Cape Horne Patagonia, Thursday, March 10, 2016

Panoramic photo of the tip of Cape Horn.  

Wow!  Morning certainly came early today!!  Another 5:00 wake up call to be downstairs, ready to board the Zodiac over to Cape Horn National Park.  There is never a guarantee that this excursion can actually happen as the weather is unpredictable at best.  If the seas are high, there is no way to land the Zodiacs on the beach.  At any given time, the odds are about 50/50 for a go.  Today, even though it was rainy and cold, we were lucky enough to go.  As a matter of fact, as we approached the landing sight, the rain stopped and the clouds began to dissipate.  

Guides Kitty Cooley and Danillo Loker in Zodiac to Cape Horn.

Excluding Antarctica, Cape Horn is the southern most point on the planet.  At dawn, we launched the Zodiacs and landed on the promontory, home to a monument, a lighthouse and a tiny chapel, overlooking the Drake Passage.

Look Mom!  I went to church today at this tiny chapel at the end of the earth on Cape Horn.

  

Cape Horn Lighthouse.

The light house is manned by one member of the Chilean Navy and his wife.  They accept this position for a period of one year.  Their sole responsibility is to tend to the island and greet guests who arrive ... WHEN they are able to land on the beach.  Otherwise, they are totally isolated from the outside world. 

Stairs from the landing site to the top of Cape Horn.

From the landing area, up 167 steep stairs to the trails that connect the lighthouse with the monument, the views are breathtaking.
  

The Albatros Monument on Cape Horn.

Standing at the sculpted monument of a soaring Albatros, we could see the peak of Cape Horne, which we were later lucky enough to sail around.  (See the top photo on this entry.  Shows the view from behind this monument of the tip of Cape Horn.)  Only ships heading to Antarctica catch the full view of this point as most ships turn north from the lighthouse to avoid the turbulent water of the Drake Chanel. 
 

View of the tip of Cape Horn.  Most folks don't see this point unless they are on the way to Antarctica.  Twas our lucky day. 

The winds were favorable and we have an incredible crew aboard the Australis who decided to treat us to the view of the tip of Cape Horn.  I'd just like to mention here, if the winds and seas were favorable, I would NOT want to be aboard when they are not.  It was sort of like being on the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia.  

The special Sir Drake Passage flag flies as we travel around the tip of Cape Horn.

The Drake Passage is rough on a calm day!!  I don't think the dining room crew was prepared for the feisty water.  The third time the bottles and bar glasses crashed to the floor, the captain turned east to shorten our time in the Pacific and smooth out the ride on the way to Wulaia Bay.  But it was a thrill to go to the end of the earth and back.

Cape Horn.  

Sailing around the point of Cape Horn.  Yes!  It's cold and windy.

The "wind blown" look of Cape Horn.

After the excitement of our trip around Cape Horn, we settled in for a lecture with Kitty Coley, our NatGeo expert, who talked about glaciers, how they are formed and what's happening to them.  I may have misjudged our vegetarian guide.  She is an amazing lecturer.  She is so enthusiastic about her topic.  Her interaction with the slides as she flashed through her power point presentation, allowed us to actually feel the glacial flow.  Her analogies were spot on and made the development of sharp peeks and mountain ranges totally understandable.  Her animated hand movements and gestures held the attention of the group.  If I'd had professors like this in college, I would have listened.  I learned more about glaciers than I thought I ever needed to know.

Monument (left)... Jac (center) Tip of Cape Horn (right)

We arrived at Wulaia Bay shortly after lunch, and disembarked for a hike to the top of the mountain. The hike was a little over three miles long, quite steep in parts with very different and beautiful plant life.  

The trail up Wulaia Bay.

We were rewarded for the grueling hike at the top with stunning views of Wulaia Bay and our ship below.  Again, we could see threatening rain in the distance, but never got wet. 

We made it to the top.  See the ship to the left of my hat?

 

Stunning view from the top.  The pain was so worth the gain!!

We enjoyed the view for a short while and then began our descent.  Our guide made the mistake of telling us there would be hot chocolate and whiskey waiting for us at the bottom.  That got the troops moving!  It was like a horse on his way back to the barn.  There was no bird watching nor plant lectures.  It was non stop to the bottom!  All in all, a gorgeous hike.

Hot Chocolate and Whiskey at the end of the trail.

This evening, we were entertained with an International Fashion Show, Bingo and Karaoke night.  All three were crowd pleasers.  I stayed long enough to sing with one of the girls and then ducked out.  Drinking is NOT a spectator sport.  Jac stayed the rest of the evening.  She stopped by the room at one point to pick up a jacket because the Karaoke'ers had decided to go out on the deck.  An hour later, she stopped by the room to pick up a cigar.  (I have no idea where she got a cigar!) I believe the festivities ended around 3:00 a.m.  Needless to say, she did not make breakfast the next morning.  But she now knows everybody on the boat.  At least the night owls.  

Tomorrow, we have a morning on the water navigating the Beagle Chanel on our way to visit, depending on the weather ...  a glacier. 

So happy to get to spend time with my precious daughter!

Hot Chocolate and Whisky after the hike.

On the way down the mountain, we caught up with the rest of our group for a photo.  They chose the "easy" hike.  Jac and I chose the "kick your butt" hike.    Loved every minute of it!  Well, at least I can say that now.  I was questioning it at the time.

They have a beaver problem on Wulaia.  Check out the teeth marks on this tree.

The beavers are responsible for all of this damage.  They have since "moved on."  With the help of a hunter.