The end of the world

Today contained all four seasons. Rain, snow, sunshine, above and below freezing temperatures, calm and windy, 17-½ hours of day light. A typical Patagonia summer. From Punta Arenas we went through the Straits of Magellan, the Cockburn channel, and the Beagle channel, past five glaciers, and around Cape Horn. Here are a few of the 100+ pictures we took of the stunning landscape, including two of the Francois Glacier and one as we rounded the Cape. Seas were only in the 4' to 7.5' range around the Cape, so we’re hoping for more representative weather when we travel all the way across the Drake Passage in two days.

I did a little philosophising, watching this incredible scenery slide by. In past years I have pooh- poohed tourists that had not “earned” the right to see what I had worked so hard to see. Don’t drive up the mountain, hike it. Don’t park on the bridge, canoe the river. The only way to really see and appreciate nature was to experience it on her level.

And, of course, none of us really do that. Even when we “rough it”, we do so with many modern conveniences. High tech clothing, stoves, sleeping bags, hiking boots, etc. We use selected portions of our technology to mitigate Mother Nature. Therefore, just as I “earned” the right to view portions of the John Muir Wilderness several years ago by backpacking with my dog; today I “earned” the right to sit aboard a luxury cruise liner with fresh papaya and a cup of hot tea while watching a glacier, by working diligently all year as an engineer. Not the same experience, by any means, but just as legitimate.

OK, I’m off my soap box, and back to the unreal world this ship represents. We’re starting to think about next winter’s vacation .....