Glaciers and Bergie Bits

I had always wondered what it would be like to stand at 'the edge of the world'. Now I know. We are currently cruising through the Steno Eyre Fjord at the southern tip of Chile. We nestled up close to a glacier this morning, and lo and behold, the fog and rain lifted, the sun came out and we were treated to a spectacular display of blue ice and glacier green water. Actually, the water is a very distinct color from the ocean water because of all the glacial flour in it. Glacial flour is the fine powdered rock that results from the glaciers grinding down the mountains. Quite spectacular.

We are travelling very close to the shores in the these fjords. The captain has said there are two pilots on board and will be for the next couple of days. I am hoping they know these waters well, as thoughts of the Costa boat have been going through my mind!

We have passed ice bergs and bergie bits....the little pieces of ice bergs that float merrily along. The naturalist onboard told us we are seeing only 15% of the bergs....the other 85% is under water. I went out on deck this morning as we approached the glacier and it was quite eerie.....fog, rain, mist and groaning sounds coming from under the boat. I don't know if we were scraping past ice or not, but no-one seemed too concerned, so I wasn't either.

The land formations look like giant pieces of coal jutting high into the sky. These mountains are very rugged, with little vegetation, but lots of waterfalls. All in all, a most spectacular place to be.

Tomorrow we remain onboard as we 'visit' the Amalia glacier. Then it's on to Punte Arenas, where we are booked to visit a penquin colony. It will involve going over dirt trails in what we've been told will be primitive vehicles, so it should be interesting.

The 'big event', rounding Cape Horn, happens on Sunday for about 3 hours in the late afternoon. I made the comment to someone that I hoped we'd have a storm as we rounded. He told me to be careful of what I wished for, as this ship, Crystal Serenity, had a couple of windows broken out the last time it rounded. I guess the waves were 45 feet then. I have since revised my hope for calm seas!