Our ship arrived in the heart of the Chilean archipelago, into a small port named ‘Puerto Chacabuco’. A place where we were destined to encounter an explosion of stunning scenery: from dense rain forests and bright-blue lakes to snow-covered mountain peaks.

We had been told that there would not be much of an opportunity to organise a day out from the tiny port so we took the lazy option – we booked an on shore excursion.

On shore excursions are great – if you are over 65 and enjoy sitting on a bus all day with regular restroom breaks. When you are young, fun and nimble like my mother (and me most of the time), they are a serious risk to your mental sanity for a day.

But given the beauty of Northern Patagonia, even sitting on a bus all day (with regular restroom breaks) had the potential for fun.

We hopped of our tender boat and departed Puerto Chacabuco on the a road known as the ‘legendary Carretera Austral’ built in 1976 to connect Puerto Montt with Puerto Yungay. Through the rugged landscape we ventured all the way to the Simpson River Reserve in the Simpson Valley. The magnificent reserve encompasses 98,844 acres of nature in its purest form – although we were only allowed to explore a teeny tiny circuit at the ‘Rio Simpson Regional Museum of Natural Resources’  which featured a single view of the river. It was a nice view despite the size of the walk.

Mum and I decided to venture out further down the road to escape the crowd and managed to almost trespass on private property and get mauled by a unimpressed beast of a canine.

We had a restroom break and hopped back on board relieved and un-maulued.

Then we crossed the Andes (reaching 1,476 feet) to reach the beautiful city of Coyhaique. It was a drizzly day but we managed to squeeze in a great stroll through the pretty city picking up some handmade swollen knits and fresh nectarines on the way.

Then we started to head home, (well, to our temporary home on board The Zaandam), but no day would be complete without a pitstop at a gorgeous germanic home to try some local treats.

Cakes, tarts and empanadas were served – all washed down with some local wine and of course PISCO SOUR!

Mum and I made the most of the free booze and trust me, it is a sure way to enjoy any bus trip (as long as you still get regular restroom stops).