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Tecla in Antarctica, day 5 & 6

Friday 17th January. Underway again at about 05.30 on Friday morning into a changed world of calm seas and clearing skies with amazing views of this winter wonderland opening up to us. I had no preconception of what Antarctica would be, but the immensity and sheer scale of the scenery and its foreboding beauty really took my breath away. The massive mountains of black rock mantled in blue, white and grey shades of snow and ice makes a truly magnificent but, at the same time, a totally inhospitable looking environment. It makes you wonder what was in the minds of the early explorers of this frigid continent that made them think it might be a good idea to walk into its bright but oh so dark heart. The thirst for fame and fortune or just the need to know what’s over the next rise and what your physical and mental self can endure?

Immediate beauty but a brooding malevanance

The pink in the snow is a result of algal growth. This growth is accelerating due to global warming and, unfortunately, as the darker colour absorbs more heat from the sun this itself helps accelerate the melting of the snow and ice pack.

The first destination today was a channel between Ardowski Peninsular on the mainland and Curverville Island where, after dodging ice flows, the skipper held station in Tecla as we went ashore to visit with some Gentoos. Afterwards we motored on across Gerlache Channel to a small promontory called Waterboat Point at the entrance to Paradise Harbour. As we were making our way there a large RIB came up alongside with a group of Chilean Naval and Airforce personnel on board. After a brief chat, and as we were planning to anchor at Waterboat Point, they invited us to visit them at their base on the point.

A celebratory G&T in the Gerlache Channel

Chilean base – joint forces (Air Force and Navy personnel) provide search and rescue cover for this zone

Jonathan raising the flag in honour of his fellow countrymen

Saturday morning started with a 01.00 anchor watch for me that saw me fending of two growlers of about 3m across, a bit of excitement! As compensation for the early morning the sky to the South was quite a spectacular hue with the snow-covered mountains silhouetted against it. This is a land of midnight sun with the sun merely dipping below the horizon to give these ephemeral twilights. Later in the morning we had been invited ashore to the Chilean base where we were given a guided tour of the facility and its attendant museum. They were very welcoming. The base is surrounded by a colony of Gentoos making it rather pungent but the presence of an albino Gentoo gave, what has become a run of the mill wildlife experience, an new perspective. The base personnel told us that this penguin has been a member of the colony for the last 4 or 5 years. Gentoos pair for life and return to the same nest site in their birth colony year after year. Although described as an albino it did not have the characteristic pink eyes and the plumage that would normally be black actually had a very pale pigmentation, weak cappuccino, so I believe that it was actually a very pale morth rather than a true albino. I have noticed other Gentoos where some of the darker plumage had brown streaking.

What passes for sunset, it didn’t get darker than this.

Sheathbills. These guys scavenge around the penguin colonies, they are the only birds down here that do not have webbed feet.

The museum was mainly dedicated to the building of the Chilean base which dated back to the late 1940’s but also had a small section explaining how Waterboat Point came to get its name. In the early 1900’s a British scientific expedition was resident in the area but unable to achieve its primary objective decided to withdraw. Two of the young scientists who had not completed their studies objected and elected to stay on over the winter months and into the next year living in conditions of great privation in a waterboat that had been converted into a hut and had a small annex added. When early in the next summer season a whaling ship arrived to relieve them they refused to leave and asked the captain to return, which he did, a month later when they had finished their research. Amongst other things, theirs was the first year long study of a Gentoo colony. One final point of note is that, although it occasional hosts scientist, this is not a scientific research station but rather it is a search and rescue facility manned, for the four summer months, by volunteers from the Chilean Air Force and Navy. Laughing, they told us that they are not very busy.

In the afternoon we motored for about 20 minutes in the rib to reach a rocky headland where the fitter more adventurous amongst us climbed a steep slope of weather shattered rock to reach a snow field that was traversed to achieve the high point on a rocky promontory giving us fabulous 360⁰ views of the surrounding bays, islands and peninsular. Throughout most of the climb we were passing through small nesting groups of Gentoos with the occasional Chinstrap thrown into the mix. There were also a few locations where nesting Skua’s were to be seen. These were very vocal with the objections to our presence and, during the traverse of the snow field, one took complete umbridge and proceeded to repeatedly dive bomb Will who was leading the group, twice making contact with his head and knocking his sunglasses off. Will later admitted that, if he had not been with ‘guests’, the Skua may have met with a more robust response to its antics.

After descending we had a short wait on the headland for the RIB to return during which we touched on such deep and meaningful issues as who would be first on the menu if we were stranded there with no food – I suspect we may have resorted to penguin first!

Time to sit and right the wrongs of the world.

It had been great to get out and walk in such amazing scenery but on the ride back to Tecla the day was elevated too one of those once in a life time experiences when a spotted a pod of Orca (Killer Whales) of to our starboard and, when we went for a closer look, one suddenly appeared on the surface no more than 20m ahead of the RIB. It then dove under us. An awe inspiring if slightly scary moment. After this we proceeded to follow them for some distance as the cruised up the channel before eventually sounding and disappearing.

Hard to get a sharp image from a bouncing RIB. Three large dorsal fins are male Orcas the smaller being a female.

Just to round of the day I was on anchor watch from 22.00 to 23.00 when the sinking sun was slanting through the mountains to our south with the last rays striking the ice flows and bergs in the surrounding bays. A Leopard Seal on one of the ice flows being harassed by a Skua completed the picture to perfection.

Tecla in Antarctica, day 3 & 4

Wed. 15^th Jan saw us moving on once more with the destination for the day being Trinity Island. Sailing from Deception the island was wreathed in fog so there was little to be seen and, as we progressed southward through the day, the going was slow due the large amounts of sea ice and growlers which had to be avoided. It was a long day with us only arriving at our destination at the south end of Trinity Island mid evening.

Greater Southern Petrel with fish breakfast

Chinstraps and Gentoos going with the flow

After having dinner onboard, we went ashore on a small island in the bay, Mikkelson Harbour, where we were anchored. This island was home to a small hut owned by the Argentinian Navy and a colony of Gentoo Penguins. This may well have been the smelliest location that I have ever been. In places the ‘nest’, a slightly raised platform of peddles, were surrounded by guano slurry. I felt that the chicks from these nests probably had a much reduced chance of surviving to go to sea. Crossing to the other side of the island there was more evidence of past whalers and a view across to shear ice cliffs of the main island, Trinity Island. In addition to the Gentoos there was one lone Adelia Penguin, the first we had seen, and a single Chinstrap.

Not the ideal place to start a family but they look to be doing well

The first and what was to prove to be the only Adelia Penguin on the trip

As we were now well into the islands and anchoring every night we had gone from sea watches to an anchor watch system where each member of the voyage crew did a one hour watch during the night, with the main purpose being to fend off any ice that came near. The permanent crew were on 6 hr watches from 6am and sailed Tecla between locations whilst we rested and, when at the destination, we went ashore to walk and observe the wildlife.

Thursday 16^th started for me with a 4am anchor watch. There was a mist hanging around the islands but, through openings, the early sun was providing illumination of very levels to the snow and ice turning it to myriad shades of white. With no wind and flat seas the surface was like a mercury mirror only broken by porpoiseing penguins. The air was still and the quiet absolute except when broken by the not very melodic song of the Gentoos or the deep rumbles coming from deep inside of the ice masses indicating their growing pains.

Raising the anchor at about 05.30 we started heading yet further south into the Gerlache Channel with the ultimate destination for the day being Curverville Island. When going back on deck at around 08.00 the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsular could be seen off to Port, thus my first glimpse of the peninsular and the mainland of the continent and the many impressive bergs passing us along the way.

Another impressive blue ice berg. These bergs are fresh water bergs and calved from the glaciers. The darker colour is from the older the ice and results from the entrained air bubbles being compressed at the bottom of the glaciers. The ice may be many thousand years old.

Another massive berg. The flat top indicative of a relatively young berg which has not rolled over yet.

Threading our way through the ice and into the passages

As the day progressed, we found ourselves battling into an increasingly strong South Westerly which rose to about force 6 and was severely hampering our progress. To avoid this onslaught the skipper took us into a side channel between two islands, Challenger and Bluff, to find some shelter. As this passage has not been fully surveyed the charts only have very sketchy depth data so Will and Enky went ahead in the RIB to sound the channel and guide us through. When emerging from the lee of Bluff Island it was obvious that sea conditions in the main channel were still very broken and consequently the decision was taken to go back a short way and then anchor at Murray Harbour for the night.

Deeper into the channel to a safe anchorage for the night.

Tecla in Antarctica, day 2

Our watch on the 14th saw us approaching Deception Island. Low clouds were cutting off the higher elevation and we could only see the bluff cliffs falling to the sea.

