Chilean Fjords - take 2

I am absolutely thrilled to have had this chance to cruise the Chilean fjords again for a couple of days. As I mentioned on the previous leg, there is something primal and Tolkienesque about the landscape and this time I would add “lunar-like” to the reference. The islands are the remains of a massive coral reef that once thrived in the tropical waters off the Chilean coast. Yes, tropical. The Chilean coast was a calm tropical sea about 300 million years ago and there are thousands of these small islets remaining. Over a period of eons the wind and rain that pummel the islands relentlessly dissolves the rock and there is a vast network of subterranean tunnels, chambers and sinkholes beneath the islands’ limestone surfaces. Traces of ancient people have been found in the islands but little is known of the now-extinct Alakaluff nomads. To us, in this time, it feels as though it has never been inhabited and the atmosphere attracts my explorer mentality in a very meaningful way. The fjords are fed by glacial ice from the sprawling ice fields in the central highland valley. We see powerful “shows” (of ice in the water) as we pass by and these evidence the fact that the ice is melting at an alarmingly rapid rate. Just a little more than a century ago, when Darwin saw these narrow Chilean passages, he reported far more glacial ice. Warming cycles are natural, but it does appear to scientists that human activity has accelerated the process. This morning we went to a talk from the Captain, Exec Officer and Restaurant Manager and questions were asked about the Antarctic cruises that this ship takes at times. The captain’s description of 7 days cruising the Antarctic Archipelago, even without a port of call, makes me want to put that on my ‘bucket list’. Such a long list it’s become! Tomorrow we will be in Puerto Montt (our last port before we dock in Valparaiso again next Tuesday) where I plan to visit Petrohue Falls, Osorno Volcano and more of the Chilean countryside. The fjords will be left behind but I feel superbly blessed to have had this experience of being with one of the planet’s most inaccessible, pristine and stunning places. Its beauty is certainly one of the highlights of this trip. We are entering the open Pacific shortly so I think it’s time for my daily trek on the promenade deck for some exercise and to see if there may be some more photo ops, just may be. Love to all, Sally xoxo