Photos to be added
Day 73 – Boarding the cruise
We had already spotted the cruise ship from the shore and were pleased with its appearance from a distance. After a short queue we were heading up the gangway and boarded into a nice reception area where we handed over our passports and were shown to our allocated cabins where our luggage was waiting for us. We had been upgraded from a AA cabin, on the middle deck, to a AAA cabin, on the top deck, immediately next-door to the captain’s suite. The cabin was surprisingly spacious with a double bed and room at each side. The bathroom had a large shower and was about 4 times the size of the bathroom we had had on the Galapagos boat. The main feature of each cabin was a full length window which allowed you to see the world passing by.
It was small as cruise ships go: just one hundred cabins over three decks – no theatres or swimming pools – it was very comfortable and very new, having entered service in March 2018. It was also specialised for a form of expedition cruising and carried six large Zodiacs – rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) – which were craned from the top deck down onto the sea several times a day for waterborne expeditions. The back of the boat was designed for the speedy and safe embarkation and disembarkation of the whole complement of passengers on and off the Zodiacs. It had an identical sister ship – the Stella Australis, and the two ships served the same three day / four night route between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas – so that, when one was in one port, the other was in the other – crossing paths every three days or so in the middle of the cruise.
At 19:00, there was a cocktail reception in the Darwin lounge, at which the captain welcomed us, and introduced us to the officers and guides who would be looking after us for the next few days, or so. Then there was an introduction to the ship, its schedule, and safety procedures for the cruise generally and for the Zodiacs in particular. We were informed that there would be no emergency drill during the cruise since we would be donning life jackets, and boarding the Zodiacs on a daily basis anyway. While we were having the briefing, the ship slowly slid out of port without any fuss. After the briefing finished, most people went out on deck to watch Ushuaia recede into the distance.
At 20:30, we were called to the dining room to receive table assignments and have dinner. We were at a table for four, with a slightly older Swiss couple – Felix and Danniella – with whom we got on extremely well. The food and wine were the excellent. We always had a choice of starters and mains, and the crew knew that I was vegetarian and always provided a great alternative. There was a Canadian family of three at the next table, with an eight year old called Maxwell. We had been told by Monica and Salvador that they had a Canadian family staying who were also going on our cruise so I quickly deduced this was them and introduced ourselves.
Later, we went out on deck to take some photographs – it stays light very late at these latitudes. The ship was anchored, and we were surprised to see the lights of Ushuaia still in the distance – we didn’t seem to have gone very far. This was because, we had entered Chilean waters, and the Chillian authorities were onboard, checking passports and other official paperwork. We had left Argentina, after three wonderful weeks, and were officially in Chile. Later, the ship started moving again – towards Cape Horn.
Wednesday 12 – Day 74 – Vestus Australis – Cape Horn and Wulaia Bay
That morning we had an early expedition scheduled – to Cape Horn – so we got up and dressed in all our warm layers, and went for the “Early Bird Breakfast” – coffee and croissants in the Sky Lounge – at 06:30am.
The weather was grey, and traces of snow were blowing past our cabin window. We had been warned during the previous evening’s briefing that, in line with its reputation, the conditions at the Cape were very unpredictable, and that the crew would attempt to go ashore and assess them at about 06:45, and then we would informed via the PA system whether we were able to board the Zodiacs, or go back to bed. As it happened, the sea was relatively smooth although the wind was quite strong, we were told it was ok to land.
So, around 07:00, we donned our life jackets; hung our cabin numbers in the special box, to say we were going off board; rinsed the soles of our shoes in disinfectant, and queued to board a Zodiac using the “cha-cha-cha” technique (foot on the ship; foot on the rubber; foot in the zodiac) and special handshake (hands to forearms) that we learned in the Galapagos – only this time, if you fell in, the water would be a lot colder. Once, safely loaded, each Zodiac tore off at speed towards the Cape.
Much to our surprise, Cape Horn turned out to be an island, and not a very big one. Although it is the most southerly land considered to be part of South America, it is in fact is just the most southerly island of a large archipelago that includes Tierra del Fuego and many other islands that cluster around the tip of South America and which, along with the convoluted outline of the mainland, make it a navigational nightmare even today.
At the end of the landing stage, there were steps. Many steps, which climbed up to the top of the cliffs that souring the island on all sides. At the top, it was very bleak and very windy. There were a few weather-beaten buildings, and, in the distance in one direction, a large memorial sculpture, and in another direction, a lighthouse. Joining the top of the steps to these two points were wooden boardwalks with handrails. There was nothing to do but put your head down into the wind and go have a look.
For us this was not a highlight of the cruise – it was bleak, cold, and windy, but some people had been waiting years to go to Cape Horn and loved it. Later on in the week, our dinner companion Felix said he had always wanted to go to Cape Horn, and it had been a thrill for him to be there. As well as visiting a memorial and statue we also got to look inside the lighthouse which is still manned to this day.
Returning to the ship was a reverse process of leaving it. By 09:00, we were back in the warmth of our cabin on the Australis changing out of our expedition clothes ready for a full breakfast. around mid morning there was a briefing on the next days activities followed by a leisurely lunch as we sailed to our next destination.