The Whale Tail marks the approach to Deception

Passing Neptune’s Window on the way to the entrance

Standing rock marks the entrance to Neptune’s Bellows

Deception is another volcanic caldera but on a much grander scale where the sea has breached the wall allow vessels to sail in through Neptune’s Bellows and enter the crater giving a harbour of approximately 3.5 miles in diameter which, apart from the entrance, is completed enclosed within rock walls. Apparently it was named deception by one of the early sealers who used it. The deception being that it looks like any other island until you realise it is actually a volcanic caldera open to the sea. Sailing in through Neptune’s Bellows we were confronted by the inland sea where, due to the mist and fogs swirling around it, the far shores were invisible. Immediately to the right of the entrance is a bay called Whaler’s Bay which, as the name may suggest, was a used by whalers with the final phase being a Norwegian whaling base between 1911 and 1931. Later, from 1944 until forced to evacuate by volcanic activity in 1969, this facility was taken over as a British research establishment. This was our destination but, as there was already a cruise ship anchored there, we decided to sail deeper into the crater to visit Pendulum Cove. This cove derives its name from an experimental station which was once there using the effect of the variations in the earth’s magnetic field on a pendulum to try to establish the diameter of the earth. I do not know if it was successful 😊

Remains of ill-fated Chilean research establishment

More recently there was a Chilean research station based here, the remains of which can still be seen. It was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1969 (there was volcanic activity in ‘67, ‘69 and ’70). Landing on a beach of black volcanic sand we are wreathed in steam due to the geothermic heating of the water that penetrates the sand. Ashore we explored around the ruins of the research station then walked around the bay to observe two Weddle Seals that were hauled up on the beach. These were the first Weddle’s that we have seen and, with motely grey skin, are possibly the most attractive to date. It is my observation that most seals and sea lions are not only far more graceful when in the water but also far easier on the eye. These two seals were accompanied by a lone Chinstrap Penguin who seemed rather lost and lonely. He appeared to be trying to work out if we wanted to be his mates.

Little details, geothermic steam condensed on a discarded feather

On returning to Tecla we sailed back to Whaler’s Bay which, at least for a while, we had to ourselves. After going ashore, we walked round to Neptune’s Window which is a low point on the caldera just to the East of the breach and affords good views of the cliffs and a small beach on the outside of the island. On the walk to the view point we passed by the remains of several waterboats and numerous whale bones. All a sad, vivid reminder of the activities of the early visitors to these latitudes.

The rendering plant for producing whale oil

Whale oil storage tanks with old whaling / research station buildings behind

Derelict waterboats on the beach, a reminder of a bygone era

Breaking seas at the foot of Neptune’s Window

Weird marine organisms washed up on the beach. We often saw these Salp ‘swimming’ in strings in the ocean

The beach of Whaler’s Bay is also heated by the underlaying volcanic sands so, from Neptune’s Window, we were returning to the beach to take a dip in the warm waters of the beach. Unfortunately, at this time an Antarctic Cruise ship came into the anchorage and had disgorged many tourists onto the beach who all appeared rather nonplussed when we all stripped to our shorts and entered the sea. The water was beautifully warm for about 1m from the edge then it rapidly reverted to its natural state of freezing. The ideal was to just lie in the shallows and let the warm waters wash over you whilst avoiding the really warm spots where the water was almost too hot. On emerging from the steaming waters, we carried on around the beach and spent some time looking around the remains of the whaling and research establishments before re-joining Tecla. Sailing back out through Neptune’s Bellows we anchored for the night on the outer perimeter of the island.

Last resting place. The cemetery at Whaler’s bay way once the largest in Antarctica but most was lost during volcanic eruptions in 1969

One time whaling station building which was more latterly used by the British research team. Partially destroyed in 1969.

Firebox of an old firetube boiler – part of the rendering plant

Remains of roof over rendering plant with wildlife moved in

Tecla in Antarctica, day one

Monday 13^th Jan saw us motor sailing towards or next stop off, Penguin Island where we were expecting to arrive around midday. The weather couldn’t have been better with a cloud studded blue sky but, naturally, cold. Passing distant icebergs along the way we were not just impressed by their size but also by their shapes, most of which reminded us of something we were familiar with and so were named accordingly – the name the iceberg game commences. Off to starboard we were passing King George Island, very different in appearance from Elephant Island. Whereas Elephant Island was dominated by broken pinnacles of rock like rotten dragon’s teeth King George had a much smoother profile where a few noticeable peaks were surrounded by ice fields looking like an over iced wedding cake.

Arriving at Penguin island at 13.00 it was again immediately obvious that this was another island of a different nature having neither the jagged peaks or the snow and ice fields but rather just gently rising to two high points over barren slopes that were predominately of a reddish colour.

Tecla standing off Penguin Island with King George behind

Penguin Island beach with King George in the distant

On landing on the beach, it became immediately obvious that the origins of the island was volcanic as the beach ‘sand’ was volcanic ash and the rocks were very aerated lava. We had been told that it was possible to walk to the high point (614m) to get good views over the island and adjacent King George but it was rather surprising to realise that, what I had assumed to be a geological feature when viewed from the deck of the boat, was actually an obvious foot path running up to the should between the two high points. This brings home to you how much tourism there is in Antarctica. Anyway, the chance for a decent little hike was to good to be missed by most of our group so we set off up the path.

Looking back from the slopes, Tecla just visible but looking very small

I noted that there was actually some sparse vegetation in the form of very low growing grasses, mosses and lichen and that the red colour of the island was due to the predominant colour of the volcanic ashes that coated the slopes.

On reaching the shoulder it became obvious that we had actually climbed up the outer edge of the caldera and were now looking down into the crater which evidenced at least three different phases of volcanic activity. Out of one edge of the crater was the remains of an ancient volcanic plug that had obviously been exposed by the later eruption that had formed the main crater. Then in the bottom of the crater there was a further much smaller crater indicating a more recent event. There was an obvious path following the caldera rim around which we then followed before returning to the start point and dropping back down to the beach below. The whole walk had afforded some wonderful views of Penguin and King George Islands and the surrounding ocean. Another very special experience. My assumption is that the relatively low altitude, red / black surface heated by the sun and geothermic heat all contribute to keeping the volcanic slopes free of snow and ice.

View over the Caldera with King George Island beyond

View caldera rim out over Tecla to King George Island

When we were all safely back onboard, we were once again moving on to sail over night to our next destination, Deception Island. The evening watch was once more dominated by foggy conditions but this, in itself, led to some near mystical experiences when the wind washed windows into the fog opening views of ice and snow clad mountains with black rock faces bathed in the late evening sun astern of us. Meanwhile, ahead breaks in the mists opened a staircase to the heavens where the fractured edges to the clouds were catching the magnificence of the waning sun. This frozen uninhabited region seems to be beckoning me to come and be intimate through the exploration of her mysteries whilst at the same time shouting, I’m dangerous, only touch me if you dare.

At about 10pm the wind had risen sufficiently for us to add more sail and cut the motor. Simultaneously, we entered a fog bank and sailed on through a silent world of swirling fog banks where, for a while, reality seemed to be suspended. Unfortunately I was dragged back to reality by the need to re-establish a ice look out as we were in an area where radar was showing large bergs and we needed to be on the look-out for growlers (smaller pieces of ice that have broken off the bergs but can still be substantial and cause damage). After two very cold hours up in the bows the watch was over and I was frozen.

Joining Tecla, first leg to Elephant Island

Mount Pleasant airport was far from pleasant when we landed in a heavy rainstorm, bad omen?

Whilst waiting to board the flight in Punta Arenas I had bumped into two other members of the voyage crew, Bernard and Yanne from Brittany. Then when sorting out transport from Mount Pleasant to Stanley we met up with a further three, Marlous from the Netherlands, Piers a Brit living in France not far from Toulouse and Cristina from Denmark but living in New Jersey. I had prebooked a minibus so had no transport challenges but the others were unaware of this requirement. We eventually found another minibus who had sufficient spare space for them. Coming into Stanley I could see no sign of Tecla either at the anchorage or alongside the town quay and was becoming concerned. Fortunately, in the minibus with me were 4 Asian guys who were joining a fishing boat at the commercial port (a little way out of town) and when we were dropping them off I saw Tecla docked behind their boat. She’s small! After dropping off my kitbag I walked back into town and met up with the others later in the Harbour View Café where we all had tea and cream scones 😊. They had also managed to locate the Tecla and had also dropped off their bags with her. When walking back to the commercial harbour to formally join Tecla at 18.00 we met up with a seventh member of the voyage crew, Henri, a French man from basque country but now working in Paris.

On board we met up with the crew, Gjis (pronounced Hies), Captain form the Netherland’s who’s family own the boat, Enky, Mate from France, Will, Deck Hand from Tasmania and Jonathan, Guide and general assistant from Punta Arenas Chile. We also met the 8^th member of the Voyage Crew, Kerry from Ireland.

The guys gave us a safety briefing and an outline of what we might expect during the trip then we all got to know each other more over dinner.

First impression of voyage crew and permanent crew were good, lets see 🙂

Sunday morning (5^th Jan) saw us moving to anchor off the town for last minute provisions, we then weighed anchor and sailed out of Stanley harbour at about 09.15. After a visit to Volunteer Point where we took a walk ashore to view the largest King Penguin colony in the Falklands along with smaller Gentoo and Magellanic Penguin colonies.

