Chilean Fjords and Strait of Magellan (December 27th and 28th)

After the visit to the volcanoes, it was time again for some sea days. However, this time the scenery was much more interesting as we passing through the Chilean Fjords as we made our way through the Strait of Magellan. Can you imagine navigating this maze of inlets (although of course in the opposite direction) in 1520s, before GPS and satellite image maps? Here we encountered numerous salmon fisheries that provide for a substantial part of the local economy. I also very much enjoyed watching albatrosses follow our ship. I have never before seen these majestic, iconic birds. They served as our unofficial ambassadors welcoming us to Patagonia. Besides taking lots of pictures, we did the usual activities of visiting science lectures given by naturalist Milos Radakovich, and getting some exercise by the way of many loops around the jogging track or on the treadmills in the gym. Somewhere along this way we encountered bit of a rough sea, but really the only evidence were massive waves forming in the pool, although we could feel some of the up and down ship movement walking around.

Punta Arenas (December 29th, 2023)

On day 7 we arrived to Punta Arenas, Chile. Of course, our companion, Viking Jupiter, was here with us. This port of call had bunch of various excursion offers, and we opted for one called Condors of Patagonia. As you may have gathered, I was on this trip for the scenery and the animals! After getting off the tenders, we were taken on an hour long bus ride to Estancia Olga Teresa. This is one of the several ranches that Patagonia is famous for, and many of the excursions involved some variation on a visit to an estancia for a horse back riding show followed by a traditional barbecue. For us, this ranch was just a temporary bathroom break, prior to another short, 15 minute drive to a place from where we had a roughly half a mile hike to a cliff that is sort of the social club for a huge number of Patagonian condors. We spent at least an hour here, observing these majestic birds levitate with apparently no effort. I found the overall scenery really breathtaking. It's basically an expansive grassland, but it has a certain melancholy to it that you just won't find in places like Kansas. You can sense how inhospitable this place can become during the winter. It was cold and windy even on our visit, and remember that being in the Southern Hemisphere, this was their summer.

The tour bus dropped us off at the Punta Arenas port with few hours to kill prior to the departure. We went for a nearly two mile stroll, first by the water front where we came up to a large Punta Arenas sign. From there we walked to Plaza de Armas which has a large statue of the explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Hernando de Magallanes) in its center. We then made our way back to the port where, after making it through a long line, we found ourselves on the tender back to the ship.

This is also where we started to get our first glimpse of snow covered peaks! As you can imagine, I spent most of the time on the upper open decks taking pictures, despite the chilly weather. Then in the evening, it was the usual dinner, followed by a show. I also tried some long exposure photographs of the ship glass elevators.

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