Following in the wake of Magellan, Drake and Darwin: Punta Arenas, the Beagle Channel and Cape Horn

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Sunday 25^th January 2015



We have decided to put a map in with this blog, since it is the easiest way to explain our route. From the Amalia Glacier, we entered the Straits of Magellan to the port of Punta Arenas, then came back out into the Pacific again. Ships saved a journey of 380 nautical miles by passing through the Straits, once the route was discovered by Fernando Magellan, rather than going around the treacherous seas of Cape Horn. We have not passed through the Straits from the Pacific to the Atlantic for two reasons, firstly because to “Round the Horn”, was planned to be a highlight of the voyage (which it has been), and secondly because we would get stuck! Our ship is too big! The Atlantic side of the Straits is very narrow. From the Pacific we then entered the outstandingly scenic and beautiful Beagle Channel, heading for Ushuaia in Argentina, and on to the Atlantic, then doubling back to go around the Horn, which is actually back in Chilean waters, before proceeding north easterly out into the Atlantic once more, bound for the Falklands. However, we never docked in Ushuaia yesterday, after all; more of that later.



Punta Arenas is the most southerly city in Chile and stands on the eastern side of the Brunswick Peninsular in the Straits of Magellan, Southern Patagonia. The first inhabitants of this southern wild land, were Indian tribes who came down from Central Patagonia. The Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, but it wasn´t until the nineteenth century that the area started to really develop. Then, in 1914, the Panama Canal opened and this destroyed the economy of the ports in the Magellan Straits. Today, Punta Arenas is a thriving and prosperous city, with a large coal mining industry nearby, as well as tourism. It is a very clean city, with beautifully kept public plazas and gardens. The main square, the “Plaza de Armas” has a statue of Ferdinand Magellan in the centre, as well as artisan stalls selling mostly woollen and wooden goods. The cathedral and the government house occupy the northern side of the plaza, whilst the other three sides also have lovely late nineteenth century buildings. Whilst we were there on Friday, some local folk dancers performed in the square, the sun shone down and we enjoyed a most pleasant morning.



In the afternoon, we took a coach trip to Otway Bay, on the western side of the peninsular, home to a colony of Magellenic Penguins, so called because Magellan was the first European to see them. They are grand little fellows, standing about 35 to 40 cm tall, they are distinguished by a wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of their heads. We only saw about thirty of them because it was an exceptionally hot day, so most of them stayed swimming out in the ocean (several got to the beach after their morning´s fishing, felt the heat, turned around and went straight back into the water). Also, some tourists failed to understand that standing on a lookout tower, or in a hide, screaming and shouting to one´s friends, is not exactly the best way to entice these timid little guys to wade ashore and make their way up the beach! Despite this, it was a wonderful afternoon; it is always a thrill to see wildlife close up, especially birds as entertaining as penguins. We have been lucky to have now seen four different species of penguins (there are sixteen worldwide) and tomorrow we shall see a fifth species. We saw yellow-necked King Penguins as well as little Fairy Penguins in New Zealand, then we swam with Galapagos Penguins in Ecuador, and now we have seen the Magellenics. When we get to the Falklands tomorrow, we shall see Gentoo Penguins at Bluff Cove.



On Saturday, we were due to dock at Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel, in Argentina. Unfortunately, due to exceptionally low tides, “Golden Princess” didn´t have enough clearage to do so safely. The Captain therefore, applied to the Ushuaia authorities for tendering, but this was refused due to adverse weather conditions (high winds). So, instead of this, we had extended scenic cruising along the Beagle Channel. We were disappointed not to visit the southern-most city in the world, but the slow trip along the Beagle Channel made up for it. Despite the misty weather, we enjoyed splendid views of the seven glaciers on the port side, at the very tip of the continent. On the starboard side lay “Tierra del Fuego” the southern island, cut off from the mainland by the Beagle Channel, below which lies Cape Horn. The early settlers named this land “The Land of Fire”, “El Tierra del Fuego” because the native Yamana aboriginal Indians lit many fires to keep warm. They wore few clothes, lacking many materials to make them, so they covered their bodies in animal fat and sat around the fires. The animal skins were needed for snowshoes, rather than clothes. They made very big thick shoes, and they were a tall large race of people anyway, compared to the Spanish at that time, who called them “Big Feet People”. The Spanish word for foot, “pata” is the root of the name “Patagonia”.



The glaciers were sensational! Seven of them along a twenty-seven kilometre stretch of the north shore of the Beagle Channel (which is the southern shore of the continental mainland). In 1833, the Beagle first sailed along this stretch of water, and today we were able to marvel at the beauty of this wilderness, as the young Charles Darwin did before us. Apart from the glaciers, the whole day was a voyage through a wonderland of gushing waterfalls, green waters, snowy peaks and dark wooded gorges on both sides of us, dwarfing our ship into insignificance; we felt humbled by the majesty of Nature. In total, the Beagle Channel is 240 kilometres long and just 5 kilometres wide at its narrowest. To the west, the Darwin Sound connects it to the Pacific Ocean, to the east it flows into the Southern Atlantic. By the time we entered the stretch called "Glacier Alley”, we had travelled 2045 nautical miles from Valparaiso. This is just over half way on our sea voyage, which will be a total of 4064 nautical miles: 5080 miles (1 nautical mile = 1.25 miles) or 7518.4 kilometres (1 nautical mile = 1.85 kilometres).



