As dawn broke over the Drake Passage our stout little ship was bounding along over following seas. Our constant escort of seabirds had changed from the hundreds of pintado petrels that we awoke to yesterday, to some of their much larger cousins the wandering, black-browed, and grey-headed albatrosses.
By the end of breakfast the austere and fabled headland of Cape Horn emerged from the mist and low cloud that most often enshroud this remote promontory. Our captain brought us in as close as ships are allowed to approach before turning to the east to make our way to the protected waters of the Beagle Channel. As we made the turn, a group of playful dusky dolphins came racing to the bow to ride our pressure wave. Several more small groups of these lithesome thoroughbreds joined us for short periods as we ploughed on through heavy seas. At 11:00 our marine mammal expert, Daniel Balint gave us a presentation in the lounge all about the evolution and natural history of humpback whales. Continuing the lecture program after lunch, Gabriela Roldan de Carey told us all about the people that once inhabited this area in an inspiring talk entitled “Naked at the end of the world: the Natives of Tierra del Fuego.”
A special treat from the galley of Scandinavian pancakes was presented at our usual four o’clock teatime as we readied for the rendezvous with our Argentine pilot.
At 6:00 our captain hosted a farewell cocktail party in the lounge followed our final dinner aboard as we return to familiar green landscapes, stark contrast to the white ice cliffs we had so quickly become accustomed to around the magnificent continent in our wake.
