DAY 28, Saturday, February 11. Puerto Chacabuco, Chile
This small city is the principal port of the region, so small we couldn’t dock. Arrived about noon. Fog and light rain, usual for this time of year.
The cruise excursion began with a drive to Aiken del Sur Private Park, about minutes from the port. After a short talk about the natural history of the area we walked in three groups through a young forest—land being reclaimed after having been stripped for cattle raising. There were a few mature trees, but the growth was mostly a kind of myrtle. The walk ended in a pretty waterfall they called “Old Man’s Beard.” Dinner, mutton dressed as lamb, but the red wine and pisco sours were good.
The town’s principal source of income is from farming salmon. The fish farms in the fjord are owned by Norwegian companies, where fish farming is more expensive, being strictly governed by environmental and health laws.