So, yesterday was yet another spent mostly at the ship´s rail, not wanting to leave it. It was quite tiring, despite being physically inactive, apart from the finger clicking the camera and the hands holding the binoculars to the eyes! What was our reward, apart from the seven glaciers, as if they were not enough? Two Right Whales!!! They were spotted by the Bridge, ahead of the ship and coming towards us, and our captain quickly got on the public address system to announce “Whales on the port side!” Then alongside they came. We were so lucky to be on our balcony at the time to see them. One of these magnificent creatures jumped out of the water several times, rolled on his back with both flippers in the air, and put on a grand show, whether for us or his mate, who knows. What a fortuitous moment! Our photos are not great, we kept missing his leaps and most of the photos are of big splashes, but we include one here anyway, because we are so excited to have seen them.



Today, we “Rounded the Horn”. It is 25^th January, exactly three months since we left our home in Spain on 25^th October 2014, and we are at the furthest point on our travels, at the very southern-most tip of land on earth, apart from Antarctica. So now we are homeward bound for the next three months! Cape Horn is 56 degrees south of the Equator, and 67 degrees west of Greenwich.



We set the alarm and woke up early, just after 5.30 a.m. to a beautiful sunrise, on this our furthest morning south. The ship´s position was 55 degrees and 54 minutes south and 66 degrees and 46 minutes west, near the Barneval Islands, heading south towards Cape Horn. This was most fortunate, because we were able to enjoy the sunrise from our balcony, since we were facing due east, on the port side. We were now in the Southern Ocean. The sea conditions this morning were most unusual, very calm, and the air temperature was 7 °C, which is very warm for dawn at this latitude, even in summer. What changeable weather! Yesterday our itinerary changed due to inclement weather and today we have sunshine and gentle seas in what are generally regarded as the most treacherous seas on the planet! Sailors used to call this place the world´s biggest graveyard.



By 7 a.m. we were heading due west and we could see the Isla de Hornos, the island of Cape Horn. We literally “rounded” the Horn, sailing all the way around the island in an anti-clockwise direction, so keeping it on our port side, until we were heading due east again along Drake´s Passage, south of the Horn. We ordered breakfast in our cabin and spent the next three hours on our balcony; so glad we chose a port-side cabin! After such a balmy start, the weather closed in a bit, with some light rain and a very chill biting wind. Although the air temperature was now still above freezing, at 2°C, the wind chill factor made it feel a lot colder. We were like kids on snowy mornings, we kept running inside to warm our fingers and toes a bit, but then getting back out again as quickly as possible, so that we didn´t miss anything! The ship was going very slowly, just a few knots, so that we had as much time as possible to take photos and use the binoculars. This was possible because the weather was so unusually amenable. As we approached the eastern end of the island, two whales were spotted, too far away for photos with our cameras, but we enjoyed watching them through our binoculars. We were surprised to learn that people live at The Horn; a few families live on the island, and as well as a lighthouse, there is a Chilean naval station there.



So, obviously, Cape Horn isn´t a “cape” at all, it is an island. The early Spanish mariners thought that the whole area was a peninsular, rather than an archipelago, and they named it “Cabo de Hornos” because of the bubbling turbulent waters that most mariners encountered there: “horno” means “oven” in Spanish. Along came the English, heard the word “hornos”, saw that there were two rocks at the western end of the island that looked like two horns, thought that “hornos” was the Spanish word for “horns”, so called it Cape Horn, which it has been called ever since. So “Cape Horn” is not a translation from the Spanish at all, it is “Spanglish”! We Brits are still pretty good at “Spanglish”! Obviously we have had centuries off practice! The eastern end of the island is the furthest point south, although the “horns” are so iconic, one thinks of them as The Horn.



So we were fortunate to see Cape Horn on an unusual day: the ocean calm and the sun shining. It was a great experience. By 9.30 a.m. we were heading away east, and then shortly afterwards our course was set in a north-easterly direction towards the Falkland Islands, some 460 nautical miles away. For most of the day we have still been able to see the coast of Argentina, on our port side, until now, late afternoon, when all we can see is ocean. So we have been in Argentina, although we have yet to set foot on Argentinian soil, then we returned to Chilean waters, and now we are back in Argentina. Our passports all got stamped yesterday, even although we couldn´t go ashore; the Argentinian immigration officers boarded the ship to clear us through and stamp our passports, because we were in their territorial waters. We are due to reach Stanley at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. We have loved Patagonia, wild southern land that it is. We are now heading home; if the forthcoming three months that it will take us to get home, are as rich as the past three, then we shall be two very lucky people indeed.“Adiós Patagonia! Gracias”!

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