Two Days at Sea

Between Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt we spent two days at sea. On Wednesday we left the Straits of Magellan and entered the Pacific ocean. Never was a body of water so ill named. We ran into swells 6 meters high and winds up to 70 km /hour. At breakfast my chair slid right away from the table at one point and trays of silverware crashed to the floor.  I went on a tour of the galleys in the morning and trays were falling out of their racks as we danced back and forth trying to manage a dignified march through the kitchen. Fortunately I do not suffer from seasickness, so after the galley tour I went on to a watercolor class. Ralph attended a lecture, then we met and had lunch, amid dwindling numbers of people who were up and about.  Things seemed to calm down a bit in the afternoon, but by dinner time we were rocking and rolling again and we were the only two at our table who felt like eating.  We slept well, but others in our group had a very uncomfortable night. 
By the next morning the world was calmer and we were in a protected channel instead of on the open seas. Our revived group met for an elegant brunch at 10:00am, even though navigating the dining room, between tables laden with trays of food and ice sculptures with a china plate in hand was still quite a balancing act. In the afternoon we attended a classical piano concert, snacked on finger sandwiches at the Cova Café, then read and rested before preparing for our last formal dinner – lobster for all. After dinner there was a very nice musical variety show in the theater. Everyone seems to be back to normal, ready for our visit to Puerto Montt tomorrow.