Saturday - February 09, 2008

Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan, which offers a passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, was discovered in 1520 by Ferdinand Magellan. We were supposed to traverse this Strait at night after a day ashore in Punta Arenas,  but because the high winds wouldn't allow us to tender ashore, we now had the opportunity to do the passage in the daylight. Apart from the fact that we were going to miss our last chance to visit a penguin colony, I think we got the better of the deal. 

Most of the passengers stayed inside and watched the scenery from the window seats, but we decided to dig out the cold weather clothes, bundle up, and brave the elements. The winds were howling across the decks and the sun would come and go, as would the rain showers, but the best place to be was out on the Sun deck at the Funnel Bar where you could find shelter from the wind and a glass of something to fortify you. 

The scenery was quite incredible. At times I thought I was sailing along the coast of Scotland, at other times it felt like we were sailing through the Norwegian fjords. Some people said they saw penguins on shore, but I missed them. There were also dolphin pods and whales and a lot of albatrosses. But the most wonderful sights were the Andes mountains with their massive glaciers that were so large they were easily seen with the naked eye. 

If the photos included in this segment seem a bit out of focus, keep in mind that the wind was blowing so strongly that I needed one hand to hold the camera, one hand to grip the rail, and another hand to hang onto my knickers! 

Near the end of the day, just as we were about to go in to get ready for dinner, we were rewarded with a complete rainbow off the bow of the ship. So we not only benefited from the silver lining today, we also got the pot of gold.