Heading Up the Coast of Chile

Hi again,

Here's our third message, this time from southern Chile, approaching the Chilean fjords.

South America   Update 3

The southern tip of South America is a land of extremes. We spent the day wandering around Tierra del Fuego Nat Park just outside Ushuaia with new friends Joanne and Bob Emerson from Great Britain. This is the southern terminus of the Andes Mtn Range and the fickle mountain weather patterns kept things interesting all day. Where it really got interesting however was as Margaret & I were walking down the quay to board the 'Marina'. Ushuaia, like Banff is surrounded by serious rocky snow capped peaks. The down slope, off shore winds that typically spring up late in the afternoon are so strong (average 55 knots, gusting to 60 knots - that's about 70 mph!) they just about blew Margaret & I off our feet as we were walking back down the quay! It remained so strong that it literally pinned the cruise ship to the pier!  We were 3 hrs late leaving Ushuaia. 

One of the things a cruise ship does very well is get you to a lot of out of the way places in a relatively short period of time. To travel from Buenos Aires on the Atlantic to Valparaiso on the Pacific via Cape Horn any other way would be difficult without a time frame of months.  Indeed there are locations on this voyage and others we have taken that are accessed only from the sea. Some you would revisit in a heartbeat others, not so much. Ushuaia falls into the not so much category for me. In our first visit to Chile and Argentina in 2008 with Jim & Sophie Munro we opted not to visit Ushuaia but rather spend our allotted 8 weeks in other locales. In retrospect I think we did the right thing. 

It's not that Ushuaia is that bad. Its location perched on a small coastal plain on the shores of the Beagle Channel with a backdrop of the snow capped Andes is stunning. To me however, it seemed to be a city transitioning from what it was to what it wanted to be and featured the least appealing of both statuses. 

The wind finally abated enough to pry the Marina off the pier and we were off up the Strait of Magellan and our next stop Punta Arenas,Chile. Punta Arenas if I recall correctly is Chile's southernmost city. In 2008 we flew from Santiago (capitol of Chile) to Punta Arenas and used it as our jumping off point for 2 marvellous weeks of exploring the Andean Mtn area of Patagonia. I would have no hesitation listing those weeks as one of the highlites of my life. Unbelievably, breathtakingly beautiful. I know it's not everybody's cup of tea but if you are capable of doing it, it deserves your attention.

From Punta Arenas the ship traverses back into the Magellan Strait enroute to its mouth in the Pacific Ocean.  We are now on the east coast of South America. I can feel the sea swell increasing as we get closer to that entrance. I'm betting we're back into the 5 metre (15') seas at an average again. Ho humm. We're getting to be old hands at this. 

It's summer in South America and I thought you might find the below listed weather conditions interesting. Chile and Argentina are are as long as Canada is wide and just south of their southern tip is the Antarctic. You may recall me whining about plus 37 C temps in Buenos Aires where we stated this trip. Check out the conditions outside our balcony door as I write this. Tough trip to pack for.

Current conditions: overcast - temp 6 C - sea temp 8 C - wind 50-55 knots (57-62 mph) - waves  5 metres (15') - hull speed 20 knots. Distance travelled from Buenos Aires (embark) 2495 km. Distance to Valparaiso (Disembark) 1767 km.

You would swear Margaret was born in a slicker, rubber boots and a sou'wester hat from the way she negotiates herself around a ship in high seas. I've always been of the opinion that only toddlers or drunks have that natural ability or luck, to be stepping left when the boat (or train) is lurching right. They can walk as straight as a dye! Apparently I'm married to someone with that same innate ability. 

I'm pretty sure Margaret has also made friends with half the ship's company and passengers. That would put it at 600 and counting. I expect we will be on a first name basis with the balance by the time we disembark in Valparaiso. I just get pulled along in her wake manically repeating first names over and over to myself so I don't screw it up next time we meet. Such is the life of a trophy husband

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I've been trying, in vain it would appear, to keep these updates down to something smaller than a novel. Those of you who have been victims of the updates from previous trips are aware that Stimson has never met a sentence he can't turn into a paragraph. But these trips are so damned interesting!! 

One more thing - there's always one more thing. I'll likely be saying that on my death bed. This trip is different than others with regards Internet access. On previous trips we have discouraged replies because of expense. This time we have full internet access for the entire trip. You can't accuse it of blazing speed but it works. We actually live streamed a Jets game (audio) a few nights back! We would love to hear from you and what's happening back home. 

Hey BC is anybody still out there or did you all get washed into the sea with the heavy rains and the King tide? We're thinking of you.

Never Stop Exploring

M&H