Dec 2-5 DAYS 14-16 The Eden is a very large, Japanese built cargo ship owned by the company Navimag. Apparently the increasing desire for travelers to use this means of transportation has encouraged them to accommodate us. The passage is not cheap and what I thought would be primarily a ship of backpackers was instead mostly older decently-heeled couples traveling in cabins, some with private baths.
My cabin had three berths and I was pleased to discover my roommates were from Spain giving me more opportunity to practice my Spanish which they graciously obliged.
We settled in to our small quarters and managed, somehow, to never be in each others way-not always an easy feat given the compromised square footage of our room which contained a closet for two, a sink, one set of bunk beds and a single bed about three feet away. There were no windows, but the room was cozy, the beds comfortable and overall we slept well,learning that a shoe lodged in the doorway at night provided some cooler air.

The staff did their best to insure the passengers were entertained offering a lecture and several films per day. The extremely violent horror and action films that played seemed to be incongruous to our tastes and not many people partook in this activity except for a few young children who seemed particularly engaged. Our last night on board we played a fiercely competitive game of BINGO.

The food was far better than I could have hoped for and the meals were a kind of on going game of musical chairs giving us all a chance to chat with others, if we were so inclined.

The deck provided a place to see the fiords and if lucky, I wasn’t, a place to spot a whale, dolphins, and seals. The sky and winds were fickle.  One moment was  warm and sunny, the next almost too rainy and windy to bare. The cattle packed tight in open cars on a deck below was an unsettling sight, and emitting a smell incongruous with the sweet open air. But for the human passengers, the voyage passed quickly and easily except one rough day when some of us kept plastic bags within arms reach, just in case.

Soon we were wishing each other well as we head off in a multitude of directions having arrived in Puerto Montt the following day.