March 9 – 10 the Beagle Channel, mountains, fjords and the Garibaldi Glacier

 

The weather was still looking pretty grim so we dived back into the protection of the Beagle Channel. We retraced our steps past Puerto Williams and Ushuaia and then navigated further west. It was glorious sailing past snow-capped mountains the slopes of which were densely wooded with beech forests, on passed deep narrow valleys and blue glaciers weeping into the Channel, and all the while waterfalls tumbled all around us. 

There were some interesting distractions such as lectures one of which was quite interesting about the Patagons, the southernmost inhabitants of the world and about one of the native people of the southern Terra del Fuego, the Yagan, the aquatic people who spent their time on the water hunting for sea mammals and birds. Like so many native people of the world, colonialists were their ultimate demise.

The next day still sailing along the Beagle Channel we turned into and cruised along the narrow arm of the Garibaldi Fjord. At the end of the fjord we came hard up against the towering craggy blue face of the Garibaldi glacier spilling out of the Darwin Range on the Terra del Fuego Island – we were still a fair way south.

Brought face to face with this titan of blue ice, the zodiacs were launched and we went cruising among the chunks of ice. The central stripe of moraine shows that this glacier is in fact two glaciers merged into one. Concerned about a calving, the zodiac drivers kept well away from the face of the glacier only to find another one oozing down a side crevasse.  Quite stunning.

This is Alexandre, one of our guides. He is an historian

Another glacier coming in from the side.

This shows how this glacier has receded and grown over the years. 

Evenings there is always ‘entertainment’ which we often don’t attend. The majority of the passengers are French and when anything is being translated into English the French just talk over it (loudly). Just seems pointless to be there. Added to that, the ‘entertainment’ is held in the main salon which can accommodate about 100 people max. Beats me on a ship that can carry over 200!?