mountain visibility improved. The captain conferred with the crew and made the decision that we would go out on the second part of our excursion to the
Cinco Hermanas Natural Monument. This "natural monument" consists of an archipelago of 6 islands located in the Aisen fjord. From there one can see the Maca volcano, 7,500 feet above sea level, whose entire cone is covered with ice. It is a glacier-covered volcano! Below is a photo from the internet of what it looks like.
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The zodiacs were loaded onto the sea and off we went. As we rounded the corner, the heavens opened up with a deluge and we saw the sign that read,
Welcome to the
Cinco Hermanas Natural Monument!
We motored the zodiac to the location where the internet photo of the glacier covered Maca volcano was taken
and this was today's view.
After a rather wet weather ride, it was back to the boat for more drying off, drinks, dinner and then docking the boat at Puerto Chacabuco.
As we were leaving, a foreign couple commented to me that they certainly hadn't expected the weather to be quite like it was, but in spite of it all, they still had a fun time.
For us, that's one of the highlights of traveling... enjoying the unexpected.