More Magellanics checking out our transport

OK, now lets get together with the crowd

Mature and adolescent Magellanic Penguins on the beach

Leaving in the afternoon for Saunders Island we were initially under sail but soon, due to unfavourable winds, we had to start motor sailing. As the day wore on the weather deteriorated and, by the 20.00 – 24.00 watch (my watch), we were encountering high winds and very choppy sea conditions.

Weather conditions had deteriorated further during the early morning of Monday morning and the 00.00 – 04.00 watch had a pretty miserable time of it having to reduce sail in heavy rain and very confused sea conditions. Several of the Voyage Crew were by now suffering from sea sickness. By the time I was back on watch at 08.00 we were approaching the lee of Saunders Island and the conditions had moderated considerably. After anchoring off the settlement all of the other voyage crew went ashore but, as I had been here only a few weeks ago I elected to stay on board and catch up with some sleep and my diary. The night was then spent at anchor.

Leaving Saunders anchorage at 05.45 on Tuesday we left via narrow passages through the islands including Woolly Gap. All were negotiated under sail thus necessitating a lot of jibing, a good introduction to sail handling on Tecla. Sailing this route was quite a demanding but extremely rewarding experience. The original intention had been to visit one or two more of the islands in the Falklands group but, due to deteriorating weather conditions the captain has decided we will sail directly for Antarctica where our first port of call, if feasible, will be Elephant Island. Coming through the passages we had the normal escort services of both Commerson and Beale’s Dolphins and the following watch reported seeing a number of wales which were thought to be Fin Wales.

Once clear of the islands the initial course was to the South West allowing us to avoid the rough seas normally encountered over the Burford Banks and take the passage between then and Staten Island.

As I had been allocated to the 8 to 12 watch the day was seen out on watch and at midnight, on handing over to the 12 to 4 we assisted with jibing to take us from a South Westerly course round to a South Easterly course to cross the Drake passage and make directly for Elephant Island.

Wednesday was more of the same still heading SW on a bearing of 160 to 170 under sail. Early in the day the sea conditions had been quite good allowing for a degree of comfort onboard but, as the day progressed, the winds strengthened and the sea became very choppy leading to us pitching around a lot and making helming (with a following wind) challenging. My fellow watch keepers on the 8 to 12 are Kerry and Christina for the voyage crew and Gjis and Jonathan from the permanent crew who do a six-hour watch (6 to 12). Kerry, Cristina, Jonathan and myself do half hour shifts on the helm and then standby on deck to help with any sail handling that may be necessary. As, if there is no sail handling to do, time can drag a little so we have started playing word games ‘name an animal starting with…’ for instance and, as it can get rather cold with the air temperature at 4 deg C, we hum tunes and ‘dance’ around deck. As we are wearing multiple layers to ward of the cold the dancing is more of a shuffle which we have christened the penguin dance. Adds amusement and helps us stay a little warmer.

Thursday 9^th Jan dawned as a reasonably clear day with extended periods of sunshine and good winds leading to a very pleasant sailing conditions. Our guide / deck hand, Jonathan, brought out a Terrango which is a South American stringed instrument. The instrument has neck similar to that of a guitar but much shorter and carrying 10 strings. The sound box is very small and, although his is made of laminated wood, was traditionally made using the shell of an Armadillo. The instrument produces quite a high-pitched note which, along with the tunes he plays, is very invocative of Latin America. This, along with the fine weather, gave quite a holiday atmosphere on the watch. Through the watch the wind was gradually weakening leading to removing the reef from the sails and replacing the jib with a larger one in an effort to maximise speed in the prevailing conditions. Unfortunately, the wind had died away to almost nothing by early afternoon leading to the engine being started and ‘motor sailing’ commencing. The evening watch was a polar opposite of the morning, although still benefitting from calm seas we were shrouded in haze and faced frequent rain showers making for rather miserable conditions. It was now that the oilskins I had purchased in Punta Arenas really showed their benefit keeping me dry and snug thoughout.

Sailed on through generally misty / overcast conditions on the Friday with the only highlights being the siting of a Pale Mantled Sooty Albatross, apparently an unusual sighting, and having hot chocolate mid watch. More games and dancing to try and dispel the cold and tedium of watch keeping in these conditions. Saturday morning saw improving conditions with the sun breaking through on occasion and us reaching the Convergence Zone where we were in colder waters which, having higher levels of Zoo and Photo Plankton, lead to associated higher incidents of sightings of marine life, mainly penguins and whales. This transition also heralded a change in water colour which went from a royal blue to mercury grey. Once again we were serenaded by Jonathan on the Terrango.

At one stage during the morning watch we spotted whales spouting ahead of us and quickly realised that there was a large pod of maybe 10 or more Fin Whales feeding around us so Gjis stopped the engine and we just drifted and observed them for about 25 minutes. There were a couple of occasions where tail flukes were spotted as the animals dove leading us to believe that there were probably one or two Humpback Whales amongst the Fins. This was a very special sighting and left us all rather in awe. In comparison the evening watch was a bit of an anti-climax, but we did cross the 60⁰latitude and thus officially entered Antarctic waters. It was also noted that from now we needed to be on standby for having to start ice watches as the risk of encountering ice was now considerable.

A goodbye fountain. Living up to 85 years and up to 26m in length these guys feed on crustaceans, krill, squid and fish

Sunday 12^th Jan saw us arriving at Elephant Island.

The first glimpse of Elephant Island and thus Antarctica through the mists

A happy captain, after 5 years of planning Gjis brings his ship to Antarctica for the first time.

Kerry, Jonathan, Cristina and Henri celebrating landfall

The original plan had been to land at Cape Wild on the northern coast. This is the location where, sheltering under their life boats the crew of the Endeavour spent the winter waiting for Shackleton to reach the whaling stations on South Georgia and arrange a rescue mission. Cape Wild is named for Shackleton’s second in command.

Heading West along Elephant Island’s south coast

Unfortunately, due to dense fog and relatively high swell it was deemed not to be possible to make this landing so we continued around the island to the South Western corner where we anchored in a small bay under Cape Lookout from where we went ashore onto a small beach.

Eastern headland on entrance to bay under Cape Lookout

First landfall on the South Shetland islands and in Antarctica. The beach here was very rocky with a small glacier terminating above providing a cascade and a small glacial lagoon at the back of the beach. On the beach were a small group of sub-adult Elephant Seals and a few Cape Fur Seals along with small colonies of Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins. The first Chinstraps I had seen. These are quite a dainty smallish penguin with very pink feet and a fine chinstrap of black pencilled into the white of the throat, they are quite cute little things. There were quite well developed chicks in both colonies but we were advised that the Gentoo chicks were probably about 2 months with the Chinstraps about 1 month. Also observed were a few artic terns fishing just off the beach and bathing in the fresh water lagoon.

Cape Fur Seal, might have been telling us where to get away too

Subadult Elephant Seal looking rather bemused

More Chinstraps, they are quite a delicate little penguin and seem to have very good manners

Some of the team in front of the penguin colony – mixture of Chinstraps and Gentoos nesting here.

On re-joining Tecla we immediately set sail to our next destination.

Pulling out from Cape Lookout as the mists flow in.

So, here we are off the north western tip of Antarctica. Having survived the roaring forties on the Europa I have now sailed from Stanley at 51,42 South to Elephant Island at 61,50 South thus passing through the furious fifties and into the screaming sixties and in the process crossing the infamous Drake Passage. And, I’m still alive to tell the story.

To be honest, as mentioned above we left the Falklands in a hurry in an effort to avoid the storm systems coming in so we had what was considered to be a very comfortable crossing of the Drake. Although miserable at times we never experienced the very large broken seas that it is renowned for so, we were lucky.

What of Antarctica? First impression is that it is bleak and unwelcoming. It looks like it will deal you a very raw hand if you are not very wary of its moods. And, its big. We have only seen the Coasts of Elephant Island to date and this, to my mind, was just a small island off the coast of the Antarctica Peninsular. Its a pretty substantial island with peaks of close to 1000m and some not insignificant glaciers. What will the mainland be like?

Having seen Elephant Island in the flesh really makes you appreciate how mentally and physically tough those who were marooned here from the Endurance must have been.

Back to Chile and on to Stanley

Friday (27 Dec) saw me travelling again, initially back to El Calafate and then, on Saturday, on to Puerto Natales in Chile. Friday morning was spent in the hostel in El Chalten as it poured with rain. El Chalten said goodbye in the same style as it had said Hi seven days earlier. I stayed in the Schilling Patagonia Travellers again and was welcomed back like a longlost friend, they are a very friendly lot. That evening I ate out in the town and had guanaco and sweet potato stew washed down with Calafate beer. The guanaco was very reminiscent of venison.

