Wow! What a day! This morning we woke up to the sight of
glaciers as we sailed down the Beagle Channel with Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego
on the starboard side and Chilean islands – Navarino, Picton, Lennox and Nueva
on the port side. Luckily our cabin is on the port side, so we were able to
enjoy the amazing views of glacier after glacier from the comfort of our
quarters.
First, a little history. The Beagle Channel, located in the
extreme south of the South American continent, is the border between Argentina
and Chile. It is named after the HMS Beagle which did hydrographic surveys,
commissioned by the British Crown, in the early 19th century. On the
ship’s second voyage through the channel, the ship was captained by Robert
FitzRoy and its passengers included a 21-year-old Charles Darwin. The Beagle
Channel provides the last calm waters before Antarctica.
In the Glacier Alley portion of the trip we passed five
glaciers – Romanche, Alemania, Francia, Italia, and Hollanda. The weather –
unusual for this region, even in summer – was clear and sunny, and the sea was
very calm. Our captain noted that we were seeing peaks and views normally
obscured by clouds.
The Romanche Glacier - my favorite because of the waterfall
We also saw the famous lighthouse, Les Eclaireurs, on the
Argentinian coast. It is one of the better known icons of Tierra del Fuego and
was erroneously called “The Lighthouse at the End of the World” in Jules
Verne’s novel. Somehow, I thought it would be bigger and more impressive.
We spent most of the afternoon sailing down the Beagle
Channel watching for – and occasionally seeing – small sea penguins, dolphins,
and lots of albatrosses. Then the moment we had all been waiting for – Cape
Horn. Due to the unusually calm seas and clear weather we had a beautiful view
of Cape Horn as well as its monument to the sailors who have died trying to
round the Cape. The monument is built to withstand 100-mile-per-hour plus winds and has had to be replaced once already. The ship we are on – the MS Prinsendam – was hit by two rogue
waves only a few years ago. Over 40 passengers and crew were injured.But not today!
Our captain sent a small launch to the Cape
Horn administrative building with all of our passports to be stamped with a
special stamp by Chilean authorities. While waiting for the launch’s return we
sailed around the Cape, encountering a Norwegian Antarctic Excursion ship
returning to South America. Friendly greetings were exchanged via horns.
Our passports on the way to Cape Horn for special stamps
Chilean media were at the Cape Horn building in anticipation
of tomorrow’s special event – the arrival of the King of Holland to commemorate
the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Cape Horn by Dutch merchant
ships on January 29, 1616.
Enjoying the view of Cape Horn
When we returned to our cabin after our evening activities
we found Cape Horn Certificates acknowledging our journey around Cape Horn.
This was a fitting end to what has been a wonderful ten days in Chile.
Wishing you all “marimari”, which means “May you be well” in
Huilliche. This language is spoken by about 2000 indigenous Chileans. Most
speakers are older adults who are not passing the language on to their
descendants, so the language is expected to become extinct.
No comments:
Post a Comment