Thursday, November 28, 2019, Glaciers, Beagle Channel, Chile

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Beagle Channel

Stretching some 150 miles between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and a mere three miles wide at its narrowest point, the breathtaking Beagle Channel unfolds before you in an endless canvas of soaring mountains sloping down to pristine shores.  To the north, marvel at the untouched wilderness of the legendary Tierra del Fuego, part Argentine and part Chilean, its snowcapped peaks crowning the region’s largest island.  To the south, countless small islands form one of the most scenic archipelagos in the world, draped in lush forest and the occasional colony of sea lions.  Like Charles Darwin, after whose ship this picturesque waterway is name, you may also admire the “many glaciers beryl blue” that drape into the shimmering waters.  The glaciers were named after five European countries by the 19th century explorers who documented the region.  They named them Holanda (Holland), Italia (Italy), Francia (France), Alemana (Germany), and Espana (Spain).  A few hours later we saw the granddaddy of them all, Garibaldi Glacier.   


Holanda (Holland)
  


 Italia (Italy)



 Francia (France)


  
 Alemana (Germany)




   
Espana (Spain)




 Ice field hill top


 Garibaldi Glacier



   


Select crew used a tender to chip off and bring ice chunks onto the cruise ship.
We will continue on our way Friday and Saturday, arriving Puerto Arenas, Chile Saturday evening.

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