The stop in Puerto Natales was not on the original plan but rather a necessity imposed by the lack of seats on buses on to Punta Arenas due the number of locals travelling for New Year. As I was to be in Puerto Natales for two full days, I decided to use one of them for a day trip to Torres del Paine National Park and to do the walk up to the base of Paine Towers. The other day was spent in the town with walks along the seafront which allows good views across the harbour to the distant mountains. Further interest is added by the Black Necked Swans frequenting the harbour shores and a number of interesting sculptures.

Was probably thinking about the showy neighbours

Some local sculpture. Not sure what it is meant to represent but, with the mountains in the background, it screams FREEDOM to me

The iconic Black Necked Swans with an interloper who looks like an Aylesbury Duck?

Look up Puerto Natales on line and you’ll see this . Must be one of the most photographed ruined piers anywhere.

Iconic Swan and pier photobombed by that duck

You’ll need to be quick on your feet, road runs for about 1km before any appreciable
elevation change

Was sitting on the sea front reading when this guy came to keep me company.

The hike was booked for Sunday online though Denmades.com and provided through W Circuit Patagonia in PN. There was a full minibus of 14 guests and 2 guides leaving PN at 06.30. We arrived at the park, cleared formalities and started walking about 09.15. The group was mixed consisting of myself, a Japanese couple, a Swiss man, a Chilean man, two young ladies from Peru, a more mature lady from El Salvador, one other South American lady and five Chinese (4 ladies and a man). The lead guide invited us to walk at our own pace for the first section and to regroup at the second bridge after which he would lead and set the pace.

The view ahead before turning into the river valley

This was a good approach as it allowed him to asses the abilities of the hikers and then set a sensible pace that would maximise the chances of all achieving the goal of getting to the towers and back safely. This he managed very well. The trail was initially through rolling countryside before turning up over a shoulder, reasonably steep climb, and into the valley of the Rio Ascencio which we were then to follow up to its source of the melt water lake at the base of the towers.

Don’t forget to look behind as you climb

The first section in the valley was undulating and high up on the Eastern side before dropping down to cross the river and, after a short climb, arrive at a refuge. Here we refilled our water bottles, had a bite to eat and then set off into a forested area which was to be the start of the real climb up to the destination. Clearing the forest we exited onto the ancient moraine which had once formed the terminus of a glacier that existed below the towers. This was by far the steepest and most arduous section of the walk in all lasting about 45 minutes until, coming over the top of the moraine you are confronted by the towers with the melt water lake below.

First glimpse of the top of Paine Towers

Trekkers on path up the moraine – clue, look for the tiny spots of red, blue and black to the left of the image

Above the lake, below the broken ground at the base of the towers, is a sheer face that has been polished by ice over the millennia and, as it was running with melt water, it acted as a reflector for the sun light. We had been blessed with a beautiful day.

On the way back down the group stayed together supporting the weaker members as necessary. On reaching the refuge, the guide approached me and, seeing the longing look in my eye as I observed people staying at the refuge drinking beer, suggested that, as I was obviously quite capable of looking after myself, I might like to go ahead and have a beer at the entrance whilst waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. This kind offer was duly accepted so a good days walking was rounded off with a couple of well deserved cold beers whilst watching the day unwind over the mountains.

Enjoying a beer and watching the curtain close on the final act of a beautiful day

Again, this is a ‘honeypot’ walk and consequently very busy with ques forming in some areas. This unfortunately led to the ‘idiot fringe’ of the walking community having to try to force their way through by just pushing past or going of the trail irrespective of the environmental damage caused and the risk to themselves and others. Our guide remonstrated with several of these fools but I’m afraid that he was just wasting his breath. The comments I threw in the direction of some of these morons were probably not quite as polite as those of our guide 🙂

On returning to Puerto Natales 6 of us joined up to share a meal and a beer or two in one of the local restaurants thus rounding off a pleasant day with some interesting people.

Monday, New Years Eve. After taking a final walk along Puerto Natales’ sea front returned to hostel to pack as later I was catching a bus back to Punta Arenas at 3pm. After checking into Les Voiletas hostel in PA I went out in the evening to find somewhere to eat, Punta Arenas was closed 😊. It seems that New Year’s Eve in Chile is a time for family and friends and entertaining at home. Having walked around I eventually gravitated to La Luna, a restruant which I had eaten in before and liked and which was actually open. Being New Year’s Eve, they had a fixed menu with three dishes to choose from for each course plus an aperitif and two glasses of wine for the equivalent to £54. Thought that this was a bit steep but didn’t appear to have many other options. Opted for a Pisco Sour followed by a King Crab Terrine, Shank of Lamb and Calafate cream desert. The meal was actually very good and afterwards I took a walk along the sea front to see the day fading out. Thus ended 2019, tomorrow sees us moving forwards into a new decade.

The sun fading away on the last day of the year and decade to make way for a new
decade of discovery

The next days were taken up with wandering around PA, putting more of my thoughts down in the blog and preparing for the flight back to Stanley on 4th where I was joining Tecla for the next leg of my Southern odyssey, sailing back to Punta Arenas via the Antarctic.

As Stanley in the Falklands Punta Arenas became the final resting place of many old ladies of the seas in the late 19th & earl 20th centuries

There were many locations around populated areas where Lupins were to be found, a reminder of the old country brought by early settlers?

Brightly decorated old fire tube boiler. Last reminder of an old steam locomotive?

A moment of reflection, having spent a little time in Punta Arenas I had been witness to some of the political unrest currently blighting the Chile. As seems to be the case in many locations today the more or less legitimate protests of the poorer people against the inequality of society have been highjacked by anarchists who have no real agenda other than to destroy. There is undoubtedly inequality which needs to be addressed at many levels but the total destruction of the prevailing capitalist system can lead to nothing other than the disintegration of society and the law of the jungle. Where will todays poor then be, in a benevolent society or under the tyranny of extreme dictatorships whether left or right leaning? I know where I believe it will lead and I suspect charity and looking to the weak will be low on the agenda.

Hated symbol of capitalism. Santander sponsored work café where locals of all
socioeconomic groups seemed to be welcome to spend as long as they wish using
free internet. Better smash the windows then LOL
They had boarded over the lower windows but obviously overlooked the higher
curved windows until it was to late.

A Sojourn in Patagonia, Into Argentina

Someone I trust said “Don’t do Puerto Natales / Torres del Paine, to many people, you’ll hate it, head straight into Argentina. You’ll love the vibe in El Calafate and the walking around El Chalten”. So I took them on their word and boarded a bus to El Calafate (via a change in Puerto Natales) and about 10 hrs later arrived at Schilling Patagonia Travellers hostel. On arrival at the bus station in Calafate I booked a bus to go to the local glacier national park next day (Wednesday) and another to take me onto El Chalten on Friday. When I arrived at Schilling I was shattered so just had a quick beer on of to bed.

The bus journey had been reasonably interesting with, from time to time, views of distant mountains but, other than near the coast, the dominating scenery had been that of arid steppe punctuated with aqua marine jewels of glacial runoff lakes. Despite the predominately arid nature of the landscape there were signs of life in the form of cattle, sheep, horses, guanacos, rheas and even splashes of bright pink around some smaller soda lakes indicating the presence of flamingos. From time to time there would appear a green oasis in a fold in the land which indicated a water source and was invariably accompanied by an estancia.

Gauchos working sheep as seen from the bus close to the Chile / Argentina border

Up and out early on Wednesday to visit Perito Moreno glacier in Los Glaciares National Park which is about 1.5hrs on the bus. Other than the last section into the park most of the route follows Laguno Argentino, a massive lake fed by melt waters from the various surrounding glaciers. As the park entrance and the higher ground is approached the scenery becomes gradually more verdant until you are surrounded by woodland. Again I saw a gaucho on horseback working sheep but another aspect of rural life witnessed was, when passing a small estancia, I could see several men working on the carcass of a cow that they had hanging from a trestle, food for the family no doubt. On rounding a corner we caught our first glimpse of the Perito Moreno glacier which, even at a distance looked pretty impressive.

First view of Perito Moreno from the bus on the way in.

Arriving at the parking lot saw me distracted by two 750cc Africa twins probably dating from the late 1990’s or early 2000’s, the bike that I used to own in Thailand. These two were registered in France and, 20 odd years later, still doing what they were designed to do. Good to see.

French registered original 750cc Africa Twins still earning their living as overland bikes. Classics.

Having overcome this distraction I teamed up with Richard, a fellow Brit that I met on the bus and we went to take a closer look at the glacier. Richard had been travelling in Chile / Patagonia for 3 months and was happy go find someone to talk to as he explained that his Spanish was very limited and that he had not found many people who spoke English. It turned out that one thing we had in common was that we have both spent approx. 10 years living in Thailand although, he was there more recently than I was having only left just prior to commencing on his current travels. He had originally gone to Thailand as an English lecturer at one of the Bangkok universities but for his last 5 years there had worked with a friend promoting MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in SE Asia.

To facilitate viewing of the glacier the park has built a series of elevated walkways and viewing platforms that allow you to within about 100m of the snout of this frozen behemoth. With a surface area of approx. 750 square kilometres it’s 30km long and 5km wide at the terminus and is the third largest glacier in Argentina. It is surely the most easily approachable.

