The amazing Amalia Glacier, at the end of the Sarmiento Channel in Chile’s Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. Rapidly retreating, it’s part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.
As the clouds shifted, once again, we were blessed with a rainbow.
View over Punta Arenas 
Trinidad
We are currently sailing through the inside passage of Patagonian Chile. Calm and scenic, it’s also cloudy and rainy, and I’m happy we don’t have to go anywhere outside today. I’m happy to simply stare at the passing scenery as it goes by. It’s a good time to catch up on a post about yesterday’s activities.
The Strait of Magellan
When Magellan sailed the Trinidad around the tip of South America and along its western coast, he went ashore at this sandy spot, securing its future for the next few centuries. Punta Arenas (Sandy Point) would become an important and thriving port until the early 20th century and the advent of the Panama Canal.
Today, it’s a community of 120 thousand that has suffered many rough economic times since the port’s prominence diminished. Its colorful buildings make it easier for families to find their homes during the winter months when deep snow blankets the area. Corrugated steel building material helps drain the melting snow in the spring. Winds are so strong here, city managers have ropes tied between light poles so pedestrians can hold on while walking between shops. Thankfully, on this day, the winds were calm.
Fuerte Bulnes 
We journeyed to the Parque del Estrecho (aka Magellan Strait Park) with its Fuerte Bulnes National Historic Monument and museum, located about an hour out of town. We drove the coastal road, passing dozens of beached fishing boats waiting for the fishing season to begin (King Crab season is July 1 – November 30). It’s a narrow and rocky-looking, low coastline, littered with a few of the many shipwrecks for which the area is famously known. In one section along the water’s edge, there are hundreds of small graves, which turned out to be a dog cemetery.
With a former geography professor as our guide, we had a terrific experience focused on the geography, history, environment, flora, and fauna. The historic fort was originally established in1843 and rebuilt a hundred years later. It includes a church, captain’s quarters, jail, powder magazine, stables, and barracks.
We took a really enjoyable walk through the park, learning about the plants along the trail, eventually arriving at Puerto Famine. It was a beautiful setting memorializing a horrific mass casualty in 1587, of an early attempt to establish a Spanish colony. The settlers perished from starvation and the harsh climate. There was only one survivor, eventually found by English Captain Thomas Cavendish, who named the site to memorialize his tragic discovery. On this day, we were welcomed by a spectacular rainbow stretching across the horizon.
The museum was small but had interesting displays about the famous sailing vessels during the age of discovery, the history of colonization, and a lovely photo display about the region’s glaciers.
A light misty rain began to fall as we headed back down the coast to our floating home away from home on the Azamara Quest.
We did make our ship! Our second plane was about two hours late arriving, which put a damper on my Plan B, but at this point, we were very happy to board our ship on time (not everyone was so lucky). We had just enough time for a short walk around downtown before spending a lovely evening on the Azamara Quest.
From Delay to Departure: A Day Along Patagonia’s Edge
Early the next morning, we pulled out for a day-long, chilly journey through the scenic Beagle Channel. The morning clouds and mist lifted as the wind picked up. The reward – a gorgeous blue sky. The dark, craggy Chilean landscape is accentuated by glaciers, pockets of snow, and waterfalls. The narrow Channel is 150 miles long and separates Argentina and Chile, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at the southern tip of South America. As we continued farther up the coast, many of the peaks looked more worn-down and rounded. It surprised us that on one side of the channel, the formations were also greener.
In case you are wondering, it got its name from Charles Darwin’s famous ship, the Beagle, which explored the area from 1833-34.
The reverse of our seasons in the U.S., it’s the end of the summer season here, early fall is starting, and winter is right around the corner. I find that pictures never really do dramatic landscapes any justice, but here are a few.
This is not the first post I hoped to make about this adventure.
I’m excited to be off on a trip from the tip of South America, in Ushuaia, Argentina, cruising along the Chilean coast, and ending in Santiago. I planned a lot of nice activities in Ushuaia ahead of the cruise. But, news-flash, a union-led strike focused on labor reforms has intentionally “paralyzed” the country by shutting down all forms of domestic transportation.
When we checked in for our flight at Miami International Airport, the Aerolineas Argentinas staff was literally whispering to us that there would likely be a strike, and our flight to Ushuaia might be – or was – cancelled. They could not make any adjustments. We had no emails from the airline or updates from the State Department alert service we follow when traveling abroad. And, we had very little time before getting on a 9+ hour flight.
I quickly bought tickets on another flight departing tomorrow (I’ll sort out reimbursements and insurance later) and, after boarding, consulted with our flight crew about hotels before rapidly booking a room at the Marriott closest to the international airport. Whew. That seemed the best course of action. Once we landed in Buenos Aires, we discovered even the ticket counters are shut down until midnight tonight, pretty much everyone is on standby, and any hotel room is now a very hot commodity. The notice of the second flight cancellation arrived a few hours into our first flight. I could get no results from the links provided, and from the size of the crowd at the airport looking for answers, neither could anyone else. Two brave airline employees finally approached the crowd and told everyone to come back 19 hours later, at midnight, when the strike is suppossed to end, and no, they wouldn’t help with any accommodations. A State Department alert appeared almost 12 hours after the strike started, and focused on the huge protests expected in the center of town.
BTW – Aerolineas Argentinas’ business class was one of the very worst we have ever experienced. Incredibly uncomfortable. They only topped Icelandic Air, which holds the bottom spot, because the food was so awful.
So, we have crashed at the Marriott and are thankful we are not trying to sleep on the airport floor.
