A morning of navigation through a beautiful fjord led the National Geographic Explorer to Estero Slight, a beautiful Chilean bay in Northern Patagonia. While the morning was spent aboard, the afternoon would offer a very different plan.
Coming ashore in Estero Slight was truly reminiscent to entering an unknown wilderness. Three Chilean navy officers, charged with lighthouse duty welcomed the guests on the beach, along with their dog Miriam. Many chose to embark on the hike all the way to the lighthouse, a 7-mile roundtrip journey up a gorgeous gravel path into the woods and along the shoreline. The trail wound around streams and boulders, fit in between stands of pines and ferns, dense temperate rainforest unrivaled in its productivity.
A Zodiac cruise took guests up to the bay’s edge. The cold seawater was clear down to the substrate, with bits of kelp clinging to the bottom and king crabs perusing the sand for bits of lunch. This bay has been a strange beacon in recent years. Whale carcasses of multiple species have washed ashore frequently and with no true explanation. Pilot whale skeletons and Sei whale bones are littered ashore, offering an educational outlet for those aboard. Turkey vultures feasted on what was left of the whale flesh, while black-browed albatross soared on thermals above the calm sea. Giant petrels joined them, no doubt waiting for a meal to approach the water’s surface.
While the expedition day was going smoothly, the dive team took off to explore the depths. This area of the world is extremely rich with oceanic wildlife. The Humboldt Current rips through the Pacific, delivering cold water and the plankton community to not only the northern hemisphere, but also South America and the Chilean coast. With plankton as a community of primary producers, the rest of the marine ecosystem can grow, sustaining and expanding the food web. The team found a nice spot, with rocky edges and a bit of a kelp forest. The dive proved beautiful, showing anemones, feather-duster worms, sea urchins and southern king crabs. A Southern sea lion came in close for a quick visit, but just as rapidly receded into the dark water. A pipefish at the end was a nice surprise. With a body plan like seahorses, long slender bodies are not great defense against predators. To combat this issue, they spend much of their time in the protected lair a kelp’s holdfast can offer.
The end of a spectacular day ended with quesadillas and an evening’s recap in the lounge, complete with libations.
