Feb 25 - Punta Arenas, Chile (Strait of Magellan)

SANDY SHORE : I’ve heard tale of the Southern Cross… but I don’t recall ever seeing any pictures, so I didn’t know what to look for. Little did I know that the experience would be so visceral for me. Profoundly so… the dramatic coastline of Chile is most impressive; reminiscent of California’s Big Sur coast, but yet more vast. The expansive views offer an emotional surge, one that I was unprepared for. I just stopped and stared and took it in for as long as possible.

I’m not so much moved by the religious significance of the Southern Cross… we all know the legacy of the Catholics and their quest for souls. For me, it’s about the landmark and the sailors who have used this iconic mountain as an inspiration to continue on.

I find perspective in this experience as all at once I feel both enveloped and while I want to say insignificant, I’ll go with, a bigger part of the picture. ~ss

DONNA KAY PHILLIPS : Due to extreme weather conditions we were delayed leaving Ushuaia last night until approx midnight. So there we sat, having arrived back on board as scheduled at 3:30pm, only to watch the smaller Anarctic Cruising and Exploration vessels swiftly back out and take off for the white continent while we remained. Not that Ushuaia wasn't worth a longer stay, but there were Penguins to be seen in Punta Arenas. This delay did not bode well.

We were later told that the weather was so adverse that the Chilean Pilot advised our Captain to stay in Ushuaia until the weather improved. This change in schedule meant that penguins were definitely off the agenda. We had not gone to see Penguins in the prior two ports because we were advised by the Excursion Dir, that Punta Arenas was the best experience by far.

We were to take a ferry for two hours out to the remote island where a number of varieties of Penguins reside. We're heartbroken to have come this far and miss seeing these little guys in their natural habitat. Luckily the ship's videographers got some great footage that we're watching daily on the in cabin TVs.

Another victim of bad weather, a Princess ship traveling around the Horn arrived late in the day to anchor in Ushaia overnight having to abort their trip around the Horn due to conditions worsening since we had done it the day prior. It appears that we just made the window for that part of our adventure, thank goodness.

This morning I can actually use the word "awesome" correctly to describe the sunrise over the glaciers in the Straits of Magellan. We are spending the day "scenic cruising" through the straights viewing some mighty beautiful parts of the world on the way to Punta Arenas. Yes, we are still headed to the port but mainly for two reasons as our arrival will be too late to anchor and tender folks to shore to go on their excursions.

So we will pick up a few supplies and view the town from the ship which is just fine since the channel into Punta Arenas sail right past the Southern Cross. Sorry to say I only know about the Southern Cross because of it's mention in a Crosby, Stills & Nash song about sailing around the world. Put here in honor of one of the Pope's visits, it's quite a stunning site here in this untamed wilderness - "don't it just look so pretty in this disappearing world." ~David Gray, UK singer/songwriter

Along the way there have been sightings of whales, sea lions and plenty of large seabirds. The Chilean Fjords are carved from crystal ice blue glaciers, they rugged, some tree covered and some just bare creviced stone.

Portuguese born Ferdinand Magellan, was first European to navigate these channels in 1520. In 1587, Sir Thomas Drake found the settlements left my Magellan, things had not gone well evidently. Another tale of Europeans not adapting well to the new environment and not joining forces with the Natives to learn.

In 1843 Chile took possession of the channels and until 1914 when the Panama Canal was opened, the Straits of Magellan was the safest known passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The passage is 507 miles long and 1.1 miles wide at the narrowest point. Similar to the inside passage of Alaska.

The weather here is fickle, bitter cold and calm in the morning, bright and sunny in the afternoon and raging wind in the early evening on until morning. Basically a more extreme version of the Monterey Bay. As of this evening, when we make our westward turn out of the Channel, then turning North tomorrow, we will officially have made the final turn and will be headed home. -dkp