Day 3: 23 February Southern Patagonia FITZ ROY EXPEDITION, Brookes Fjord

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Day 3: 23 February



Southern Patagonia FITZ ROY EXPEDITION, Brookes Fjord – We woke to the most magnificent morning with clear, crisp air, with the sun shining. Once I was showered and properly awake, we rugged up before breakfast and clicked madly with the camera. The reflection of the four glaciers was magical. The ripples made by the ship reflected the sun. It was beautiful. We just stood and took it all in.



Finlandia Fjord: In the morning we toured the wonderful Finland and West Finland fjord and Glacier, in an environment of forests and waterfalls, with large ice on the beach. I walked along the foot of the glacier, making sure I didn’t get too close as some of the columns of ice looked very unstable.

The staff served whisky or hot chocolate and cheese which was another lovely touch .... at 10.30 am! The sun continued to shine which was pretty special.

At the front of the ice, we could see the mounds of dirt (moraine) that was pushed by the weight of the glacier. The view from the top was, again, spectacular. I was looking from above the glacier, seeing into the deep crevasse of the columns of ice.



The climb up the side of the glacier (not on the glacier as it was constantly cracking and calving!) was through beautiful, dense Antarctic plants, including bushes that were fruiting. They looked like raspberries. There were amble flowers, moss and lichens. I was scanning the scenery and suddenly heard the sound of calving of ice from the glacier, which was becoming a frequent occurrence. There were 2 girls standing close to the face of the glacier on the beach, where it was breaking off. They ran, wondering how close the ice would come. Fortunately, all was well.



After climbing down to the beach, our guides had morning tea ready, spread out on a small table. The choices were beer, whisky or hot chocolate and a variety of tasty cheeses and biscuits. Wonderful! Tom had whisky and I chose beer. It was then time to return to the ship. The weather remained beautiful.



In the afternoon we visited the Auer fjord, till we got to the Runeberg Glacier in its head. In the afternoon we sailed towards the Gabriel Channel, a long, narrow stretch of water joining the Almirantazgo sound & Strait of Magellan. The scenery on both sides of the channel was spectacular.

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Photos

Brooks Fjord
The water reflections were awesome! Does the heart good.