Valparaiso (Santiago), Chile
Located 70 miles, or about a two-hour drive, from the capital city of Santiago, Valparaiso is Chile’s principal port. With a population of close to half a million, it is the commercial and administrative center for a vast region and the seat of a major university. A large part of the city is clustered along a crescent of hills in a maze of alleys, winding streets, connecting stairs and funicular railcars. The business center at the foot of the hills lies partially on reclaimed land. Ingenuity has turned a piece of coastline into one of the world’s most picturesque ports; it is especially striking when seen from the sea at dusk, with its semi-circle of lit-up hills cascading down to the water.
Valparaiso has no clear date of founding. During the 17th and 18th centuries the port had only seasonal activity; for the remainder of the year it lay dormant. In the early 19th century, following the country’s independence from Spain, the ports of Chile and the Americas were opened to world trade.
Due to Valparaiso’s convenient location along the shipping routes circling the tip of South America, the port experienced a tremendous boost. English, German and French immigrants brought foreign capital to finance development of copper, silver and nitrate mining. Valparaiso became the country’s leading commercial center and established the first banks and a stock exchange.
Just six miles out of Valparaiso lies Chile’s main seaside resort, Viña del Mar, often dubbed "the garden city" because of its beautiful parks and gardens. Excellent beaches are lined by fine promenades with a range of hotels, restaurants and a casino.
Santiago, with over four million people, is the fifth-largest city in South America. Standing in a wide plain 1,800 feet above sea level, Santiago boasts a beautiful setting. Snow-capped peaks of the Andes chain provide a dramatic backdrop. Tastefully laid-out public gardens contribute to the beauty of the city. However, Santiago also suffers from horrendous traffic and a high percentage of pollution. The heart of Santiago is the Plaza de Armas, flanked by the cathedral, the archbishop’s palace, the National History Museum and fine arcaded buildings lined with shops. The two-mile-long Avenida O’Higgins is the major thoroughfare, commonly known as the Alameda. There is a splendid view over the city from San Cristobal Hill, crowned by the statue of the Virgin Mary.
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9:00 PM
Day 2
La Serena, Chile
Main city, northern Chile, lying on a marine terrace overlooking Bahía (bay) de Coquimbo, just south of the Río Elqui and east of Coquimbo city. Founded c. 1543 on the river’s northern bank, it was named after the birthplace of the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. Razed by Diaguita Indians in 1549 and rebuilt on the present site the following year, La Serena received city status in 1552. It survived pirate raids and earthquake damage. The seat of an archbishopric, the city has a cathedral, many churches, and several convents. This agricultural and dairy centre is also a popular tourist resort connected to Santiago by rail, bus, and air. The nearby town of Vicuña, 30 miles (50 km) east, is the birthplace of the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945. Pop. (2002) city, 147,815; La Serena-Coquimbo urban agglom., 296,253.
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4:00 PM
Day 3
Day At Sea
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Day 4
Puerto Montt, Chile
Located on the northern tip of the vast Reloncavi Bay, Puerto Montt is the gateway to the Chilean Lake District. Crowding the harbor are vessels that ply between Cape Horn and Puerto Montt, finding shelter here from the storms of the Pacific.
The first German colonists arrived in this area in 1852; their descendants have remained a small but influential percentage of the 130,000 inhabitants.
The town spreads along a narrow seaboard and climbs the slopes which enclose Puerto Montt to the north. Since 1985, the city has experienced considerable growth and development; there are more than 30 salmon farms, in addition to forestry, fishing industries and service companies. New hotels, restaurants, cafés and shops have opened. Puerto Montt itself offers scant attractions for visitors apart from shingle-roofed houses around a flowered central square. The main draw here is the proximity to the lake and mountain region, and spectacular fjord cruising.
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Day 5
Chilean Fjords
This part of the country is exceptionally beautiful with lakes, snow-capped volcanoes, dense forests and thermal springs. The most exciting way to explore the fjords South of Puerto Montt is by cruise ship or cargo boat.
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Day 6
Straits of Magellan, Chile
The Strait of Magellan is the passage immediately south of mainland South America. Located between the continent and Tierra del Fuego, and Cape Horn to the south, the strait is the biggest and most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean.
The strait was first navigated in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan during his global circumnavigation voyage. Because Magellan's ships entered it on November 1st, it was originally named Estreito de Todos los Santos .
On May 23rd 1843 Chile took possession of the channel, under whose sovereignty it remains to this day. On the coast of the Strait lies the city of Punta Arenas and the village of Porvenir.
Before the creation of the Panama canal, this was the second-most travelled way to pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (the most used route being the rounding of Cape Horn).
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Day 7
Punta Arena
Punta Arenas (literally in Spanish: "Point sands") is the most prominent settlement on the Strait of Magellan and the capital of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region, Chile, and is claimed to be the world's southernmost city. (Ushuaia, Argentina also makes this claim, but is much smaller). Punta Arenas is the third largest city in the entire Patagonian Region, after the more northerly Argentine cities of Neuquén and Comodoro Rivadavia. In 2002, it had a population of 120,000.[1] It is roughly 1418.4 km from the coast of Antarctica.
The Magallanes region is considered part of Chilean Patagonia. Magallanes is Spanish for Magellan, the explorer who, while circumnavigating the earth for Spain, passed close to the present site of Punta Arenas in 1520.
Located on the Brunswick Peninsula, Punta Arenas is the southernmost city of its size in the world. Early English navigational documents referred to its location as "Sandy Point."
