Aysén Fjord, Chile, 10/14/2016, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Patagonia
Today we visited the beautiful Aysén Fjord in Central Patagonia. This fjord is about 60km deep but reaches 200km from the Pacific coast into the Andes and we anchored National Geographic Explorer off the port city of Puerto Chacabuco. From Puerto Chacabuco we enjoyed two options: the first was a day-long visit to the Coyhaique National Park where we took a walk through the pampas and the dense forest. The highlight was the sighting of magellanic woodpeckers. This excursion included a Patagonian barbecued lamb lunch and was altogether a lovely day including a visit to the town of Aysén. The second excursion visited the Parque Aikén del Sur where we also had a lovely walk through the dense forest where we were able to understand the complex forest ecosystem and have good sightings of the ringed kingfisher and striking Chucao which announces its presence with a very loud call for such a small bird, but is, even so, very difficult to spot in the dense forest cover. This walk ended at a beautiful lodge overlooking Lake Riesco where we also were treated to a Patagonian barbecue lamb lunch complete with local folk dancers. At the end of our excursions we re-joined the ship and sailed west out of the fjord to continue our exploration of the complex fjord country of southern Chile.
A native of California, Jim has been going to sea for most of his life. Jim grew up by the ocean in Southern California, did his undergraduate work in geology at Pomona College, and received his Ph.D. in geology from the University of Wyoming. In 196...
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Our morning was somewhat relaxed, in that the distance we were due to cover meant some necessary time onboard. During our time at sea, we had the opportunity to enjoy a presentation by Krista Rossow, our National Geographic photographer, about her work on assignment. Our time onboard, however, was due to be short lived. Having made good time so far, we were able to aim for an additional stop that was outside of what was previously planned. Along our route, the spectacular Bernal Glacier flows down from its mountain source, stopping a few hundred meters short of the sea. Its receding state, and the fact that it does not reach the ocean, allows a rare opportunity to walk up so close that you can touch it without the fear of collapse that would normally keep viewers at a very great distance. The blue pools of glacial till along each side of the path to its snout add a surreal and otherworldly feeling to the approach. We landed, and walked up to its face. After returning to the ship, we made our way onwards towards Puerto Natales. This transit is in itself remarkable, as it took us through the White Narrows. This tight waterway weaves its way through a group of islands that would stop a larger, less nimble vessel dead in its tracks. For us, it just means a little more care and focus on the part of our bridge team, who took us through with ease and grace. The spectacle of the ship twisting its way through made for a remarkable finale to an all-round remarkable voyage through the southern extremes of South America.
After a night of swift navigation through the channels and fjords, National Geographic Orion arrived at anchor at the head of the long Almirante Sound. It was a serene morning, windless to start, with stunning views of mountain tops under fresh snowfall and alpenglow at sunrise. The calm weather convinced Lucho, our expedition leader, that we could offer both a landing for half the group while the others pursued a Zodiac cruise in Jackson Bay, with a switch between the groups later in the morning. Guests landed on a broad, shallow, sandy beach, fringed with storm-washed logs, heavy driftwood and other flotsam left as evidence of the much stronger weather common to this area. We were greeted by numerous elephant seals frolicking in the shallows, ranging from little more than wieners to juveniles to a few older males. Once onshore, some started on a guided walk to the waterfall, draped down the large exposed rock face on the “left” side of the valley extending inland from the beach. The walk started along the small river where hikers could view a wallow of elephant seals on the opposite bank and a large snorting adult male with a developed nasal trunk, trying to snooze among the tall grasses. The trail proved quite swampy at first, but continued into the mysterious forest, heavy with lichens and fallen trees, eventually leading to the slippery scree and bared rock at the base of the waterfall. Even from this distance, we could hear through the forest the low grunts and bellows of the larger seals at the beach! Some guests climbed higher to take in a view of the valley river bed and even a few guanacos grazing along the banks. Other guests chose to explore the beach area on a shorter walk, and to enjoy at close hand the feisty, jousting seals. The Zodiac cruises started in calm and sunny weather so that guests could explore the small rocky islands around the end of Almirante Bay. Here we spotted caracaras, flight formations of upland geese above, dolphin gulls, kelp geese and rock shags. The wind picked up, and, with the wind, the waves developed and grew. For the second round of Zodiac cruises, a number of guests opted to return to the ship in the worsening wind, but a few lucky Zodiacs were treated to close views of a pair of Andean condors on a rock face of small Albatross Island. The ship sailed after noon, and we made our exit from Almirante Sound in the same long Canal Gabriel that we had sailed in the night.Halfway through, a breathtaking vista appeared on our port side, with great expanses of recently exposed rock face left by receding glacier fields, and a myriad of streams across the rock face, a veil falls from the ledges and gushing cascades in a deeply cut, bowl-shaped ravine.Truly memorable.
We started this morning navigating the narrow Garibaldi Fiord. The berg bits scattered in the water were giving us clues of what lay ahead at the end of this deep valley: the Garibaldi Glacier! This deep u-shaped valley has been sculpted by a very active tidewater glacier. Right now this glacier is surging, growing into the narrow valley and eroding the mountains that surround it. We boarded our Zodiacs to get closer to the glacier and explore the tall mountains around, we were all amazed by the constant calving and the beautiful ice covering the surface of the sea. Long streams and waterfalls mark the rock walls and feed the green hanging forests that cover everything to the very edge of the water. The magnificent southern beech forests serve as a green frame to the immense ice wall at the end of the fiord. We spotted an Andean condor flying above us and we received a very special treat from our crew. In the middle of the floating ice, a Zodiac serving hot cocoa was there to greet us. The sun came out around noon, crowning a magnificent morning with a rainbow. After lunch we started heading to our next destination, Karukinka Park. During our sailing we had two very interesting lectures from our staff onboard. Peter Wilson gave a lecture on Darwin and his voyage to Patagonia onboard Beagle . Also, we learned more about Karukinka Park and the conservation effort being done in the area through the Wildlife Conservation Society representative travelling with us, Rodrigo Munzenmayer.
