Day 26 4 February 2011

This morning we were awakened by the Captain announcing that we were 10 miles from the second of the large glaciers that we were visiting. So another day and another glacier except that last night the ship called at another one after the Amalia that was the Witch glacier. It was smaller one but rather attractive. This morning we were on our way to see the Pope Pius glacier the largest of the three. This glacier is situated in the Bernardo O’Higgins, National Part. Bernardo O’Higgins is a national hero who helped Chile gain its independence from the Spanish. He had an Irish father and a Spanish mother. He is a patriot in several South American states.

As we approached the glacier we could see that the water in the Fjord was divided into two. The division is fresh water flowing from the ice and the sea water. The glacier is 4km long and about 30 to 40 metre high. When you look at it from the ship it was difficult to get a sense of perspective. This was especially difficult this morning since the conditions where mist and rain with lots of mountains lost in the low cloud. Obviously we can only see one edge of the glacier which is about 100 square miles in area. At a distance it looks covered in small cracks and fissures but when you observe these features through a telescope or binoculars then you realise these are far larger. Most of them are metres across and many metres deep. There is almost no smooth ice surface.

We stopped at the glacier for about an hour and spent most of day slowly sailing through the Islands and channels that make up this part of the Chilean coast.  It is very scenic with many mountains with snow fields and waterfalls coming down the sides every few hundred yards. It is cool but not cold. Everyone seems out on deck today to watch the scenery go by. They all have cameras and binoculars in their hands to capture the views. We watched the sites from the promenade deck and also the Crows Nest which was full of like mined people although many curiously preferred to read or sleep as the beautiful panoramas went by. 

Late in the afternoon we left the channels of the Chilean islands and entered the Pacific again. We are going to sail through the night in the ocean before returning to the shelter of the channels tomorrow morning. You know that you in the ocean without being told since the ships movement is quite definite with both up and down and side to side movements going on. 

Pope Pius Glacier