Looking down onto one of the network of viewing platforms.

Being at an elevation of less than 200m and at relatively high temperatures it seems that this glacier should be heavily impacted by global warming but, on the contrary, it is one of a few glaciers that is relatively stable and has in fact grown slightly over the last century, why?

We spent the next few hours walking up and down the walkways / viewing platforms at the end of the glacier. Having seen several glaciers in my time I have no hesitation in saying that this was by far the most impressive I’ve seen. The terminal is very broken ice and there was the almost constant sound of ongoing fracturing with ice falls, some substantial, not infrequent.

Looking East along the face of the ice cliff

The very blue face with a hole through it (foreground) is the result of a recent fracture. Ice only stays this blue for a short while before frosting over.

As the glacier terminates in Laguna Argentino these falls are evidence through the large amount of floating ice and waves resulting from the large slabs of ice hitting the water. Although the falls were visually and audibly spectacular, what was probably even more impressive was a large flow that was calved from the face of the glacier underwater. This flow silently raised itself leviathan like from the depths in a very sedate fashion and rolled on the surface exhibiting a whole range of colours from white though electric blue through cobalt to coal black. The section that reflected black sparkled a thousand stars as the light reflected of the water on its surface.

Sense of scale is lost, the floating flow was massive

One of the impressive aspects of the glacier was indeed the colour variations in the ice. How colour ice blue obtained is name is very obvious were the ice was newly fractured but, depending on how the light strikes the ice, the thickness and the nature of the ice the colours range from deep blues through to pure white. Anyone familiar with an arcing electrical connection would surely find the colour match somewhere within the glacier. In some areas the ice also exhibited thin brown veins running more or less diagonally across its face. These are presumable the result of windblown soil landing on the surface of the glacier and then becoming an integral part of the body of ice which, in time, gets tilted by the action of the glacier moving into the valley. I would highly recommend a visit to this glacier to anyone who happens to be in the area.

The next day, Thursday 19^th Dec, was spent in and around Calafate and the hostel. In the morning I walked down to the edge of the lake and round to the municipal nature conservation area. This is a small area that they are trying to keep in good condition as a refuge for wetland bird life. The most interesting birds spotted being Austral Flamingo’s and a Cinereous Harrier. One of the major challenges they have is that dogs frequently break through the fences and chase the birds. I witnessed this happening and, despite it lending me the opportunity to capture so good images of flamingos taking-off and flying, I felt this was really an issue that they needed to resolve.

Walking into El Calafate municipal conservation area, horses still have a real place in the community

The bird watching hides hint at what their purpose is

On talking to one of the staff I was advised that they are powerless to do anything as the dogs are not strays but privately owned pets that are allowed to wander the streets. The authorities are apparently powerless to do anything about this.

In the evening I sought advice from the staff at the hostel on the best place to eat and was directed to Parrilla Mi Viejo which was a restaurant which had previously caught my eye as it had a number of whole lambs on spits roasting in front of an open fire in its window. Further the recommended eating lamb as it’s local and very good. If I wanted good steak, they suggested that I should wait until I was in Buenos Aires where the best steak is to be had. I followed their advice and went for the roast lamb accompanied with roast vegetables and was dully presented with what looked like a week’s worth of food on a platter. The lamb was indeed delicious and I managed to battle my way through the whole serving washed down with a local beer.

Friday saw me heading on to El Chaltern by bus. A couple of observations made during this leg where that back packing is not what it used to be and that some fellow travellers were very self-centred with little interest in the wellbeing of those around them. The busses, although not the most luxurious, are certainly a cut above those that I’ve used in the past, seem to attract a large number of wheelie bag packers in state of the art outdoor adventure fashion gear and accessories. They seem to have little interest in their surroundings or the act of travel as evidenced by the habit of closing the bus curtains and excluding themselves and their fellow passengers from the views to be had. I can only assume that the driver is to arrive at a destination, get your selfie and then isolate yourself once more from your surroundings on the onward trip.

Its better to travel well than to arrive – Buddha

In El Chalten the only accommodation available was in shared rooms. I had booked into Rancho Grande hostel where I was to be sharing a room with 3 others. It has also a long time since I stayed in this type of accommodation, but I survived. The advantage of this arrangement is that you do get a chance to know some of the other people travelling.

El Chalten is a new town established in 1985 specifically to cater for hikers and climbers who come to the area for the Chaltern and Fitz Roy mountains. There are multi day hikes that originate from the town but, as I had nothing arranged and little in the way of hiking kit, what specifically appealed to me about the location was that it is the start point for numerous day hikes of different severity ranging from a couple of hours to full day walks. I was going to have 6 full days in El Chalten but intended having at least one rest day on Christmas day.

On Saturday morning, despite the day being heavily overcast, I set out at about 07.30 to walk up to the viewpoint at Laguna Capri. This was classed as one of the easy walks which would take about 4 hours with a bit of climbing, nothing to severe.

Unfortunately, as I started climbing the weather started to deteriorate further with a strong wind and the rain gradually getting harder. Persevering I made it to Laguna Capri in good time, walked around the end of the lake then climbed up to the return loop and viewpoint. There was no view. Fortunately a lot of the route was through forest that protected me from the worse of the weather but the combination of moderately heavy rain and driving wind left my waterproofs wanting, by then end of the walk (actually took 3 hours) I was pretty wet.

One thing that caused me amusement during my return leg was to see a younger couple coming up the trail who were wearing cheap plastic ponchos for extra protection from the rain. As I was approaching the man decided to look up the valley from an exposed shoulder and stepped into the full force of the wind which immediately caught the poncho and ripped it to shreds. I know it was rather mean of me to be amused but I did note that, as I passed, his female partner also had a large grin on her face.

Having dried out back at the hostel I did venture out again in the evening as the weather had improved and walked to a waterfall that is about 3km out of town. The falls were quite pleasant but, as there was a parking place within about 200m of them they were quite busy, not to bad though. The walk there and back was on a path a little way off the vehicular track through wood and heathland and was very pleasant.

Falls benefitted from earlier rains and worth the walk

The weather was expected to be miserable again on Sunday (22^nd) and, it did not disappoint. In the face of the prevailing conditions I decided that a day spent trying to catch up with my journal and blog would be a day well spent so stayed in the hostel common area.

The forecast for Monday was better so I had decided to attempt on of the longer hikes to take me to Laguna Torre with the possibility of extending it by following the path along the moraine around the edge of the lake. As it was to be a longish day and I was awake early I set out at 06.00. There was some clear weather in evidence but the valley I was to follow up into the mountains was clouded in with light rain falling. The rain was not heavy enough to cause concern and added to the ambience as it meant that there was a rainbow moving up the valley ahead of me for much of the route.

Chasing the rainbow. Never found the pot of gold

Much water running off rain soaked valley margins

The climb was not particularly challenging with the only steeper section being at the end where you have to climb over the terminal moraine that marks the extent of the original glacier to drop back down to the glacial lake. Unlike many of these lakes which are aquamarine, Laguna Torre is more khaki. This colouration is presumably due to the presence of sediment carried down with the melt water from the adjacent glacier.

The surface of the lake was studded with ice flows of varying colour and of weird shape whilst along the shore, on a pebbled beach, were small water polished fragments of ice that glistened in the sun like so many diamonds. I found myself wishing that I had a wee dram of single malt to take with one of mother nature’s supplied ‘rocks’ but, failing that, whilst reflecting on the fact that each fragment was probably 100s if not 1000s of years old I sat quietly on a log and munched on a couple. The ice was crystal clear and the taste? Well, it tasted of ice 😊.

My enquiry into the culinary merits of Laguna Torre’s ice thus concluded I moved back up onto the crest of the moraine to complete the further walk of 2km along the crest to the viewpoint overlooking the terminus of the present-day glacier. It was at this point that I came to realise that, in the interim, the wind had strengthened quite significantly. After battling with the wind which virtually flattened me several times and considering the very rough terrain with only approximately 1/3 of the distance covered, I decided that this really was a situation where discretion should be exercised. Consequently, I back tracked a little way to pick up a small trail that led away down the outer face of the moraine and through the forest for a couple of kilometres before meeting up with the main trail I’d previously used on the way up. This trail was then taken back down to the village and my hostel. In all I had covered approximately 24km with an altitude change of only about 240m.

Source of the ice from the moraine before wind stopped play

The early start had paid off as I saw virtually no other hikers on the way up to the lake and had the lake vista to myself for close to 15 minutes before anyone else appeared. As was to become the norm as I descended the trail was becoming increasingly busy with people making their way up. The only negative aspect of the walk was the fact that the weather never cleared substantially throughout the day with the mountains stubbornly remaining socked in with only occasional teasing glimpses of their true magnificence. However, the walk was still very rewarding passing through varied terrain including beautiful mature woodland that was alive with bird life. The other positive I could take away was, despite recent challenges to my health which had severely curtailed my exercise regime, I found that I was walking well and after approximately 7 hours out on the trails was not feeling particularly fatigued.

