Early Wednesday morning, we were awakened to the strong smell of smoke. It was hard to figure how someone could burn coffee, but none the less, it was pretty bad.
Fortunately, the Cruise Director announced that the town we were approaching (Puerto Montt) and there were some fires burning there. The smoke was pretty bad, but we ventured into town for our tour.
We learned they have a green plant/shrub that is not native to Chile, but has taken over the area (kind of like Kudzu did in the south). The only way to kill it is to pour certain chemicals or burn the plants. Well, they chose the burning option and unfortunately, this area hasn't seen rain in more than 30 days and so the fires got out of control. And we were on the wrong side of the breeze.
We enjoyed the tour of the small towns and learned that one area (Frutillar) was originally settled by Germans. Lots of 'gingerbread houses', German food and beer - all with a Spanish flair.
Back on the boat and dinner with new friends from California and out of the smoke.
Adios!
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