Purto Edén was the second of our unscheduled stops on this cruise. This area receives an average of 226 inches of rain each year (average precipitation in Green Bay is only 29 inches) with some precipitation falling almost every day of the year. The village has less than 200 inhabitants and is considered one of Chile's most remote inhabited places similar to Easter Island and a permanent civilan settlement in Antarctica. There are no roads in the town, only wooden boardwalks to get around on. It is linked to the outside world by a ferry service that runs between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt and a weekly boat that takes its main products, fish and mussels, to market. We had a lovely , sunny, two hour visit to this last bastion of the Kawéshkkar people.
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| (Re)tired fishing boat |
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| The replacement? |
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| Typical boatdwalk |
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| Colorful house |
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| Store sign |
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| "Road" work |
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| It was a beautiful day in Puerto Edén |
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| Recovering one of the tenders |
Caleta Tortel is another small village along our route that is without any roads. The 550+ inhabitants make their way around town using the myriad of boardwalks, wooden bridges, and steep stairs. It is not an old place, estaablished in 1955 to exploit the forests of cypress that grow in the area. There is a small airport nearby and a road was built to the town in 2003.
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| Cypress for export |
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| Big project at the entrance to town |
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| Sculpture at the village entrance |
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| Colorful siding on the homes |
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| Even the slides are made of wood--watch out for splinters! |
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| Low tide |
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| Lace curtain in Santa's window |
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| Weeds |
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| Another tired fishing vessel |
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| Staircase to the upper part of town |
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| The milky/green color of the water is due to the glacial runoff |
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| New boardwalk |
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| Old stairway |
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| Immaculate reception? |
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| Colorful paint jobs |
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| The tv in our cabin kept us well informed |
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