The Chilean fjords are a maze of islands and channels. It is hard to imagine early explorers weaving through unknown territory and searching for routes through and between the islands. Early this morning when darkness still engulfed the landscape we cruised through a very narrow passage called Canal Gabriel, not to be missed though as we would go through the same passage later in the day. But for the morning the plan was to go to the very eastern end of Seno Almirantazgo (Admiralty Fjord) to Jackson Bay and the private reserve of Karukinka.
Our visit to the area had been introduced by Melissa Carmody representing Wildlife Conservation Society. During the 1990s a company from the U.S. purchased about 680,000 acres of Tierra del Fuego bordering Seno Almirantazgo. The land contained native forest that the company planned to log and turn into pulp. Locals opposed the plan and fortunately for this wilderness the company failed. Goldman Sachs bank purchased the assets of the company and in 2002 decided to donate this piece of property, which is 50 times larger than Manhattan, to the New York based NGO. So now this unique landscape and habitat is protected and we were extremely fortunate to be invited by WCS to visit.
The morning began with a spectacular sunrise over Karukinka. Any one awake early in the morning got first looks at the rugged skyline behind Jackson Bay and some of the wildlife including black-browed albatross that nest on one of the nearby small islands. Soon after breakfast we were given the plan for the morning by the expedition leader, Lucho. Landing at Jackson Bay we found a trail to a lovely waterfall. Also we discovered huge marine mammals, Southern Elephant Seals, resting on not only the beach but even high in the grass meadow and even in the small river draining the valley inland. Many, many photographic images were captured of this lovely spot.
Even the wind had dropped for our late morning return to the ship, but it had started to sprinkle rain. For the rest of the day and the evening we cruised past some of the spectacular scenery of the southern end of the vast Chilean fjords. And in the late afternoon we again passed through Canal Gabriel and were able to see this impressive landscape. We were even able to enjoy an impromptu BBQ of sausages prepared by the galley and hotel staff on the back deck of the ship.