During the late morning and early afternoon, we cruised northwards to the island of Navarino and Wulaia Bay, where we dropped anchor. At 15:00, we assembled on the boat deck for an expedition ashore. It was still cloudy, but the sun kept breaking through and there was no threat of rain. When we got ashore, we were divided into groups, by language, and assigned a guide – we got Alicia; a young Chilean woman, who was a graduate in Environmental Science, and divided her working life between cruises and guiding in the Torres del Paine National Park. She took us a hike up through the forest to a mirador high up above the bay. The track was steep in places and had ropes either side to assist. At regular intervals she stopped to explain the flora and fauna; the geography and geology; and the anthropology of the indigenous peoples of the region, who had been decimated by colonists in one way or another over the centuries until there was only one surviving person today. Eventually, we came out at the mirador with fantastic views over the bay and surrounding mountains, and the Australis anchored below. On returning to the beach, we were served hot chocolate and whiskey, and had the opportunity to look around a small museum.
On returning to the Australis, we had an hour or so to get changed and smarten up, before they fed us again. This time Barrie had chosen a steak, and, when it was presented to me, it was a top-quality and beautifully cooked piece of meat, we could see that Felix was regretting his choice of king crab pasta. He was so envious, that after he had finished his pasta, he sweet-talked the waiter into bringing him a spare steak before having his desert!
Overnight, we cruised around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the Gabriel, Magdalena, and Cockburn channels, and then headed eastward along the Beagle channel.
Thursday 13 – Day 75 – Vestus Australis – Pia Glacier and Garibaldi Glacier
We awoke to find the Australis cruising up the Pia Fjord, which is located beside the northwest arm of Beagle Channel, on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego. By the time we got up, we had anchored, and the Pia Glacier was enormous and framed in our cabin window.
We got up and went for breakfast at 08:00, then prepared for an expedition to the Pia at 09:00. We boarded the Zodiacs and went ashore on a rock shelf adjacent to the bottom of the glacier. Once again, we were divided into groups by language, and our guide was Alicia. We then climbed a steep, rocky track up a stream through a forest of dwarf trees, adjacent to the flank of the glacier, to a mirador that gave stunning views over both the fjord and the surrounding mountains.
The head of Pia Fjord actually has two glaciers, the main one down upon which we were looking is a tide water glacier – the glacier terminus reaches the ocean – and is very active and has many carving events; and the other is above sea level, is gradually retreating, and is so covered with glacial till (rocky material eroded and carried by the ice in the glacier) that is hard to recognise it as a glacier at first. Both are embedded in the Darwin range of mountains. No one knows for certain how the Pia got its feminine name, but one theory says it was named for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the Italian king.
From our vantage point, we could hear and see occasional calving events, in which huge vertical masses of ice were peeling away from the face of the glacier, collapsing, and crashing into the sea with a noise like thunder, leaving brilliant white ‘scars’. We stayed for some time, listening and watching for calving events, and taking pictures, while Alicia explained the physics and climatology of glacial expansion and contraction.
On our return, we took a different path and came closer to the bottom of the glacier. As we waited for the Zodiacs to arrive, Barrie wondered off as normal to take photographs by the sea and was swiftly told off by the guide. He didn’t really understand why, until we were about to load the Zodiacs a little later. There was a sudden and large calving event, and the Zodiacs, which had all been waiting bow on to the beach, suddenly took to the sea again and turned bow on to the glacier to wait for the for the consequent mini-tsunami that followed shortly after. If someone was too near the sea when that happened, they could easily be swept away.
That afternoon, there was a choice of going on a “difficult” hike up a stream to a waterfall, of staying on the ship and approaching close to the Garibaldi Glacier a little further down the Beagle channel, without disembarking. After lunch, Maxwell’s mum approached us to ask which option we were taking, and we said that we were staying on board. This was what she was hoping, as she then asked whether we would look after Maxwell while she and her husband did the waterfall hike. We agreed.
After lunch, the hikers departed in the Zodiacs, and we settled down to entertain Maxwell, who turned out to be a child genius. This eight year old taught us a card game, which he then proceeded to thrash us both at, whilst keeping track of the convoluted scoring system in his head. We were relieved when the ship approached the glacier, when we went out on deck to admire and take photographs of it, and have a break from intellectual humiliation at the hands of an eight year old.
The Garibaldi is another vast sheet of ice with a vertical front face, and along with the Perito Morano, is one of the only glaciers in South America, from around 50, that is gaining mass. Furthermore, because the front face is very stable, the Australis was able to slowly navigate through the ice flows to within a few hundred meters of the front face – indeed at one point it felt as if the ship wasn’t going to stop.
That evening, as we cruised along, the sun came out and turned the forbidding peaks around the fjords gold with deep purple shadows. Over night, the ship navigated down the Cockburn channel, into the Pacific briefly, and then into Agostini sound, where it dropped anchor.
Friday 14 – Day 76 – Vestus Australis – Agostini Sound – Condor Glacier & Aguila Glacier
That morning I was feeling unwell – possibly caused by too much rich food – and decided to stay in bed, while Barrie joined the Zodiac-based expedition to the Condor Glacier.
