From Valparaiso, we sailed to Puerto Montt. This took us into the inner bays off the Cordillera de la Costa, leaving the offshore peninsulas and islands behind us. The Calbuco volcano with its snow cap could be seen from afar.
From there we went to Castro on the island of Chiloé. Here the vegetation was visibly spoiled by water. A landscape in varied shades of green.
In Tortel it was already getting much cooler. You had to dress warmly for boat trips.
One highlight was the crossing of the Angostura Inglesa, the English Narrows, through which only small ships can sail.
The visit to the Glaciar Pío XI, or Brüggen Glacier, which was named after Pope Pius XI, was also a highlight, although the bad weather prevented us from taking photos.
The weather improved as we turned into the Strait of Magellan. I therefore ventured ashore in Punta Arenas and took the opportunity to do a little shopping.
From there we headed for the Seno Agostini (fjord and glacier).
Then we arrived at Garibaldi Fjord in the Alberto de Agostini National Park in Tierra del Fuego.
We reached the southernmost point of this cruise on December 5 at Cape Horn. The weather there was fantastic by local standards, with 3 degrees, good visibility, winds of up to 120 km/h and the occasional rain, hail or snow (four seasons an hour). An impressive highlight of this trip!
From there we sailed into the calmer waters of the Beagle Channel and made a short stop off Puerto Williams, the southernmost human settlement. The village is home to around 2800 inhabitants and is part of Chilean Tierra del Fuego.
We reached the destination of this cruise in Ushuaia on the evening of December 5, but were unable to enter the port because a smaller ship that occupied our dock was unable to leave due to the storm. We therefore spent the night in the roadstead and only docked in the morning. Of course, I didn’t miss out on the day in Ushuaia and enjoyed going ashore while the ship was again busy with the big changeover of guests and crew.