Tuesday 24^th, Christmas eve. As, once again, the forecast for today was reasonable I had decided to go for the big one, The Fitz Roy Trail. This trail retraces the earlier walk up to Laguna Capri but then follows through a glacial valley that is studded with lakes and bisected by the Rio Blanco before climbing over the shoulder of the mountain and up a moraine to Laguna de los Tres. Just short of the start of the climb is a camp site at Poincenot which was a veritable tent city where many people camp before making the climb next morning. This walk is considered to be the best and hardest in the region with glorious views of the mountains on a fine day. Consequently, it is very busy. My normal ploy of making an early start paid of again as, although I met several groups who had presumably camped at Poincenot, on their way down I only encountered one other person heading in my direction and again, on reaching Laguna de los Tres mirador had it virtually to myself.

After spending some time at the viewpoint hoping for the weather to open and afford me some views I eventually gave up and headed back down. As I was still feeling strong I decided that, rather than just follow the normal route back down, I would take a route up a side valley that branches off not far below the campsite and takes you back across the face of the range to eventually drop you back into the valley of the Rio Fitz Roy and joins with the Laguna Torre trail to take you back to the town.

This side trail, Sendero Madrere Hija, is not heavily used and runs through another beautiful lake studded glacial valley adding another dimension to the overall walk and allowing me to avoid the worse of the crowds who were by now swarming up the main trail. Again, this trail ran through mature woodland which is scattered with deadfall and where the trees are liberally draped in long trailing pail green lichen. These woods conjured up images of Fangorm or Mirk Wood form Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in my mind.

With such a healthy environment there is a wealth of bird life and on this walk I was treated to a sighting of a giant black woodpecker which has a bright scarlet crested head. This is an iconic bird in the Patagonian woodlands. By the end of this day I had covered approximately 27km and more than 1000m of ascent/decent. I knew I had done something but, other than a feeling of well-deserved weariness, was again very satisfied.

Wednesday 25^th Dec, Christmas Day. Decided that, being Christmas Day, I could justify having a relaxing day so kicked off the day by calling MJ and wishing her a happy Christmas despite the fact that she was working. I then settled down in the hostel’s common area for more blog writing. At about 4pm, as it was a very pleasant evening, I decided to walk to two miradors that are situated on the edge of the town just the other side of the Rio Fitz Roy. Mirador de los Condores and Mirador de las Aguilas. In total, from the hostel, this walk was around 7 or 8 kilometres and due to its proximity to town is very popular. Although the trail up to each is a bit of a motorway there is an unmarked trail that connects them via a ridge line which is little used and, at times, a challenge to follow on the ground. Naturally I sought out and followed this. In all the walk to just over two hours after which I adjourned to the bar adjacent to the hostel for happy hour. This bar has a very pleasant atmosphere and offers a good range of locally produced craft beers which are really good and, during happy hour, only about £1.50 a pint. Sufficiently mellowed by a couple of pints I retired to the hostel restaurant for a Christmas dinner of roast lamb and then adjourned to bed. Not a traditional Christmas day but quite a pleasant one all the same.

Weather wise, Thursday dawned more of the same, some sun but mostly cloud. Today had been set aside for what is billed as the most challenging day walk from El Chalten. The peak of Loma del Pliegue Tumbado at 1520m gives an altitude gain of 1100m and is a 22km round trip. Bagging my first Patagonian peak, albeit a small one.

I set out early once more to avoid the crowds and had made it most of the way to the mirador, which is some distance short of the peak, before seeing another person, a young American guy who overtook me. On reaching the mirador I stopped to take in the view and, sheltering from the wind behind a small wall had a chat with my fellow walker. After another 5 minutes we were joined by two further Americans, a father and son. All three lived in San Francisco but had not met before this. After getting acquainted for a short while the others decided that, as they could see no obvious trail and due to the strength of the wind, they would not try for the peak but rather drop back down.

I stayed on at the mirador a while longer to enjoy the solitude and consider my options. As the peak did not look as if it would be at all technical, I decided to investigate further and see if I could find the route up. Walking back away from the mirador I noticed what looked like a cairn built on the top of a large rock approx. 100m of to the right of the trail and, on investigation, this marked the beginning of a reasonably obvious route up the hill. At this point the wind was not an issue so I decided to give it a go. The route, steep at times, climbed steadily and then, as the slope steepened zig-zagged its way up the South East side of the hill with a couple of rocky semi scrambling sections. Although there was the occasional strong gust the wind never became an issue on the climb. At the top the high point consisted of a jumble of broken rock which was exposed to reasonably strong gusts but, to the North West side someone had crafted a couple of rudimentary seats into the rock pile which were quite sheltered and looked out on to the summits of the Chalten / Fitz Roy ranges.

Other than for me the summit of Tumbado was deserted and, although the distant summits were cloaked in cloud, I settled in to admire the view. In this sheltered spot I enjoyed complete solitude in which I could contemplate the distant peaks as the clouds eddied around them until, eventually after about 40 minutes, my revelry was disturbed by a group of 4 arriving. A stayed a while longer and then waved goodbye to a highpoint in my Patagonian walking and for the 40-minute period had belonged solely to me. Following the trail back down into the forest I stopped after some time to eat a bit of lunch in an idyllic glade by the side of a small stream.

Again, the overall route had been very enjoyable. On the lower slopes it ran alongside a small canyon with a stream in the bottom through an open moorland type habitat until, after topping a small ridge it proceeded into, what had become to me, the forests symbolic of the walks in this region. Exiting the forest, you enter a much harsher environment of broken rock and scree, home only to small ground hugging alpine plants. Two episodes on the way up which stay with me were, rounding a corner to be confronted by a small herd of Hereford cows and calves which had positioned themselves beautifully for a photograph and, a bit higher up on the edge of a clearing in the woodland, a group of parakeets. A bit of a surprise as I did not realise there were any such exotic birds on this region.

Meeting the locals but look like their ancestors might be from my neck of the woods

In the evening a joined a young Dutch lady, who had been in the same room as me when I arrived and had just done a multi-day walk, for a beer and a pizza. It was interesting talking to her about the hike she had done which was unsupported, but she had teamed up with 3 American siblings (2 boys and a girl). As there were several river crossings that they had to do by using a harness and fixed cables and a couple of passes with at least one technical descent it sounded like it would have been very difficult to have completed the route solo.

A Sojourn in Patagonia, Punta Arenas

Europa drawfed by small coastal tanker and what I understand to be a private yacht as she sails out of Punta Arenas for Antarctica. The end of one story and the beginning of a new one.

Having parted company with the Europa I was to spend a few days in and around Punta Arenas before heading north for Puerto Natales (Chile) and El Calafate and El Chalten in Agentinian Patagonia which meant I was still in town to see Europa leaving on her next adventure. Completing the passage through the Straights of Magellan, across the Drake Passage and on to Antarctica. Was I a little sad to see her go and did I wish that I could have been with her, just a bit 🙁

The time in Punta Arenas was put to good use exploring the area and catching up with Emails and this blog. Having been established in the 1840’s as a penal colony the city soon grew in importance and gave creadance to Chile’s claim for soverienty over the Straights of Magellan. It became an important location for ships passing through the straights and, as with Stanley, became the grave yard of many of the brave old ladies when the southern seas finally beat them into submission. An influx of European immigrants driven by a gold rush and sheep farming boom in the late 1800s drove its further development to become the capital city for this region and, with a population of 100,000+, it is now the most populous and coldest city in the far south of Southern America. Today Puntas Arenas is one of the major gateways for trips to Antarctica.

Part of the rational behind Europa’s current circumnavigation was to celebrate Magellan’s similar voyage 5 centries earlier.

The city has a small city feel to it and is generally made up of one or two story buildings spralled over a large area. Many districts consist of what looks like poor quality housing and the general feeling is that there is not a great level of prosperity although there is evidence of considerable wealth amongst some sectors of the population. This disparity between the haves and have nots is one of the issues driving the high levels of civil unrest being experienced in Chile. Many business in town are boarded up with doors only open during business hours and locked down at night. Things do get a bit lively around the central square and adjacent police headquarters at night and these are quite close to the hostel where I stay. Generally the atmosphere is not particularly threatening although, on one occasion when things seemed extra boisterous, I chose a circuitous route back to avoid this area.

The internet café where I work (a Santander bank facility) has boarded up windows but they were obviously a bit slow boarding up the upper section.

Water canon outside of police HQ shows evidence of being subject to a respray by protesters which suggests that the suppression of the protests may not be as harsh as might be expected.

When walking around it is apparent that the local talent for painting inaminate objects has reached a higher level than that exhibited by the protesters with, as in Montevideo some impressive wall art.

Novel spin on giving your property a face lift

There, again in common with Montevideo, are a number of quite impressive bronzes around the city most of which seem to be dedicated to Magellan.

The seated Indian figure at the base of the memorial has a very polished foot – good luck charm?

Memorial to Magellan’s voyage on the sea front.

