Valparaiso is the Cultural Capital of Chile. The city’s historic quarter has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003. Due to a missed connection in Dallas, causing a 24 hour delay, we proceeded directly from the airport in Santiago to the cruise ship, thus, missing an opportunity to explore this historic port. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 put an end to Valparaiso’s importance as a port of call for ships on the Cape Horn route.
The scheduled departure was 13:00 hours, about the time we boarded ship. However, departure was delayed until 23:00 hours. Day 2 was a sea day on the way to Puerto Montt, so we held our first bridge lesson and duplicate bridge game. The second night, the seas were 5 meters (18 ft) which felt very familiar to me. Gail took a Sturgeon for Mal de Mar and seemed fine after a night’s sleep.