Amalia Glacier, Chile

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Saturday, 10 March: Thousands of years in the making, this afternoon we navigated through Chile’s narrow fiords where we were excited to see the unparalleled beauty of the Amalia Glacier. I was surprised by its’ size – it covers a huge area. Seas were very smooth and only a little patchy rain as we caught sight of the glazier’s magnificent blue ice – made when the ice absorbs all the other colours in the spectrum and reflects primarily blue. We also saw a couple of dolphins, but they disappeared after a few minutes.

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The captain had announced that we would be at the glacier at 4.00pm and sure enough, we arrived right on schedule. The ship came to a stop and turned from starboard to port to that everyone had plenty of time to take photos and to appreciate this amazing spectacle.

Punta Arenas, Chile

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Friday, 9 March: Our introduction to Chile – Punta Arenas is the world’s southern-most city, just 26 miles from the Strait of Magellan and it’s a lively mix of shopping, scenic wonders and intriguing history. Our tour took to La Cruz hill which had beautiful views over the town and the Straits of Magellan, then to the Salesian Museum, a testimony to the life of the four tribes of indigenous inhabitants, all extinct now.

An interesting stop on the way back was to the City Cemetery, where we walked along the avenues lined with cypress trees and magnificent mausoleums. Our guide, who had been keeping us entertained talking about the friendly rivalry that exists between Argentina and Chile, asked if we had been to the Recoleta Cemetery in Bueno Aires and was very keen to get our impressions of this cemetery; of course, he insisted that this one must be just a little better!

Far from being a lonely little outpost down the bottom of the planet, we were impressed to discover that Punta Arenas is the third-largest city in the Patagonia region; a flourishing city rich in attractions, from the colonial streets to its’ proximity to the icy southern continent of Antarctica.

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Counting Down to South America

In a few days’ time we will be on our way to Buenos Aires for our trip around South America. This is our itinerary – we will be boarding the Emerald Princess for a 30 day cruise and will disembark in Los Angeles, where we will spend a few days before flying to San Francisco for a few more, then back to LA to fly home.

It’s been far too long since our last cruise so we’re very excited. What will Cape Horn be like, I wonder? Of all our cruises (including around the world) we’ve never really experienced rough seas yet, so will our luck hold out once again?

Hope you will follow along and share our adventure.