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Day 8
Ushuaia, Argentina
Originally founded as an outpost on the Beagle Channel by the South American Missionary Society, Ushuaia has developed into a fast-growing frontier town. The capital of the Argentinian part of Tierra del Fuego boasts a spectacular setting. The jagged peaks of the Martial Range rising from sea level to nearly 4,500 feet provide Ushuaia with a dramatic backdrop. The surrounding areas offer great outdoor recreational possibilities, such as trekking, hiking and fishing. Rugged roads lead into the mountain and lake region and to Lapataia, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego National Park.
Ushuaia itself has an interesting museum and a wide variety of shops selling everything from souvenirs and outdoor wear to duty-free luxury items. Several restaurants offer excellent seafood. Most of the town can be explored on foot in a fairly short time; the real attraction lies in the rugged beauty and unspoiled nature of the area surrounding Ushuaia.
From the 16th-century voyages of Magellan and the 19th-century explorations of Charles Darwin to the present time, Tierra del Fuego has held an ambivalent fascination for scores of adventurous travelers. Separated from the South American mainland by the Strait of Magellan, the archipelago consists of one large island, with numerous smaller islands surrounding the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. Most of them are uninhabited. The name derived from the fires that the Yahganes Indians kept burning day and night in order to keep warm.
This prompted the first Europeans to name their discovery Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). For more than three centuries the climate and terrain discouraged European settlement; the island, which is shared by Argentina and Chile, is now famous throughout the world. Charles Darwin visited here in 1832 aboard the vessel Beagle and incorporated the region’s biological diversity into his theories.
Travelers to this remote and rugged area of South America never can be certain what the weather is going to be like; experiencing four seasons in one single day is the norm rather than the exception.
However, one fact is always certain: the spirit of the rough frontier prevails and the scenic beauty is awesome.
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6:00 PM
Day 9
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost point of South America. It is located in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
The cape was first rounded on January 26, 1616 by a Dutch expedition of Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire. They named it Kaap Hoorn after the city of Hoorn, Schouten's birthplace. The spanish name of the place is a degeneration of the dutch: Cabo de Hornos.
Cape Horn is famous for the weather conditions that made it difficult to round in the days of sailing ships. Even so, the open waters of the Drake Passage south of the Cape meant plenty of sea room for maneuvering, while the narrow Strait of Magellan through the Tierra del Fuego islands could be a slow and tortuous passage.
The area of the Cape is in Chile. A family lives at a small station maintained by the government, consisting of a main house, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse. A short distance off there is a large sculpture featuring the silhouette of an albatross. The terrain is entirely treeless, although quite lush due to the frequent precipitation.
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8:30 AM
Day 10
Day At Sea
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Day 11
Puerto Madryn, Argentina
Madryn is one of the fastest growing cities in Patagonia, with a beautiful coast avenue, the Almirante Brown Boulevard, the residential area where the houses have got an unbeatable view to the Atlantic Ocean within this huge natural amphitheater, constituted by the Nuevo Gulf.
Its port has got deep waters, and is one of the best in Argentina. But Madryn is also an industrial city, mainly focused on aluminum production, fishing and tourism.
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Day 12
Day At Sea
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Day 13
Punta del Este, Uruguay
At the beginning of the 19th century, Punta del Este was a vast semi-deserted region only visited by sailors and fishermen. Today this coastal town, commonly referred to as the St Tropez of South America, attracts close to 300,000 visitors each year.
Opposite the large peninsula separating the two waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Rio de la Plata, lie the enchanted islands of Isla Gorriti and Isla de los Lobos, inhabited by one of the world's largest sea-lion colonies.
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Day 14
Montevideo, Uruguay
Home to almost 50% of the nation's population, Montevideo is a modern metropolis with a historical old town dating back to colonial times. Surrounding the whole city lies an uninterrupted stretch of white sandy beach.
Highlights include Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) with its 18th century buildings, the vibrant Mercado del Puerto, and the bustling commercial activity of Avenida 18 de Julio and its cultural offerings (theatres, museums and art galleries).
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Day 15
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dubbed the Queen of the Plate River by Argentine author Carlos Romero, Buenos Aires is Argentina’s cosmopolitan capital and to Portenos synonymous with Argentina. It is the country’s center of manufacturing, banking, culture and intellectualism, but shows very little of its Spanish heritage. The city experienced a boom in the 19th century, taking its cue from Paris, and since then is often referred to as the Paris of South America.
Based on the original Spanish settlement, old Buenos Aires was laid out around a central plaza, bordered by a fort and armory, the city hall and cathedral. This ensemble became the Plaza de Armas, later redesigned as the Plaza de Mayo. Nouveau Buenos Aires rivaled New York as a port for European trade. Landed gentry with estancias larger than some countries hired Parisian architects to design urban villas for their visits to town. The modern parts of the city feature glass office buildings, often adjacent to those done in ornate French style. One out of every three Argentineans lives in Buenos Aires, finding the city irresistible. The world has few cities that are enjoyed as much as the millions of Porteños enjoy theirs.
The heart of the city's history is concentrated around the Plaza de Mayo with the Town Hall, the Casa Rosada (the presidential building) and the Metropolitan Cathedral. The cathedral is an important religious landmark and national historic site. It contains the tomb of Jose de San Martin, Argentina's most revered national hero. Near the square are superb restaurants, movie theaters, boutiques, art galleries and the pedestrian street Florida. It leads to some of the city’s finest hotels and offers plenty of shopping opportunities.
Few cities share Buenos Aires’ ambiance, lifestyle and the amenities that make it so endearing to residents and visitors alike.
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Arrival and departure times may vary slightly by sailing date.
