Strong winds, plate tectonics, forensics, black smoke and more glaciers

The Amalia Glacier

We were late back from our trip yesterday evening, so we were all behind hand with getting ready for dinner. We missed the Beatles tribute band at prinks then after dinner couldn’t be bothered for another theatrical extravaganza. The wine had seemed stronger than usual and so we bedded down - actually I fell asleep while reading - and the ship bounced through the open waters of the Pacific. 

Now there’s an ocean that was misnamed. Every time we emerge from the fjords into the sea the ship decides that it’s going to attempt the cancan! Solemn announcements from the Captain about helping others less able and taking care while moving around the ship and the occasional crash of things falling over or off surfaces punctuate our otherwise tranquil existence. Today, Gabrielle is doing her “I’m brave. I can cope with this,” thing which lasted really well. Outside the sea was battleship grey and bouncy with a lowering sky and the occasional dash of rain showers. Our balcony windows have become spattered with the spray which then dries, leaving behind salt crystals. Steevan, our cabin steward, is very diligent in cleaning them off whenever this happens. The Captain later reported that we had experienced one gust of hurricane force - 90 knots wind speed, which is common to Patagonia - this morning but that the weather was now expected to settle. 

Today marks four weeks since we set sail from Southampton. So much has happened in that time and it’s hard to recall all our adventures early on, without checking our notes and photos. There are five more weeks to go before we close the loop. Meanwhile, part of our tour has been cancelled as Gabrielle reported yesterday. Political unrest in Chile means that it is just too risky for us to spend two days there, along with all the trips that have been organised. It’ll be a massive loss to the country when all that potential revenue is cancelled but the safety of guests has to be paramount. 

Our first lecturer today was Ben Church, a geologist, and he spoke in some detail about plate tectonics and how that had created the Andes. It was a highly detailed and technical talk and we were left with as many questions as answers. However, his next talk is on improving your travel photography, which seemed a very strange segue. One of the more alarming aspects of what he had to say was the fact that the west coast of Chile, where we are, is a continuous earthquake zone, with significant movement of the earth’s crust causing volcanic eruptions. Could Nick and Gabrielle be entering a danger zone? Again?

Eventually, after we had a late breakfast, the ship stopped wagging, Gabrielle’s face lost that attractive tinge of green and we entered the fjord area, en route to the Amalia Glacier. This is the Patagonian zone which is the subject of many disagreements as to its location and extent. Although we are now alongside the Chilean mainland, it still bears resemblance to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, with its multiplicity of small islands and sudden mountains. 

The sky lifted and the sun broke through, weakly at first. Gabrielle also felt better and ploughed on with reading her book: You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke - a Bournemouth-based author. I’m still diligently reading Alastair Campbell’s first set of diaries and I’m on page 572 with another 150 or so to go. 

This afternoon’s lecture was by Forensic Scientist, Tristan Elmhurst who talked about two main things to know to get into forensics. Gabrielle now knows enough to get away with murder - but then again, she did already! He’s doing another four lectures over the coming days and his next one is on Bugs, Bullets, Blood and Bad Deeds. Intriguing stuff. 

A bit of ironing in readiness for tonight and then it was out on deck for first sightings of the Amalia Glacier (also known as Skua Glacier) which we hit at 4:30pm. It’s a tidewater glacier located in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park on the edge of the Sarmiento Channel. It originates in the Southern Patagonian Icefield. As we approached the end of the fjord and we were on the balcony there were five loud explosions, each at 1-minute intervals. We were baffled and the last seemed very loud indeed - Gabrielle was determined we were under fire! We hurried off to the deck where everyone was gathered to watch the glacier and, as we looked up it became evident that the smokestacks were billowing out very smelly smoke. 

Just after the worst of the black smoke had poured from the smokestack

Suddenly it turned black and there were cries of alarm from the passengers. Gabrielle managed to get a shot just as it was subsiding. There was no announcement and no idea of what was happening, but we then continued cruising to the end of the fjord as if nothing had happened. The smoke returned to normal and we prepared to view the glacier.

The Amalia Glacier

What a spectacle! The ice flows down from two points, high up in the mountains where the ice fields gather. The tops were shrouded in clouds but the glacier gave no less an impression of massive scale and great age. In front the of the blue, fragmented leading edge, ice floes that had calved from the front floated serenely in the milky-blue meltwater. 

The Amalia Glacier

Just as we were approaching the very closest point, two dolphins surfaced and dived in front of the ship, like a salute and then the ship turned slowly 360 degrees, giving everyone on board a clear view from the decks or from their balconies - we got two bites of the cherry! As we steamed away, the sun came out and shone brightly - typical!

Today’s fun facts: since leaving Punta Arenas to midday today we have travelled 369 nautical miles at an average speed of 17 knots, up to our sail-by of the Amalia glacier. We’re in 500 metres of water and our outside temperature has been 12.5 degrees.

This evening we may go and see tenor, Roy Locke, who has played Phantom. That’s if we can tear ourselves away from Sindhu where we are dining again after our anniversary special. It’s formal night again so posh frocks and finery is the order of the night. Gabrielle will report back on our antics tomorrow.