Chilean Patagonia

 

Rounding Cape Horn 

Although Francis Drake was the first to sail around Cape Horn, it was actually named by Dutch sailors Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire for the city of Hoorn Netherlands.  

Our ship rounded Cape Horn on Sunday Feb 11 from east to west (56 degrees South, 66 West) into the Drake Passage, then circled and passed from west to east, finally sailing into the Beagle Channel on the way to Ushuaia.  The seas were surprisingly calm given we were in one of the most hazardous waters in the world.  We had great views of Cape Horn, the small building where a lone Chilean Naval Sentry maintains watch (along with his lucky wife and children, living in the remotest place on earth) and the Lost Fisherman’s Memorial which memorializes the 10,000 sailors who have died rounding the Horn.

Cape Horn from the south

Cape Horn from the east

It's hard to see in this photo, but the Naval Sentry station is visible on the bluff in the middle of the picture, and the Lost Fisherman's memorial can be seen to the left.  Unfortunately, this is as close as we could get.  

The book Rounding the Horn by Dallas Murphy was recommended by a friend, and provided invaluable insight into the history of discovering sea lanes in Tierra del Fuego, and the story of the author’s personal voyage around the cape.  

Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas is located on the Straits of Magellan, named after Ferdinand Magellan who first “discovered” (natives already lived there) this passage to the Pacific (which he named) in 1520. 

Exploring the town on a rainy day, we saw Bories Street (main shopping street), Plaza de Armas main square, Ferdinand Magellan monument, the El Ovejero shepherd monument, and the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum.  

Magellan monument

Punta Arenas Cathedral

Sunset leaving Punta Arenas

Puerto Chacabuco, located on Aysen Fjord

Visited Rio Simpson National Reserve, Lago (lake) Ruesco, Virgin Falls, and the confluence of the Simpson and Maniguales rivers to form the Aysen river.  Despite the low clouds, we could see beautiful mountains and rock formations of the Parque Aiken del Sur, with the river valley cutting through the mountains.  

Visited small town of Puerto Aysen (ice-in), where they are very proud of the Presidente Ibanez Puente (Bridge) over the Aysen river.  They claim it is the second longest bridge in Chile, and was designed by the same architect as the Golden Gate Bridge (I could not verify that!)

Aysen

Same architect as Golden Gate Bridge?