Day 6&7, 26 & 27 February, Southern Patagonia FITZ ROY EXPEDITION, Carlos III Island - Aguila Bay AND HOME!

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Day 6&7, 26 & 27 February, Southern Patagonia FITZ ROY EXPEDITION, Carlos III Island - Aguila Bay: We began the dry, slightly overcast morning touring the Kaweskar National Park, on the island of Santa Ines, which has a beautiful fjord called Helado Sound. Whilst in the zodiacs, in its background we appreciated the imposing Sarmiento and Helado Glaciers

We went on shore at the foot of the Helado Glacier to get some close-up photos and so that the photographers could use their tripods to catch the depth of the ice caves we were gazing upon. It was beautiful.

Having the time to and look at all the shapes and patterns in the glacier was beautiful and very special. For morning tea on the shore, we were offered whisky or chocolate milk, another wonderful touch.

On the way back to the ship, we observed Gulls, Kelp geese, sea lions, Imperial and Royal Cormorants. We saw the sea ions sliding off the rocks from their hiding positions in the cave of the rock.

During the afternoon we continued looking for whales in the Shag Passage, and then at approximately 6 pm, we will sail towards Aguila Bay.

Day 7, 27 February, Southern Patagonia FITZ ROY EXPEDITION, Aguila Bay to Punta Arenas: We landed in Aguila Bay, used between 1905 and 1915 by the Magellan Whaling Society, a company of Punta Arenas dedicated to whaling for a decade. A part of the pier, a boiler and whale bones are mute witnesses of the whaling industry in this area.

Here we began the walk to reach the southernmost lighthouse on the American continent; San Isidro Lighthouse (1904). The very easy walk took about two hours between the coast and the evergreen forest. Francesco stopped regularly to tell us about the vegetation we were seeing. We saw a male and female woodpecker, pecking hard at the trees. The male had a brilliant red head and the female a red collar.

After walking around 2 coves and through the forest, we climbed up the headland to the lighthouse, nearly being blown off the point as the gusts were incredibly strong. The lighthouse gave us some shelter. We saw several whales down in the cove below feeding on the ample phytoplankton.

The lighthouse is now powered by solar power. After walking around the lighthouse, seeing 2 small white crosses in memory of 2 children who died at the lighthouse, we walked along the beach to a small, simple building which was a ‘resort’ occupied by a couple. The building had a fireplace and plenty of lounge chairs from which one could look out through the large glass windows.

After visiting the lighthouse, we returned aboard the MV Forrest. We used the zodiac for only the 50 metres to get to the gangplank, as the ship sailed right up to the beach. We were wondering if it was going to get stuck in the sand, but the captain knew what he was doing. The water became deep very quickly from the beach.

Again, we had a beautiful lunch with wine provided. Catherine, our French travel colleague, organised for the 2 chefs to come out of their kitchen so that we could thank them. The food had been superb.

We started to sail to Carreras Bay after lunch, giving us plenty of time to pack our bags and to make sure we exchanged our travel companions contact details etc.

It had been a wonderful 7 days, surrounded by beautiful scenery, seeing many, many animals, birds and of course humpback whales. Francesco, with his incredible memory and knowledge of the local natural environment and Luis, with his hospitality, vivacious, friendly personality and a perfect host, they complemented each other magnificently. The staff had also been incredible, ensuring we never went hungry, we were never without drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, helping with loading and unloading the zodiacs and occasionally coming on shore with us.

We did our farewells to our new-found friends after we were picked up in minivans at 3.30 pm where our ship journey had commenced. The bus took us back to the Plaza Hotel, a lovely family-style hotel.

That evening we went to dinner with Catherine ensuring we chose a seafood speciality restaurant. We had not had a bad seafood dish the whole 4 weeks we had been away.

We rang Kerrie and Gemma as we had read Kerrie’s messages that she was home with Gemma who had a viral infection. We had not been connected to Wi-Fi for 7 days so we had many emails and Facebook messages to download.

So our 4 weeks away has come to an end and as usual, when this stage is reached, our mind turns to the excitement of being home. As always, we have learned so much more about the countries we visit. The last 7 days has been an opportunity to hear the real Chilean lifestyle, their struggles and their pleasures with living in Chile. Investment and superannuation as well as the dominating force of a centralised government in Santiago causes the struggles but the beautiful environment and all its natural features are the incredible pleasures the local people enjoy and share with their visiting tourists like us. THANK YOU CHILLEANS!

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Photos

Whales in Shag Sound
I caught a rainbow as the whale 'blew'

Tom & Pierre at Aguila Bay - Helado Glacier
Cheers!!

Aguila Bay - Our group in front of Sarmiento Glacier
Our small group of fellow travellers