Our first southern glacier

Today is our second sea day on our nearly 1,000 mile sail down to Punta Arenas.  Last night’s 8 foot seas caused the ship to creak just like movies of a haunted ship.  No one seemed concerned so we pretended to ignore the noise.  We were delighted to see that the Captain left the Pacific Ocean and headed into the interior network of glacial-cut fjords where the water was calm and the surrounding snow-caped mountains beautiful.  The outside temperature keeps getting colder and everyone is starting to bundle up.  A note to Mark’s Arizona friends who see him 352 days a year in shorts:  He is wearing jeans however, there are a couple of guys still wearing short pants on the outside decks.

We are traveling through the Sarmiento Channel, a principal Patagonia channel which extends in a north-south direction and is located in Magallanes Chilena Region.  The kewesqar peopled sailed its waters from around 6,000 years ago until the end of the 20th center. There is a chain of mountains in the middle of Esperanza Isled with elevations between 900 and 3,000 feet. To the eastof Collingwood Strait rises the Cordillera Sarmiento, which is a heavily ice- and snow-covered mountain range with majestic glaciers descending to the sea.  Information in this paragraph is courtesy of the daily Herald the ship provides which includes information about the areas in which we are traveling.

Our first southern glacier, El Brujo Glacier, did not disappoint.  The captain had said we would be at the glacier at 8:30 am, so we set the alarm for 7:00 am to be sure we didn’t miss it.  The expedition team was available outside on the bow of deck 6 to answer any questions.  It was definitely worth the cold and wind to experience the ice in the water and the beautiful glacier.  The team ice expert showed us where this glacier is receding.  Notice how craggy and broken the surface is.

The blue color of the glacier was very different than the glaciers we saw in Alaska.  For those curious (Elliott), blue is the natural color of hydrogen and oxygen combination that makes water (H2O).  Color waves penetrate water.  The denser the ice, the fewer other color waves can penetrate.  Thus, the denser the glacial ice, the bluer you see.

Sea ice

We are seeing more sea ice in the water. Now that we are back in the fjords, the seas have calmed down.  Standing out on the deck, you can hear the water lapping against the ship – such a soothing, hypnotic sound. Here is a view from our veranda without using any zoom.  The Captain maneuvered the ship in this relatively small cove like someone driving an eight-foot runabout.  Quite impressive.

View from our room

One thing about our last post that we forgot to include.  In the galley tour we were offered caviar and Champaign.  Mark wisely chose to pass on the caviar.  Margo does not care for caviar but thought she would give it one more try. Bad choice.    She couldn’t find any place to trash it, so ~gulp~ she ate it all in one bite. 

Our trivia team has dropped to fourth place due to an exceptionally bad day on everyone’s part.  We have spent much of the day in the forward observation bar enjoying the winding trip through the narrow fjords.  This entire area is part of the Patagonia coast of Chile and is just exquisite.  The staff is setting up for afternoon tea.  Today’s theme is “chocaholic” so we will certainly attend.

On one final note, we want to point out every meal features a new white and a red wine.  Everyone who knows Margo is well familiar with her reputation as a wine snob.  Well, there has only been one bottle of red that she rejected, even though the rest of the ship’s passengers liked it.  Congratulations to Seabourn’s sommelier.