South American Last-Minute Scenic Volcanos, Pisco Sours

Days 36-39, 2026 Grand World Voyage

Sunday to Wednesday, Feb. 8-11, 2026; Puerto Montt and San Antonio, Chile.

Pisco Sour is one of my favorite cocktails. Made with distilled fermented grape juice (pisco), fresh lime juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters and egg-white froth, it is a refreshing combination of sweet and sour.

Both Peru and Chile claim to have created the drink, and apparently the recipe is slightly different between the two. I’m agnostic, as I’ve yet to meet a pisco sour I didn’t like. Perhaps my favorite was at a café overlooking the Easter Island harbor. Last summer in Liverpool, of all places, the Peruvian Navy’s tall ship docked next to the Nieuw Statendam, and during a tour I bought a bottle of their pisco. But otherwise, I save the special treat for Chile and Peru.

We won’t be in Peru this cruise, but Ignacio, our tour guide in Puerto Montt, made sure we had a sample (or two) of the drink. He even brought small cordial glasses for the occasion.

But the real pisco treat was in San Antonio, Chile. Occasionally, the ship’s staff pulls out all the stops for sail away parties, and this time it excelled. Live music from the Dam Band. Line dancing. Hors d’oeuvres. And complimentary pisco sours. I might have had six! Fortunately, they weren’t too strong or large, but they certainly were good.

San Antonio marked the end of the first segment of the World Cruise, meaning a couple of hundred passengers with us since Jan. 4 left and a similar number joined us. Other segments will end in Sydney, Australia; Singapore; Yokohama, Japan; and San Diego.

Back to Sunday and Puerto Montt, a small city that marks the end for us of the Chilean archipelago and stunning scenery of Patagonia. We joined about 20 friends for a private tour north to the lake district and Petrohué Falls.

More rapids than falls, the area is surrounded by three volcanos. Volcán Osorno — at nearly 9,000 feet high and very symmetrical — is considered the Mount Fuji of South America. Clear skies meant we could see all three peaks.

After a light picnic lunch of empanadas and wine by the side of LLanquihue Lake, the largest lake entirely in Chile, we had free time in the lakeside tourist towns of Puerto Varas and Frutillar. German immigrants settled both in the mid 1800s, as is reflected in their architecture.

Frutillar is known as the City of Music, and each winter hosts Chile’s biggest classical music festival in the beautiful Teatro del Lago stretching over the lake.  

In San Antonio I had planned to join friends for a small group tour to Valparaiso, but hadn’t slept well the night before and decided to stay on the ship. Sadly, during their lunch a sneaky thief lifted a purse and pocketed another cell phone, which left them canceling cards and accounts. It can happen anywhere in a flash.

I had visited Valparaiso on an earlier cruise and miss the days when many cruise ships docked there instead of the industrial port city of San Antonio. Apparently, labor and pier management issues at Valparaiso led to the change. This time I enjoyed a lazy day by scheduling a pedicure in the ship’s spa.

We expected to leave the port during our sail away, but the captain announced that high winds drove the local authority to temporarily close the port. I hear we finally left around midnight (I was sound asleep), but we have four sea days to make up the time.

In what has become a world cruise tradition, we had a late afternoon block party on the first of the sea days. We gather in small groups in the hallways, getting to know our neighbors. Cabin stewards, including our own Amoy and Ricky, serve generous pours of wine, and dining stewards pass appetizers. Capt. Rens was in his element, pulling a boom box while leading an officer parade down each hallway.

We still have one more port in Chile – Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island – but we will sail west for four sea days before we arrive. I’m looking forward to my last opportunity for a pisco sour – or two!