THE BEAUTY OF BEAGLE CHANNEL...NAMED AFTER DARWIN'S BOAT, THE BEAGLE
It's official. We've rounded Cape Horn
and we are now entitled to wear a gold earring in our ear and to eat
dinner with our feet on the table. Or at least, if we were sailors of
old, that would be the honor bestowed to us in rounding the Cape
without incident. We cruised down the Magellan Straits and the Beagle
Channel. I had thought the captain was taking the easy route because
of possible high seas on the outside, but our table mate who was a
ship's captain from Holland said “no”, that was not the easy
route, but was a very difficult route because of rocks, icebergs, and
very narrow passageways. It was the scenic route and the scenic route
was spectacular.
We saw hanging glaciers that defy
description. We saw millions of seabirds that wheeled about the boat
and swooped down to the sea. We saw huge rock pillars rising out of
the sea that were covered in bird guana. We saw waterfalls that fell
hundreds of meters, with few if any people to appreciate their
beauty.
It's a wild land, with jagged rocks and
harsh, barren islands. We saw the occasional shelter/hut that may be
used for scientific expeditions or maybe for fishermen. But, we
didn't see any people at all. At the very tip of Capo de Hornos (Cape
Horn), there is a working lighthouse that is manned by a Chilean man
and his family. If you want to visit, or if they want to visit you,
the only way in and out is by helicopter. Or, if you are very lucky
and the sea is calm, by boat. But then you have to climb almost 300
stairs to get to the top of the cliff where their house is perched.
They have to be self-sufficient for periods of up to 3 months at a
time, as they are often storm-stayed for that long. A couple of times
a year a teacher comes out for several weeks to teach and to leave
lesson plans behind for the children. It must be quite a lifestyle
for the family.
The rounding of the Cape itself took us
almost two hours. I was disappointed because the waves were not more
than 3 metres.....but most people were really happy that the rounding
was so smooth. One woman I spoke with said this was the fourth time
she had attempted to round the Horn, and was the first time the
conditions were favorable enough to do it. The maitre de' at our
table said that in the dozen times he has rounded the Horn, this was
far and away the easiest. Even at its easiest, it wasn't difficult to
imagine the tremendous forces at work as the three oceans met....the
Atlantic, the Pacific, and the undercurrent from the Antarctic. We
saw a map today that highlighted all the ship wrecks at Cape Horn and
there are dozens and dozens. There are many bones beneath those
waves.
Today and tomorrow we are in Ushuaia,
which is in Argentina. We spent the day walking around town and
visiting the museum. We were taking a beer break in the Irish Pub
when we were told by one of the ship's employees (also taking a beer
break) that the port had closed down operations for some unknown
reason and we couldn't get back on the ship. They had been waiting to
do so for two hours already. Nothing to do but sit and drink beer.
Tough life. But, the port authorities opened up operations a couple
of hours later and we arrived back on ship in fine form.
Tomorrow, we have booked a private tour
of the National Park, including travelling on the End of the World
railway. We will be dressed for sun, rain, snow and wind.
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