Micro to Puerto Montt in the morning to check in for the 4 day cruise south to Puerto Natales and trekking in Torres del Paine, the spectacular park in southern Patagonia. Quick shopping in PM (including a quick visit to the post office as I found I still had the room key for Puerto Varas) for some replacement trousers for Celine (travelling really puts extra wear on all your equipment, including clothes!) before boarding the ferry. 
There are no roads linking the 
southern part of Chile with the northern part within Chilean territory (there's too many glaciers in the way), and in the past, Argentina and Chile haven't always been on good terms, and there are numerous small communities that are cut off from the outside world. So a ferry service was developed linking all these places. Now with more cordial relationships and open boarders, most traffic and trade is by road, leaving the Navimag ferry pretty much a tourist ferry... saying that it's a great way to travel, if not completely isolated from Chilean people.
It's a great way of seeing how the vegetation and landscape change the further south you travel, and you do get close to some places (such as Puerto Eden, an outpost in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park home to about 150 native people) that would be otherwise inaccessible.
Arrival in the early morning at Puerto Natales gives us enough time to prepare for our four day trek in Torres del Paine National Park.
More pics here!
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