The Condor Glacier is situated at the end of a narrow, slightly bendy fjord, with sheer cliffs on both sides. The Australis is too big to enter the fjord and remained outside, and the bends in the fjord prevented the glacier from being see from the vessel. Five Zodiacs tore down the fjord towards the glacier, which came into view gradually as we got nearer. It was narrow, and very steep and high – basically a waterfall of ice rather than a river of ice. At one side, a large waterfall of meltwater from the underside of the glacier poured into the fjord. The Condor is really stable and the Zodiacs were able to go really close to it and we were appreciate the towering majesty of the pinnacles and crevasses that defined its profile against the sky.
After returning to the ship and we joined a tour of the ships engine rooms and utility areas.
Later the ship was repositioned in the Agostini Sound for the afternoon’s expedition – a walk around the terminal lagoon of the Aquila Glacier. The Zodiacs performed a beach landing and we were again divided into groups according to language. Once again our guide was Alicia, she led us in what was basically a stroll along the beach, up along the edge of the river of meltwater, and around the shore of the terminal lagoon of the glacier. As usual, she explained the flora and fauna, and the geography and geology as we went.
Each glacier is different, and the Aquila is a bit of a character. Bunched up behind a wall of rocks that it itself has created, it squats fat and misshapen, with a large ice cave in one side. Back at the beach, we were served the usual hot chocolate and whiskey despite the fact that the we weather was really rather warm. Maxwell was trying to get the hot chocolate lady to put some whiskey in his too.
Overnight, we cruised down the Magdelena channel and back into the strait of Magellan, anchoring off Magdalena island.
Saturday 15 – Day 77 – Vestus Australis – Magdalena island – Punta Arenas and Torres del Paine
That morning we had an early expedition scheduled – to Magdelena Island to see the penguins – so we got up and went for the “Early Bird Breakfast” at 06:30. At 07:00, we boarded the Zodiacs and went ashore, disembarking at a permanent jetty.
In order to protect the penguins from undue stress, visitors have to follow a defined circuit around the island, and are not allowed to stray from the path. Visitors should also avoid bunching together to allow the penguins space to cross the path, and if a penguin does cross the path, one has to yield to them.
We were disappointed that we weren’t going to see penguins on ice flows – as shown on a BBC wildlife show – as the island was covered in grass and wildflowers at this time of year. Instead here the male penguins dig their nests in the soil and then the female inspects it and approves or not before laying her eggs. We spent an hour strolling around the island trying to take the most artistic and endearing pictures of the penguins and their behaviours, the babies were particularly cuddly. Anyway, we took LOTS of photos, hoping to have a National geographic moment
At about 08:30, we were reluctantly rounded up; loaded back onto the Zodiacs; and delivered back to the Australis for breakfast. This was supposed (spoiler alert) to be our last meal with Felix and Daniella and we exchanged contact details with them and said goodbye.
Then it was back to the cabin for final packing, before gravitating up to the Darwin Lounge for our approach to Punta Arenas. Most of the passengers were up there, having surrendered their cabins to the housekeeping teams for cleaning. Many took their last opportunity to exploit the free bar, or went out on deck to take pictures. We were in the later group.
It was a bright sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Whilst taking a picture, Ingrid stumbled and her camera went over the rail, and fell, about four metres onto the deck below. Much to our surprise, after the application of some sticky tape, it still worked – although the viewfinder was jammed shut, it was usable.
Meanwhile, our progress towards port seemed to have stalled. We were about a kilometre offshore, and had made a few changes of course, but no decisive attempt to get any closer. A brisk offshore wind was stiffening and lifting lots of spray off the swells, and whichever way the ship turned it listed toward the leeward side. A pilot launch came out and tied up alongside leeward, but no pilot boarded the ship. Instead, the pilot ship seemed to be trying to push the bow into the wind and physical assist us into port. We got to within about five hundred meters of the dock, but then the pilot launch disengaged and returned to port. Some of the guides came up to the lounge and informed us that the wind was peaking at 55 knots and we could only dock if it was less than 50. We would have to wait until the wind dropped.
At this point we were dismayed as we had arranged for a hotel driver to pick us up at 13:30 in central Punta Arenas, and it was already about 12:00, so it was looking dicey. The reason that we were so concerned was that the drive to the hotel was about 500km, and getting a taxi wasn’t really an option, so we got ship’s reception to ring the hotel for us and confirm that the driver would wait.
Over the next hour, the wind increased until it was gusting at 70 knots, and the ships crew announced that while we waited, lunch would be served in the dining room at 13:00. So we did get to dine with Felix and Daniella again after all. After lunch however, the wind had miraculously dropped to a stiff breeze, and two tugs came out to ease the Australis into port – in a space between two other ships that was just big enough. We had to wait about thirty minutes after docking before we could disembark, but we made sure we were two of the first down the gangway.
We got to the hotel from which we were going to be picked up at about 15:20, and, after ringing the hotel again, the driver turned up about 16:00 in a brand new twelve seater mini-bus – we were his only passengers. .