Shortly after leaving Punta Arenas we re-joined the Beagle Channel and traveled most of the morning thru the section known as “Glacier Alley”. There were 5 glaciers that we could see from the ship and a few others that were on side channels that we couldn’t see. Sadly as Paul mentioned in the previous blog, these glaciers have been retreating from contact with the water due to global warming. Crew members who have seen these over the years have said the changes were accelerating over the last few years. But, with all that being said, they are amazing to see.

Also amazing are the rugged peaks of the mountains where the glaciers are formed.

Our next stop was to have been the Beagle Channel city Of Ushuaia in Argentina. However, our Captain decided to bypass Ushuaia for now and continue on to Cape Horn. By doing this we could spend more time at Ushuaia the next day.

Cape Horn is the southern most point of land of South America prior to reaching Antartica. It is a very windy and rough water location and was the most treacherous point of any ship sailing around the tip of South America. Even a ship of our size listed significantly to the starboard as we sailed around the Cape. We completed the crossing and then turned back to the Beagle Channel and the trip to Ushuaia. We received a certificate signed by the Captain testifying that we had crossed the Cape.