That night after leaving Puerto Montt I began running a fever and feeling so bad I knew the shore excursion was a no go for me the next morning so I urged Steve to go. Normally, Norwegian requires 48 hours notice in order to refund a cancelled excursion but when Steve went to the desk to give it a try, there was a waiting list of people to take my place and we got our money back.

Puerto Chacabuco itself is a small town lying at the east end of a narrow fjord and is a popular jumping off point into western Patagonia and is also a hub for ferries that connect the port with Puerto Montt and the island of Chiloe. We learned from our research before the cruise that there are no local tours or taxis in port so the only option would be a shore excursion through Norwegian.

Steve left early for the all day tour to Coyhaique and the Simpson Valley. He took our little Lumix camera and brought back some good pictures to show you.

 

 

Meanwhile, back on the ship, I never left the room and watched the clock all day for when Steve was due. This port is a tender port, meaning everyone has to take lifeboats to and from shore and that held Steve up getting back on time. The ship was just leaving when he got to our cabin and I told him I needed to see the ship’s doctor. I had a high temperature and my abdomen hurt to where I couldn’t stand up straight. The nurse put me in a bed and drew blood which confirmed infection that called for two kinds of intravenous antibiotics and other medications. The IV port was left in and I had to return every 12 hours to receive more antibiotics. We had two sea days ahead of us.

After the two sea days and the morning we docked in Punta Arenas, Chile my temperature was normal and blood work was almost normal so the IV port was removed. But I was still in pain and the doctor wanted me to go to the hospital. I asked if I would be returning to the ship and he said he couldn’t guarantee it. In other words, if the hospital decided to keep me, Steve would have to hurriedly pack our bags and leave the ship and stay in a hotel. I declined and therefore was required to sign legal paperwork not holding Norwegian liable if something worse happened to me and also if they had to suddenly go into an unscheduled port for a hospital, that I would pay for the ship’s additional fuel.

So then I was given 6 different medications to take and two of them were antibiotic pills that made me sicker than I was to begin with. After a couple of days of that I really wished I had gotten off the ship in Punta Arenas. We had travel insurance and our unused cruise fare would have been refunded as well as return airfare along with the medical costs.

Ten more cruise days to go and hopefully some of it can be enjoyed.