Garabaldi Glacier | Chile, 3/14/2020, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Patagonia
What started off a foggy day with leaden seas, turning later into a stunning blue-sky morning as we Zodiac-cruised around the face of the Garabaldi Glacier. This tidewater glacier thundered and calved all morning, as we sipped hot-chocolate and dodged the bergy bits. We worked our way west along the Beagle Channel, making a brief foray into the wild open sea of the South Pacific this evening.
For as long as he can remember, Conor has always been preoccupied with the natural world, from the whales to the fungi. For most of his life he has been an islander: growing up in Cobh, Ireland and settling down in Tobermory in the Hebrides, Scotland...
The final day onboard National Geographic Explorer started underway to Puerto de Cook, our morning destination and final outing of the expedition. All were well rested after a night at anchor in the waters off Staten Island, or Isla de los Estados. Guests enjoyed hikes to the southern beach. Along the trail there were tracks from the imported deer that roam on the island. Most enjoyable were a pair of king penguins on the landing beach. They were going through their catastrophic molt and had the shaggy feathers to prove it. This was a fun final full day with some great informative presentations onboard by our naturalist team and visiting scientists.
We left the Beagle Channel in the middle of the night to cross from Tierra del Fuego to the rarely visited Staten Island. Less than 1,000 people visit this island which is frequently referred to as ‘the end of the Americas.’ At the mouth of Franklin Bay on the northwest of Staten Island, we spent time among thousands of rockhopper penguins. Across the entire island, there are an estimated 130,000 breeding pairs of rockhoppers on the island, making the total population over half a million individuals! Several species of seabirds took advantage of the brisk winds around us and we had our first look of the striated caracara, one of the rarest in the group. We have many naturalists and guests on this trip who are passionate about birds of prey, so we enjoyed watching their skillful soaring overhead. In the afternoon, the weather cooperated nicely which allowed us to Zodiac to shore for a wet landing. Once ashore, we removed our life vests, donned our packs, and trekked along the ridge above Elgor Bay. The reward at the end of the trail was a historic lighthouse considered to be the southernmost lighthouse on the continent. This lighthouse inspired the adventure novel, The Lighthouse at the End of the World by Jules Verne, a tale which includes pirates and survival in one of the harshest environments in the world.
Although offshore waters were windy, we found nice protection in Garibaldi Fjord, a long and beautiful glacial cut into the Cordillera Darwin. The towering cliffs were lined with waterfalls, and southern sea lions were hauled out on shore. We took to the Zodiacs and spent the morning weaving through brash ice and watching imperial cormorants prepare their nests. The Garibaldi Glacier did not disappoint! The cloudy and drizzly day enriched the deep blues of the glacier itself. Small calvings (bits of falling ice) kept our interest during our visit. Then, just as we needed to move on, the glacier showed signs of a larger spectacle, and BOOM! Towers of ice the size of buildings came crashing down at once, much to the delight of all. Finally, our Naturalists Shel, Isai, and Ezra enlightened us with tales of Patagonia.
