Happy New Year And Puerto Chacabuco

Happy New Year! One of the reasons (out of many) that we chose this cruise was that we knew there would be a built-in party for NYE...we were not disappointed.

We spent the day cruising and doing our usual: trivia, BINGO, eating...and a nap for good measure. We really weren't so much worried about making it to midnight. The worry? We had an 8:00am tour on New Year's Day (who the hell booked that!!!!)

So we partied until the ball dropped...then we dropped.

We had a blast.

So today we stopped in Puerto Chacabuco. There is NOTHING in Chacabuco. Well, there's one thing...the Aysen Fjord and the surrounding scenery.

This was the view from our balcony.

Deep in the Aysen Fjord, there are volcanic vents in the channel which have been harnessed to create natural mineral-rich pools for tourists to soak in. That was our tour today. We took a catamaran from Chacabuco up the fjord to the pools to soak. And soak we did!

Three pools: one 100°, one 104°, and one 108°. We stuck to the 104 pool. It was perfect!

Joe braved the cold shower, naturally, I did not.

Lots of steam coming off the water, floating up into the tropical forest.

We also had a lovely snack, including the local drink: a Picso sour. Pisco is a brandy produced in the winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. It tastes sort of like a syrupy margarita and def will get you hammered!