Lakes and Fjords

I did have a glass of wine with dinner, but my stagger is NOT indicative of being "bloody pissed." Now, that we've left the calmer waters of the Chile's version of Alaska's Inside Passage and are back on the outside open Pacifico, the swells feel like a ride across Dixon Entrance. (Couldn't resist the Down Under slang in the first sentence as I'm surrounded by a bunch of Kiwis, Aussies and Brits.)


The scenery as we traveled through the Chilean Fjords today reminded me of Misty Fjords at home, and to my new NZ friends parts of their South Island, in particular the Fiordlands. The tree-covered islands of course look different due in part to the type of trees, (of which I'll have to learn more). And the apparatus up along the shoreline at spots which looked slighly like the oyster operations off parts of Prince of Wales Island, were instead salmon farming operations. (All right - calm down all you Alaskans reading this. I can hear your expletives.) Breaking up the mountains were hanging glaciers at points, and some of the islands held small towns.


Well, I wrote the above two days ago. After that, we re-entered the Chilean fjords and the scenery became more one of granite mountains and glaciers. It looked like we'd been plopped down in the middle of Mirror Lake or at my favorite alpine area- Mahoney/John basin. But, of course, we were on salt water. At 7 p.m., the one evening, we went through a narrows with islands close by on both sides - a bit like Wrangell Narrows. On one island in the narrowest part, there as a statue which was a shrine for good luck to mariners. I was actually using the Internet that night, and gasped when I looked outside. I quickly signed off and spent the rest of the evening until almost sunset outside.


On Sunday (yesterday), February 1, we traversed a narrow fjord with spectacular hanging glaciers - lots of oohs and aahs and shutters clicking. I had a Crocodile Dundee moment several times that day. Remember the scene in which the character is jumped by some hoodlums in New York who pull a knife on Paul Hogan?(I think that's the actor's name). And he sneers and says "You call that a knife. THIS is a knife!" and pulls out his huge hunting knife. Well, so here I am, with my teeny normal digital camera and I'm attemping to bring the glacier in just a bit closer in my view. Then, I see out of my peripheral vision, this HUGE cylinder. A man has stepped up to the railing next to me with a camera whose lens extends the length of my arm outward and whose circumference is bigger than my neck. (And in my mind, I hear the guy thinking - "you call that a camera. THIS is a camera!).


These fjords were part of the Magellan Strait - an inland passage - leading towards Punta Arenas, our stop on Monday, February 1 (more on that later). It is 330 miles long and 2.5 to 15 miles long. It was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, thus it's name. It was very important in the days of the sailing ships.

(Disclaimer - I wrote this all quite awhile ago, but am just now publishing it).