We awoke to a calm morning, protected from the winds on the island of Isla de los Estados. For our morning exploration, we headed to the southwest side of the island and nosed into a small and narrow channel once carved by glacial advance. We spent our time cruising in Zodiacs through the fjords and gawking at the sheer height of the rhyolite cliffs which harbored countless Magellanic cormorants and Andean condors. Like true explorers, we weathered the wind and rain to get up close views of towering waterfalls before warming up in the shipboard saunas. In the afternoon, we cruised back to mainland Argentina looking for sea life and enjoying a special wine tasting with our afternoon tea.
3/17/2023
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National Geographic Resolution
Bernal Glacier and Kirke Narrows
Arriving at Bernal Glacier early morning, guests and staff completed a most scenic walk to observe its snout and the terminal moraine that extend towards the waters in which National Geographic Resolution was positioned. The glacier is located within the Campos de Hielo which is part of a larger ice- covered area in Magellan Patagonia. Access to the glacier snout is made possible using a path that allows visitors to walk through low vegetation and onto the terminal moraine that consists of a wide assortment of boulders, gravels, and sand that were deposited when the glacier no longer could carry their load. At this point on the walk, unobstructed views of the glacier gave us an opportunity to witness its ever-diminishing size, both in length and width, when compared with our photographs taken over the last few years. Still, its beauty remains, and the enormity of glacial power and erosional forces firmly impresses all those who enjoyed the landing this morning. Following lunch, National Geographic Resolution navigated the Kirke Narrows. Always an exciting part of a Patagonia voyage, the bridge team took us through the narrows at slack tide and perfectly timed the navigation through the narrowest part of the canal which is 426 feet. Once through the narrows, we continued to Puerto Natales in anticipation of disembarkation tomorrow. This ten-day trip of Patagonia and Staten Island has been remarkable during which majestic landscapes and a wide range of wildlife was observed.