South America through the eyes of a seasoned Viking guest.
"Rugged and profoundly different."
It would be fair to say that Graeme Hargreaves and his wife Helen have well and truly become part of the Viking family, having travelled with us many times over the past ten years.
Together, the couple has explored Portugal, Russia, Puerto Rico and Germany — just to name a few — the Viking way, with our South America & the Chilean Fjords ocean cruise being their most recent voyage.
Having once lived in both Peru and Venezuela, Graeme and Helen were eager to see more of vibrant South America.
“We thought it was a far-flung frontier that would be interesting to explore in greater depth — and it certainly was,” Graeme says.
Sailing from dynamic Buenos Aires to cosmopolitan Santiago on a journey that Graeme describes as “simply spectacular”, they called on eight ports, a clear favourite of which was Puerto Madryn in Argentina.
“There were nine different excursions available in Puerto Madryn, so there was obviously plenty to do, and I think we could have spent another few days there very happily,” Graeme says. “The included tour, Highlights of Puerto Madryn and Welsh Tea at Gaiman, was unexpectedly very, very interesting.”
As for other standout experiences, Graeme nominated the optional Osorno Volcano, Petrohué Waterfalls and Puerto Varas excursion in Puerto Montt, Chile, which he says was made all the more enjoyable by their ship’s humorous tour director, Manuel.
“It was just magic. The scenery was magnificent. We drove a fair way up the snow-covered volcano — you don’t get too many of those in Australia!”
After wandering the world for over 50 years, Graeme says there isn’t much that surprises him these days. However, he was blown away by South America’s extraordinary landscapes.
“I’ve never been as close to so many glaciers! We’ve seen glaciers in New Zealand and in Alaska, but there were more glaciers than flies in South America, that’s for sure,” he says.
“I have to say, I was really surprised at how harsh the environment was in many areas, and yet there were quite reasonable sized cities there.”
If he had to describe the region in just three words, Graeme would choose: “rugged” and “profoundly different”.
“When travelling, you are always looking for something new and unique, and this particular cruise definitely satisfied those requirements,” he says.
While Graeme and Helen have had to postpone two future Viking cruises due to the current international travel restrictions, we look forward to welcoming them back on board again soon.