The fjords of Chile are mostly linked, making it possible to almost travel from Puerto Montt (A town north of Castro where we stopped 2 days ago), all the way to Cape Horn, without entering the open seas. Well that one section we did enter the open seas was some what rough 5m seas. I have my sea legs and drugs, so I coped ok, but the outlook for the Drake passage is worse than thata, so much so that even our plans are changing slightlty on this trip for the next few days in Puerto Natales. In fact the sister ship of Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen will catch us up. If you are bored read up about Fridtjof Nansen’s attempt to rezch the North pole, truly crazy stuff!
I’ve become a bit of a twitcher while on board the MS Roald Amundsen. I’ve helped identify a sighting of a Westland Petrel the other day which was the only one we’ve spotted so far. Everytime a majestic Albatross flies by the shutter on my camera is fired off in rapid succesion hoping for a photo. I’m hoping I can be on deck during the Drake crossing as apparently it is a sea bird paradise.
Today, we had a very short shore trip to the small town of Puerto Edén. Only a few hundred people and mostly known for its remoteness and its claim as being the wettest place in the world, where it rains for well over 300 days a year. It was an all too brief visit as the expedition schedule to get to Puerto Natales is based on the tides with a narrow channel providing access. The expedition team are looking at the weather forecasts, which are not sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere unfortunately. Still they seem committed to getting us to our goal and to give us the best experience possible, evne if it means a few sickbags are required.
Nice bird shots!