Today we are sailing in the open seas off the southern coast of Chile. Yesterday we had good weather as we sailed the “inside passage” along the coast of Chile which are world renowned for its Fjiords. The water in the Fjiord’s is almost 9,000 feet deep, allowing for a very calm effect as we make our way north. Everything is desolate and seemingly uninhabitable but for the occasional porpoise or sea bird. Except for the little bit of blue in the sky, the landscape is almost colorless. It is mostly barren gray mountains, a flat dark green for the trees and bushes and the white snow caps on some of the highest mountains. This harsh environment is beautiful and unspoiled. This is exactly the scene that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew members saw as they were circumnavigating the world in 1520.
In the afternoon the Captain sailed into the bay that allowed us to get a close look at Skua Glacier. Now the color of the ice changes due to the scraping of the rock and soil as the glacier moves endlessly toward the water in the bay. The compression of the weight of the ice squeezes out the oxygen in the frozen water giving it an eerie light blue color. We did not see any calving of the glacier while we were there, but the floating bits of ice in the water are evidence of the continuous process of the glacier moving and breaking off.
The next two destinations for us are San Rafael and Puerto Chacabuco, both a considerable distance south of the earthquake area.
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