Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines from the “end of the earth” (Punta Arenas, Chile). This morning we woke in Punta Arenas (“Sandy Point” in English). I told Ronnie that every morning is like Christmas – we wake up, pull back our curtains and discover lots of good things! Punta Arenas is the southernmost port in South America, and Chileans claim it is the “end of the earth.” However, Argentinians claim that Ushuaia (where we‘ll be tomorrow) is actually marks the end of the habitable world. Whichever, we’re as far south as South America goes. It is located on the Brunswick Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan. We’ll wake up in Ushuaia tomorrow where we have both booked (different) excursions. From there, we’re headed to Antarctica. Brrr!!!

Yesterday we sailed through more of the Chilean Fjords. In the morning we approached the Amalia Glacier. Our captain turned the ship around so that all passengers had a good view of the glacier before heading back into the channel. The waters and scenery reminded us very much of what we've seen in Alaska. It is vast areas of mountainous, wooded areas separated by water with steep banks on both sides of the ship. In some places the channel was so narrow that markers are used to prevent ships from running over the little tiny islands!

Of course I took tons of photos but they couldn’t begin to do justice or even begin to show the majesty of this area. Most of the day the formations were shrouded in fog (which Currents described as “gloomy grandeur”) and only for a short period in the afternoon did the sun actually break through. Some spotted a portion of a rainbow but unfortunately I missed it. Thankfully, the waters have been very calm in these channels but we are expecting to encounter rough waters as we pass around Cape Horn and through Drake’s Passage.

We went into the city for a while today where we were able to pick up a few souvenirs and Ronnie was able to get his hair cut.

I'll post some photos from yesterday and today.

 

gathering on upper deck for photo ops

approaching the glacier

Amalia Glacier

floating ice breaks loose from glacier

our ship stirs up sediment from ocean floor

statue of Ferdinand Magellan

single tree at Plaza Armas

wired up, downtown Punta Arenas

Maritime Monument on waters of Strait of Magellan

Ronnie found a barber shop!

Valentines Day aboard Oceania's Insignia

This last photo I took with my phone through the window of the ship during dinner.

 

snow covered peaks

Re: the large ship monument above, below is what I found on the internet if anyone is interested in its history.

The boat left in May 1843 towards the Strait of Magellan with the intention of actually annexing the passage to Chilean territory.

Although the Strait belonged to the nation in accordance with the Constitution of 1811, at that time the situation was in danger due to the interest some foreign powers were beginning to show in the area.

Four months after setting sail the Gulet Ancud reached the Strait of Magellan and its crew placed the Chilean flag in the territory, taking effective possession for Chile.

Twenty-four hours later, in the same place the French corvette Phaeton made its appearance with the intention of annexing the Strait to the Gallic nation.

However, the Chilean captain Juan Williams denied the commander of the French ship from placing of a foreign flag on his territory, without the express authorization of the Chilean government.

The French boat had to weigh anchor and abandon the Strait of Magellan now a part of Chile.