Navimag to Puerto Natales

From Chiloe Josh, Dusty and I took a bus back off the island of Chiloe to Puerto Montt. Before leaving Santiago an employee of Casa Roja, the hostel we had stayed at helped us arrange the Navimag boat ride from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. We chose to take the ship rather than bus because it traveled through the various fjords that make up the west coast of Chilean Patagonia. We heard also that there was the possibility of sighting whales.
The ride was delayed a bit due to bad weather that caused it to arrive late into Puerto Montt. We finally were able to board the boat at about 11pm. We all hurried on with our huge bags excited for the adventure ahead of us. Dusty, Josh and I hauled our luggage up the steps and were pleasantly surprised with the sleeping situation of the dorm rooms. Each room contained 4 beds with a locker and a reading lamp. The three of us shared one small dorm with a Chilean fellow that was on his 3rd or 4th pass on the Navimag.
We headed up to the top deck just before midnight to toast the trip off with some boxed wine in our camping squishy cups. On the top deck there was a bar with a decent sized lounge room and 3 or 4 card tables. The bathrooms even smelled clean in the place. Everything was looking good.
We were on the boat for a total of 4 days and 3 nights. We ate 3 very good meals each day and slept well every night, including naps. Day one the weather was lovely and the scenery increased in beauty as we pushed on further south. We heard that the section of the trip in which we head into open water can be very rough. Thus I stocked up on seasickness medication prior to the trip. 2 am on the second night we broke into those open waters. Josh and Dusty slept soundly, snoring included but the rocking woke me. I took a pill and headed to the door to check out the action. From my bed I could hear the waves crashing up on the deck, from the window on the door I verified that waves were definitely crashing aboard. We swayed from side to side for awhile, and then I fell into a Dramamine sleep. By the time everyone arose for breakfast the sea had settled down. Dusty was disappointed at the lack of swaying, the rest of us were relieved.
During a nap I missed the back of a whale, the boys saw. Josh was kind enough to say that I didn't miss much. We saw a few dolphins and some happy sea-lions playing in the water as well.
Other that that, the ride was fairly uneventful, very relaxing- probably the closest we'll ever come to a cruz.