Escaping from the town 7 miles East into the hills behind takes me into Reserva Nacional Magallanes which is a forest reserve with a number of hiking trails and view points (miradors). Here I completed the main circuit of the reserve and then exited from the smaller Northern gate into the valley of Rio de Las Minas which runs down into the North end of the city. The reserve is mainly forested with just a few of the high points around the miradors being open heathland. The trees around the edges of the woodland where they are unprotected are heavily sculpted by the prevailing winds taking on pronounced leans and twisted limbs. Reflecting the air quality they are dressed in flowing lichen.

At the edge of a mirador the trees are scupted by the winds

Calafate, a fruiting bush synonymous with the region

View from mirador Zapador Austral over the city. Europa is berthed behind the large cruise ship – believe me, she is there.

Evidence that some of the current heathland once hosted large trees

These bright orange ‘eggs’ were quite common. They are soft to the touch and I suspect them to be some form of fungal growth.

Having excited the park I followed the track down through open land where there were locals herding cattle on horseback and others picnicking by the river. As the town was approached low quality but interesting housing could be seen alongside the track. I finally reached my accommodation approximately 5 hours after starting to walk, tired but invigorated – was good to get some miles in and the walk provided variety and interest throughout.

*The home associated with the 2cv. The roof ornament suggests a bit of a motor head, there was also an old VW Beetle on the grounds.*

The day was rounded of by a walk on the beach to say goodbye to the Bark Europa with the next target to get to El Calafate Argentina.

Down to the Deep South, The first 28 days.

A journey, after all, neither begins in the instant we set out, nor ends when we have reached our doorstep once again. It starts much earlier and is really never over, because the film of memory continues running on inside of us long after we have come to a physical standstill. Indeed, there exist something like a contagion of travel, and the disease is essentially incurable.

Ryszard Kapuscinski 2007

Travels with Herodotus

Above is a quote that I have copied from the official voyage log (which is excellent) produced by the two guides who were part of Europa’s crew. So, bearing this quote in mind and considering that I seem to have been suffering from the incurable disease since my teenage years, this is an effort to reflect on the impressions I take away with me from the latest remission. The first part of my current visitation of the terminal travel bug ended with leaving the Bark Europa in Chile after 28 days sharing the experience with a motely group made up of ‘voyage crew’ and the ‘professional crew’. Having previously introduced you to the ship and the places we visited this is now an attempt to reflect on my fears, expectations, experiences and conclusions.

This trip had been booked long in advance, indeed well before I actually took retirement from paid work. So, tied up with the trepidation of travelling into the unknow of sailing on tall ships into the lowest latitudes of the southern oceans (roaring 40’s, furious 50’s and ultimately screaming 60’s), there was the leap into the unknow final chapter of my life. As it was some time since I had undertaken any form of major trip I’ve had to reaquiant myself with all of the activities required prior to travel. One of the bigger challenges being to find insurance cover for a not so young traveller doing something that’s not quite the norm. But there were also all the run of the mill issues like, what to pack, how to travel to/from start and end points, payment methods in various locations, language challenges etc etc.

Along with these practical consideration there were the subtle mind games that your own psyche plays with you. Can I really do this, am I physically up to it, can I cope being cooped up with a bunch of strangers for 28 days, can I really survive sharing a small cabin with up to 4 others, how’s it going to be not being able to talk to MJ in a regular basis, will I be too hot / too cold, what if I get sick, am I really recovered from recent health challenges etc? Coupled with that there was the whole other level of phycological challenges associated with retirement, I’m no longer a productive member of society, I’ve lost the status / position in society that the job title gave me, I’m becoming a ‘has been’, can I really afford this, what does the future hold etc?

With a bit of time and effort all of the practical challenges were overcome (except, of course, in reality I took far more kit than I really needed).

So what of the mind games, firstly addressing the whole mental challenge of being retired. Well, honestly, this really has not been a major problem. Sure there have been occasions when agents have contacted be with the ‘our client’s are screaming out for people with your profile’ line and, just occasionally, the opportunity looks interesting and I might think maybe one more contract, would nice to be a responsible person again. But then I remind myself that life can be short and that there is no defined end game so I need to make the play when I still can. After close to 50 years in paid work it’s now time to spend some of the ill-gotten gains and live every day as a bonus which should be used to the fullest advantage.

Now, the first month of travelling. After British Airways’ best attempts to spoil the whole experience at the outset I picked up my connection in Buenos Aires and arrived in Montevideo in good time to join Europa. So first stressful step concluded and other than BA’s representative at Heathrow getting a full pram load of toys in their face, no heads ripped off yet 🙂

The quality of Montevideo’s street art will stay with me

First close-up view of the Bark Europa – The Boy’s Own image of a real sailing ship.

Were allowed to drop bags off on Europa in the morning but had to kill the day until 18.00 before boarding and then we sat alongside until the next morning. When all you want to do is get on with it this is rather frustrating but at least it’s a little bit of time to meet other members of voyage crew and to start forming some opinions.

However, firstly a bit about the professional crew, first impressions when dropping of bags, bright, young and cheerful. Later, on formally joining the ship in the evening, this initial impression was reinforced. Apart from the captain, first mate and senior guide they all seemed dreadfully young (policeman syndrome?) and predominately female. The mate was a bit older (mid 30’s+) and the captain (Klaas) a wizened old sea dog who could well have been a buccaneer in an earlier incarnation. The chief guide, Jordi, was a Catalan of indeterminate age. By qualification a marine biologist but seemingly in possession of an encyclopaedic knowledge of marine and terrestrial life forms, sailing, guiding, world travel and rock climbing all of which he seems to have a real passion for. As the trip progressed the initial good impressions were only to be reinforced. The crew proved generally (some more experienced than others) to be highly competent, dedicated, professional, tolerant and invariably cheerful despite having to repeatedly explain how things should be done to members of the voyage crew who did not listen and/or knew better.

Some of permanent crew enjoying a moment of relaxation

The Voyage Crew, my compatriots and fellows in crime. Throughout my life I have been a firm believer in first impressions and, from the very first meetings on the dockside and the first evening after boarding, it was very obvious that there might be one or two individuals that would challenge my tolerance levels and yes, I accept that on occasion my tolerance threshold can be rather low. The group were quite diverse ranging in age from late 20’s early 30’s up to their 70’s and a male / female split of approx. 75% to 25%. Mostly they seemed to be yacht sailors who wanted to experience tall ship sailing or those who had sailed tall ships previously and had been bitten by the bug. A common theme was a thirst for an elevated sense of adventure that this type of trip invoked. There were exception’s, myself, as someone with very limited exposure to sailing but some seafaring experience, a couple of guys who were there more for the marine/terrestrial nature / shore excursions but who did, to a greater or lesser degree, pitch in and help with the sailing, a couple wannabe passenger and one rather narcissistic individual who appeared to be primarily interested in how they could achieve the maximum personal gain from the experience. One thing for which I was thankful was that, of a total feasible complement of 46 voyage crew, we were only 26 up to The Falklands and 27 thereafter. Another God send being my cabin mates, two middle aged Michaels who were coincidently both Swiss (maybe not a nation you would associate with sailing) and a younger Dutch guy, Pier. All three proved to be very acceptable company. The Michaels had both sailed on tall ships before and Pier was a yachtsman so I was definitely the least experienced in the room.

As the trip progressed it became obvious to me that the only way that I was going to be able to complete the trip on equitable terms with certain individuals was to make the effort to avoid them as much as possible and, when this was not possible, to draw on all of my tolerance reserves and thereby maintain a level of civility. Although I am not necessarily proud of the intolerance that I thereby exhibited I believe it preferable to outright hostility and, when sharing my thoughts with others towards the end of the trip, I was relieved to find that my views were far from a minority.

Not surprisingly in a group of this size there were many personality traits exhibited and, as is my norm, I felt happiest when around those who appeared to be very comfortable in their own skins and just got on with it with out making any fuss. This trait was particularly appreciated when it came to the sailing of the vessel. We were all allocated to a watch and whilst that watch was on duty we were expected to lend a hand with the sailing. Also, if off watch but on deck it was appreciated if you were to lend a hand. As I’ve said earlier, within the voyage crew there was a range of ability and different levels of enthusiasm for the sailing meaning that some knew what they were doing or picked it up quickly and quietly got on with it. There were those who weren’t overly enthused by the prospect of hauling on lines and consequently tended to keep out of the way which, as there were normally more than enough willing hands for the task, wasn’t necessarily an issue. And then, finally, there was the group who thought that they knew what they were doing, exhibited a reluctance to listen to the advice given by the professional crew and in reality were frequently more of a hindrance than a help to the smooth sailing of the ship.

