Puerto Montt onwards

Retrieving the anchor on February 1st at 07:45, we planned to stop at one more anchorage before reaching Puerto Montt Chile. But that didn't quite work out...

The SW wind did not happen as predicted and hoped for so we were once again motoring in glassy seas. These last 3 weeks have almost always been motoring with little to no wind or beating against a head wind. But we did have a couple of real great sailing days.

Then Jordan sensed an unusual ticking/slapping sound coming from the rear of the engine compartment. So he immediately stopped the engine, opened up the compartment, and discovered the culprit - the engine compartment ventilation hose had gotten snagged on the rotating shaft and spun tightly around it with disintegrating shards of rubber and wire all over the place. It took about an hour to free the shaft of the debris while we drifted with the tide.

We were now behind schedule and couldn't make a good anchorage before nightfall so we decided to do an overnighter. After an uneventful evening, we arrived back to Puerto Montt at 14:30 on February 2nd.

The last 3 weeks had been full of new experiences and unique sites, the memories of which we will carry on board for a long time.

Back at Puerto Montt, we got busy as usual catching up on gmail, blog, and calls to family, a list of boat job and stuff to get. We caught a taxi cab back to Club Nautico one day and the driver, Claudio, asked if we wished to join him and his family for dinner one evening. We were very surprised to receive such a kind invitation from a total stranger but we wholeheartedly accepted.

Two days later, Claudio picked us up at the marina and drove us quite a distance down the coast and out to his home. There was Claudio, his wife, and two daughters and lots of delicious food, fun stories, pictures, and entertainment by their young grandson. We were delivered back to Sea Turtle laden with homemade plum juice, red current jam, buns, and cranberry cake. Super folks!

We finished all errands today, including provisioning, and it was rather late (20:00). Too late to make a dinner. So we had a loaf of French bread, cheese, paté, and good Chilean red wine. Jordan said it reminded him of when he was young and single backpacking in Europe and he would get a bottle of wine, fresh French bread, and delicious cheese, then catch a train (he had a month long EuroRail pass).

Beautiful sunset at Puerto Montt marina, Club Nautico

Puerto Montt has been a great place to get things, get things done, and actually be at the dock (at a mere $9 a day). The last time we were at the dock was over half a year ago and the next time may be well over that. So with zarpe (exit permit) in hand, we are leaving Puerto Montt tomorrow morning for Isla Robinson Crusoe, part of the Juan Fernández Archipelago. This is about a 7-day passage north and about 300 miles off the Chilean coast.