Early in the morning, heavy clouds covered the mountains and fjords when the sun tried to come through, creating an incendiary red-orange-yellow atmosphere. Most of the morning was decidedly wet. Winds from the southwest Pacific, charged with moisture picked up from the ocean, crash against the Andes and discharge all their might. Luxurious forests and glaciers can exist in these latitudes due to the weather systems. We found a number of seabirds and whales during the day as we navigated through one of the first protected marine areas of southern South América. We made our way to Puerto Natales, which will be our port of call for our visit to the world famous Torres del Paine National Park.
3/28/2024
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National Geographic Endurance
Isla de los Estada, Ushuaia
We entered Bahia Capitan Canepa where the mountains were rounded over by ancient glacial grinding and the valleys had begun to fill in with nothofagus trees and many of the ferns, mosses, and lichens familiar to the rest of this region. Waterfalls were found around every corner, and both sea lions and fur seals were scattered about, playing in the cool water. Some places felt like scenes from Jurassic Park with waterfalls turning to showers before they hit the seawater below, while the wind fiercely blew the scattering droplets about. The rain was steady, but moods were bright as we encountered shags and oystercatchers along the shores of this magical place. Showers cleared by the afternoon while we made our way west to Ushuaia on the final leg of this voyage. The Beagle Channel always feels different depending on what direction we are traveling. At the beginning it is wonderous and full of mystery, but the return trip always feels sad as we prepare to disembark and bid farewell to our newly made friends. This part of the voyage is fun for spotting whales and Magellanic penguins, but we all know it is short for time. By 2130 dinner ended and National Geographic Endurance’s bow thrusters and Azipods were driving us to the pier for our final berthing of this incredible voyage.
