Navimag

Dawn of day one on the 10,000 ton boat brought the best sunrise I have ever seen. Honestly, I haven't seen very many sunrises, but I knew it was a special sunrise when the captain and crew took turns having their picture taken. It was cold, despite wearing all of my clothes, so I sought refuge in the empty cafeteria between photographs. Within the hour, we approached the famous narrows which required passage by daylight, hence our 6 am departure, so as to ensure the safety of our passage. The boat, 123 meters long and 60 meters wide, slipped and turned gracefully through the tangle of rocky islands rising steeply from the water passage only 80 meters wide. I could only imagine what it might be like to cross these inlets during a storm, currents ripping around the rocks.




Those who navigate through these passages are treated to a wonderland of uninhabited Magellanic forests, thousands of deep fjords, a myriad of actively flowing glaciers, and an abundance of whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea otters, and albatross. Most experience some storminess when leaving the shelter of the inlets and crossing a small portion of the open Pacific, but ours was smooth sailing the whole way through. I suggest opening google maps and tagging Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt so you can see just how complex these routes are, keeping in mind that only 5% of the journey broaches open ocean as it crosses the Golfo de Penas.



The Narrows!

Percy was the boat naturalist and guide. He speaks Spanish, English, German, and a little French. He also speaks Chilean Spanish. Gregarious, likable, and hyper from ADD--or perhaps he is just really enthusiastic and excited about everything, Percy's voice woke us each morning at 8 am over the ship's loudspeaker for the breakfast call. If he spotted whales or other marine life, he would quickly announce the sighting to the passengers. In the afternoons, he gave presentations on glaciology, flora, and fauna of the region.




Why are there glaciers and ice fields at this 53 degree latitude which is the southern equivalent to Barcelona? Percy explained how the wind flows East and rises over the Andes. The air collects moisture as it rises, but the higher it gets, the colder it becomes and water soon turns to snow. The snow falls, and due to high altitudes and constantly cold temperatures, it accumulates and becomes compacted by the force of gravity, transforming by way of high pressure into ice. the Wisconsin ice age began about 60,000 years ago, so there has been a fair amount of accumulation amassing over the years.