They Cruise... the Chilean Fjords
We spent four nights on the Ventus Australis from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas. The beauty was unforeseeable: Cape Horn, Glaciers, Penguins, and the calm (sometimes rocky) waters.
Cape Horn
A very windy and cold headland on an island known as Hornos, our guide advised us that last year, only 60% of the boats were able to dock due to rough waters. We were very fortunate and made it on. This place was named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands due to being first discovered by a Dutchman named Willem Schouten. Ian watched a documentary highlighting just how dangerous it was to sail through this area - many shipwrecks occurred. The Chilean Navy always has a Captain and his family stay on the island for a full year. When we met the daughter of the current Captain, we couldn’t help but express to our fellow passengers how hard it must be to live on a remote island in the middle of anywhere as a teenager! Apparently, the last family that stayed only lasted 3 months due to the teenage daughter feeling so isolated from all her friends.
We walked up ~260 steps to the top and saw the Cape Horn Monument: a statue with the sillhouette of an albatross in memory of all the fallen sailors. For us, we enjoyed the views (and the wind). In the span of 30 minutes, we experienced all seasons: sunshine, rain, wind, and sleet. What a way to welcome us into this part of Patagonia!
Wulaia Bay
Most famous for being where Charles Darwin visited in 1833 during his voyage on the HMS Beagle, it also used to be the home of an indigenous group known as the Yamanas. We hiked our way up to a lookout and along the way, we saw a beaver dam and heard the sounds of wild boars. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see these small, brown creatures! When we made it up top, this was the amazing view in front of us:
Pia Glacier
This glacier is approximately the same size as Santiago! It continues to advance each year taking over the forests next to us, but is also shrinking from up top. Our guide mentioned that he has felt the changes of climate where the weather used to cap at 3-4 Celsius in November, but now it gets to 5 Celsius. While these 1-2 degrees seems minor, it is actually quite significant. Our hike was much more demanding here but well worth it for the beautiful views as well.
Garibaldi Fjord
This fjord is apparently double the size of Pia Glacier. Our boat docked right in front of it for us to enjoy the views. I stood outside and enjoyed the scenery while Ian went on a waterfall hike in the nearby area.
Aguila Glacier
We had a lovely shoreside walk to Aguila Glacier on the morning of Day 4. It was here that we were up close and personal with a large piece of the glacier. I held it in my hand and it was so clear. A couple of ladies actually put some in a plastic bag and enjoyed this glacier ice with their whiskey later that night on the boat.
Condor Glacier
For our final glacier, we went on the little boats called Zodiacs and cruised our way even closer to the glacier. This one even had a small waterfall just bursting out and hitting our faces at time due to the wind. Even at this point, we couldn’t get enough of the natural beauty.
