Day 25 3rd February 2011

Amalia Glacier

Amalia Glacier

Ice in water Amalia Glacier

Amalia Glacier Ice field

Last night we sailed up the Magellan Strait. We sat in the Crows Nest which is bar at the front of the ship on deck 13 with panoramic views. It was a clear night and we could see the snow capped mountains on both shores. It was a wild but beautiful scene and we thought about the original sailors who discovered this passage. They were in small sailing ships a few feet wide and just over 100 feet long. Not travelling in the Aurora with thousands of other passengers and an enormous ship. During the night we entered the Pacific Ocean again and the sea became quite rough for a few hours before we returned to the channels along the Chilean coast. Chile apparently means cold and the weather is rather like an early British spring. Although when you walk around the deck many passengers seemed dressed for the artic in gloves, woollen hats and heavy coats. Walking around the decks at the moment is easy since no one else is outside.

At Chris’s suggestion I went and had my hair cut this morning by a hairdresser called Claire from Manchester. She has worked for P and O for the last two months and though Rio was the best port of call so far.

This afternoon the ship sailed into the Amalia glacier Fjord which is quite narrow for a ship this size and slowly moved up it. We started to encounter lumps of floating ice and gradually a whole sea of ice surrounded the ship. The lumps were not icebergs but many were twenty or thirty feet long so substantial chunks. More than enough to cool anyone’s drink. The glacier was at the head of the fjord and once there the captain turned the ship 90 degrees to starboard to allow everyone on the port side to see it. He then turned the ship through 180 degrees to port allow everyone on the starboard side to have a full broadside view. He then continued to turn the ship to allow for reversing our journey out of the fjord.  While all this was going on the weather made several fast changes. At first it was slightly gloomy with a lot of low cloud. This disappeared as the sun broke through to illuminate the glacier. This was rapidly followed by low cloud and rain. The rain grew heavy and was mixed with sleet and some light snow. This look set for the day but within a few minutes had disappeared. We have been repeatedly told the weather can change in minutes and this is a clear example of that fact.

We are now sailing out of the fjord on our way to another glacier if time permits that we should reach about 8pm tonight.  Tomorrow we are visiting the Pope Pius X glacier which apparently is even larger than the Amalia.