All of the above probably sounds rather negative so let’s try to add a positive spin. As I hope I’ve hinted at above, I got on fine with the vast majority of my fellow voyagers and those who listened to what was required and just quietly got on with things definitely earned my respect and admiration irrespective of their skill levels. Equally I consider myself supremely blessed as I never suffered for malade de le mer but I truly admired the spirt of those, who despite feeling rotten, tried their best to ignore this handicap and just get on with what was needed. Despite a certain degree of trepidation at working out on the yard arms (climbing the masts was easy but moving out onto the yards was achieved purely through will power and bloody mindedness) I managed to overcome my fears and decidedly wobbly legs and achieve a limited degree of comfort. The first time I worked at unfurling sails was for the Royal (one from the top) which is not only high up but also a pretty slim yard where the height of the footropes means that the yard sat at my hip level rather than stomach level (at this height you can more easily wrap yourself around the yard) making it feel very precarious. A lesson I took from this was that it would be better to start on the mains or topsails where the yards are more substantial and easier to work on. One of the youngest least experienced members of the permanent crew, Natalie, has my undying gratitude for the encouragement and advice she gave that allowed me to take these first tentative steps towards being, at least, of a little use up aloft.

Us jolly jacks were up aloft, aloft. Yours truly top left

Another positive was the real buzz experienced when we were under maximum sail (for prevailing conditions) running well through heavy seas. This was ‘real sailing’ where you get to appreciate the sympathetic attitude of a sailing vessel to the prevailing seas when compared to a vessel that is motoring. It was unfortunate that, due to the prevailing conditions and the necessity of meeting a schedule, the number of times that we experienced ‘real sailing’ were limited. As much as I loved the wild nature of The Falklands and their wild life I could not help but sympathise with those amongst us who felt that we could have spent less time around the islands and more time sailing i.e. using the wind more on a zig-zag course rather than using the motor to butt through the seas on a more direct course onto the wind to satisfy schedule demands.

But we did sail into some beautiful sunsets

Another positive I take from this was the whole Falkland Island experience. I had joined on a tall ship sailing experience and given little consideration to visiting the islands or indeed, what the islands were like. Probably, like many of my generation, my impressions of The Falklands largely revolves around warfare and yomps through a bleak unforgiving environment. What I experienced dispelled this impression. Granted we were there during the summer so saw them at their best but the locals, who were very open, welcoming and friendly, assured me that they are not too bleak even in the depths of winter. The landscapes were very reminiscent of the highland areas of England, Scotland and Wales which immediately recommended it to me although some might still consider it inhospitable. What may have been one of the endearing features that added tremendously to its appeal were the small working settlements on the various islands. These have been established over many generations and invariably nestle in hollows in the land adjacent to a natural water source and sheltered from the worse of the elements by belts of conifers and gorse (both introduced aliens). They are very welcoming (as are their inhabitants) and homely. I could imagine that I would not be to adverse to life in such a place. Added bonus, not to many people 🙂 This beautiful environment is complemented by the rich variety of flora and fauna, that with little natural fear of man, is very approachable. Although the opportunities were rare it was good from time to time to be able to stop, shut out all else and connect with the wonderful gift that wild places are.

Testament to a farming history and good air quality

So, to sum up what have I learnt from the experience. Well firstly, despite the feeling of becoming less patient, less forgiving and less tolerant of people as I grow older I can still make a reasonable fist of managing when forced into close proximity with a mixed group of people for an extended periods. I still have the physical capability and drive to take on new challenges and thrive through them. The dream of sailing a tall ship has been fulfilled and it fully lived up to expectation especially when we were sailing well through reasonably rough seas. That I am still very much of the opinion that you live and learn and that you can learn from anyone no matter their cultural background, age, or sex. And finally, as James, one of my fellow voyagers responded when I observed the life is good, it sure beats the alternative.

Have to admit after 28 days of help and mentoring from the fantastic crew members there was a bit of a lump in the throat on saying goodbye.

Would I do it again, if time and opportunity allowed almost certainly yes – might need more tolerance pills though 🙂

Down to the Deep South, Last of The Falklands and on to Chile

Clearing formalities at around 09.00 it was time to leave the big smoke and sail for pastures new. From Stanley the plan was to head South down the Eastern side of East Falkland visiting locations on the main island along Bleaker Island and Sea Lion Island. Thereafter, Punta Arenas Chile.

Plans don’t always go to plan. The first scheduled stop was to be Bertha’s Beach but, due to the high seas running, it was deemed not to be feasible to land on the beach so, plan B. Bertha’s Beach is effectively an isthmus of low lying dunes with the beach on the open ocean side and a sheltered harbour behind. Unfortunately the harbour is a Royal Navy base and special permission is required to land there, this was duly sought. Eventually we were given permission to anchor in the relatively sheltered entrance to the harbour and then use our Zodiacs to land on the sheltered back side of the Isthmus, a trip of 30 to 40 minutes each way. As it was already late afternoon it was decided to have an early dinner onboard then go ashore for the evening.

It was actually quite a treat to be onshore on another of the beautiful beaches for sunset. The lighting conditions were wonderful and there were a lot of natural sculptures in the san formed by wind and waves. Very few penguins but some small waders feeding on the edge of the surf, quite a refreshing change from the normal penguin and albatross fests.

More works of art from the supreme master

Heading back to the Zodiacs after a great evening

After re-joining the ship we relocated to a new more secure anchorage where we rode out the night before moving on to Bleaker Island, a low lying island that still supports the owners through farming activities supplemented by the tourist dollar. Another straight forward landing onto a sandy beach where we were met by the owners who gave the guides advice on where best to walk. Doing a loop through an area of Tussock we passed Rockhopper and Rock Cormorant colonies on some low cliffs and then on to a large King Cormorant colony on the gentler slopes.

Penguin egg for dinner – why the Rockhoppers aren’t keen on Skuas

Rock Cormorants and Sheathbill in pleasing geometry

Well I got a picture, don’t think he did

Sheathbills (a scavenger) flying towards King Cormorant colony

After anchoring off Bleaker next morning saw us heading out for Bulls Point on the main East Island. From the beach where we landed a circular walk took in a further beach where Sea Lions were to be seen then on up to the top of some shallow cliffs giving access to Rockhopper and Rock Cormorant colonies. When walking up to the cliff we were hit by a short sharp rainstorm with attendant rainbow and good lighting across the cliffs in its aftermath.

Ashy Headed Goose, hadn’t seen these before

Moulting Sea Lions. These are youngsters undergoing their first moult at around one year

As today was 5th December in the Dutch tradition Christmas gifts are given. To mark this occasion we were to have a Pink Elephant event in the evening. Over the previous couple of weeks we had all been labouring away to produce an anonymous gifts, these gifts were duly wrapped and placed in a sack. Names were drawn and the ‘lucky’ person got to select a gift and open it in front of all. However, when your name was drawn you did not have to take a gift but could elect to steal one that had already been revealed. Any one gift could only be stolen twice so the second thief became the permanent owner. The person who’s gift had been stolen then had the option of selecting a further gift or stealing another but they couldn’t steal back the one that they had just lost. This led to a very entertaining evening and there were some well crafted imaginative gifts to be had.

The plan from here had been to sail to Sea Lion Island which was to be our last port of call in The Falkland Islands. Unfortunately this plan was scuppered by two vagrancies of the weather, firstly it was considered that the sea state was probably to wild to make the landing but, more importantly, if we were to stay around the Falklands for the additional day required for this visit we would be arriving at the entrance to the Straights of Magellan when gale force winds were being forecast, not a good prospect. Accordingly next morning (6th Dec) we would set sail for Chile with the aim of being at a safe anchorage before the storm struck.

For the next 3 days, due to the fact that we were heading more or less directly into the prevailing wind, we were motor sailing with just jib and stay sails set to help stabilise the vessel. The conditions on this leg were predominately rough with snow and rain squalls blowing through and big seas running with us shipping a considerable number of waves leading to several very damp watches. On the 9th we arrived into the Straights early in the morning and proceeded into the passage in fine weather but with increasing stronger winds. Arriving at the anchorage where we were to pick up the pilot the next day we duly dropped both anchors in an attempt to hold position. This ‘sheltered anchorage’ turned out to be anything but sheltered with us taking the full force of the wind and waves resulting in the anchors dragging and having to run the engines a full ahead to hold station and prevent further dragging of the anchors. Fortunately, during the next day the winds moderated and we were able to take the pilot required for straights on board at about 16.00 when we then sailed for Punta Arenas under motor. With the wind and currents now actually with us we ran through the night making up to 12Kn and arrived at the Punta Arenas anchorage at 03.30 0n the 11th where we would remain until we went alongside next morning, effectively the end of the trip. To celebrate or arrival we had a BBQ on deck in the evening with all Permeant and Voyage Crew in attendance.

Thursday 12th saw us move into the town jetty where we cleared Chilean formalities and could then go ashore before coming back on board for our last night on The Europa.

Oil rigs at the entrance to Straights of Magellan

Still carrying a bit of sail into the straights

Giant Petrels had been with us throughout

Paul & Jordi remove the last of the canvas for the last time

Paulina enjoys a last sunset from the anchorage

Rubens (Crew) securing things up on the bowsprit

A man of trade joining as at the Punta Arenas anchorage

So the last of the first episode of my Southern journeys but there will be one more blog on The Bark Europa where I’ll try to sum up my thoughts and feelings about the experience.