Cruising

Booze Cruise:

We boarded the Navimag "party boat" in the evening on Thursday 24th and had a night on board before setting off up the coast early the next morning. That first night was pretty tame as people sussed out the surrounds and established sea legs. Jim and I had both opted for bottom bunks in the dorm of 22. We were expecting the worst - one big room with 22 rickety bunk beds and no space for luggage, one open bathroom to 44 people, grimey sheets - not sure why, just pesimists I guess. Actually it wasn't so bad as all the dorms were split into sections and you had 4 beds to a section which was a bit like a room without a door. There were lockers at the end of the beds and super viewing possibilities from the porthole, curtains across the open sides of the spotless beds. All good really if a little cramped but actually I quite like that. I´ve always fancied staying in one of those pod hotels in Japan...

Rabbit warren:

The bags had been taken onto the boat earlier by porters and when we got to our allocated spaces only our bags were sitting in the 4-bed space. So we assumed that we're hit the jackpot and bagged a section to ourselves as no one had wanted to take the upper bunks that we'd left free. After a wonder around the boat and quick drink in the "pub" we headed off to bed and were disappointed to find an old, bearded Spaniard unpacking. James was more put out than I was as the guy seemed to have assumed his lower bunk. I argued with him for a while but he spoke no English and the conversation was tough. He was adamant that Jim's bed was his and also claimed that there was some Australian girl in the bed that I occupied. Chance would be a fine thing, I thought. Have picked up some cuss words and was about to make first use of them or just kick his smug, hairy face when Jim pointed out that we were in the wrong dorm. There was a general spirit of friendship on the boat with everyone getting along but he didn't speak to us again for the whole trip despite the giggling apology that I issued as we shuffled off to try to find the right dorm. I never really got to grips with the layout of the boat - 4 identical dorms in a row with little signposting. Was a great relief to get to our beds and discover nobody else had moved in. Anyway, there was a point to all that - the layout of the boat was confusing.

Routine:

The schedule for the next few days was fairly repetitive. Breakfast 8-9, Lunch 1230-1330, Dinner 1930-2030. A few organised activities in between like documentaries about Chile and movies, plus bingo on the last night. Otherwise we pretty much just read and slept and played cards. Did a fair bit of drinking too but the boat didn't exactly live up to its reputation as party central.

It rained nearly constantly so the opportunities to get out on deck were limited. Felt a bit weird being on deck anyway as there were freights on the back of the boat carrying cattle and horses so while drifting peacefully through the fjords and along past icebergs and glaciers you couldn´t escape the feeling that you were on a farm. Having said that, this was the first time in weeks that we hadn´t been pursued by dogs everywhere we went.

The boat docked once, on the second morning, for us to get off and visit what would appear to be the final resting place of a once thriving indigineous community. They´d shown a documentary about them the previous day. The community currently stands at 12 pure-blood individuals after a century of turmoil prompted by Spanish colonisation, decimation of their way of life and environment, subsequent despair and alcoholism... cheery stuff.

Hello Sailor:

What might have otherwise have been a pretty event-free journey was made more "interesting" by an Aussie couple that we met. Sheila and Bruce (not their real names) joined us just before dinner on the first day and we played cards with them while drinking. It turned out that Sheila was the Australian girl that the bearded Spaniard (apparently a big snorer) had been referring to during the argument. They said that he didn't speak to them either. Anyway, we got pretty trashed and had a fun night. I think there might have been some dancing. I staggered to bed around half one, paralytic.

I was woken up by Sheila climbing into my bed. I was confused at first what with her having a boyfriend somewhere nearby and me having made my situation clear. Plus, it wasn´t like there had been any flirting and I didn´t find her attractive so can´t imagine that I was unwittingly emitting a subconscious vibe or whatever.

I was about to issue a stern rebuke when I remembered the mistake that I'd made previously with the wrong dorm and the fact that her bed was in the same spot. This time I was pretty sure that I had the right bed because I was lying on my book so I figured the error must be hers. Those thoughts crossed my mind quickly and I think I was about to verbally confirm my conclusion and suggest that she reassess her environs when she tried to put her tongue in my mouth. Be careful what you wish for, I thought.

I resisted and she persisted for a while. We had a small wrestle, and then she was gone. A few seconds later I started doubting that it had happened. I dropped off again and awoke to much the same a bit later. This time I was really confused, like maybe she´d mistaken my attempts to push her off and twist away as passion-fuelled fumbling. I half expected her to say "Be gentle with me darling".

The next day it took me a while to remember and even then I wasn´t sure of myself. Later Sheila apologised. But she was quite full-on for the rest of the journey and made everyone feel uncomfortable. Eventually, on the last evening, Bruce had had enough and by the time we got off in the morning he wasn't speaking to her. Shame as he seemed like a really nice guy. I got the impression this was a familiar situation for them both. Still, it made my journey an edgy one as I tried to evade comely glances and conversation. We exchanged email addresses but probably won´t keep in touch.


Wish I´d taken more photos of the boat and stuff but there was nothing too inspirational to prompt me. Here are a few...
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9s5mjjy.93ymu00i&x=1&y=-ysx8jg