Thoughts for Today

From the real world, sublime and challenging Turning a corner to a time of riots, hot choco and a glacier…

Punta Arenas meant we were turning the corner at the southern tip of South America to find long slim Chile. It heralded nine days of further adventures in the country. Jane and I were aware that there had been some political unrest there the previous November, mainly in the capital Santiago. Student led, they continue to protest for a revised and less oppressive and more representative Constitution and a reduction in gas prices under the Pinera Government.

Punta Arenas means ‘Sandy Point’ and is the capital of Southern Chile. The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480? – 1521) discovered the straits off the coast in 1519 and a penal colony was founded in the port in 1848 by the Chilean government. The discovery of gold and the development of sheep farming made the place prosper and the Chilean people kept their independence from Argentina. It still remains an access port to the Antarctica Peninsula. These days the city has adopted a permanent summer time-zone all year round.

We walked from the ship into the centre of the city into a fine square with a large statue of Magellan. There was an opportunity to kiss the foot of a native Indian at its base ‘to ensure your return to the city’. Groups of dancers and musicians performed for the visitors. We walked to the heights via brightly coloured houses and wild gardens to a gallery overlooking the Magellan straits and the port. There were native Indians selling their wares and sign -posts showed us we were 13,387 kms from London.

The main shopping area revealed many signs of the recent riots that had spread south. Political slogans were everywhere, even across the Cathedral walls. Shops large and small were boarded up, and on one corner was a burnt out building. One of the untouched cafes was the ‘Choco Shop’ where we rehydrated with the best and smoothest hot chocolate we have ever tasted! We shared a table with a young couple from Holland on their travels.

The nearby Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was off the main square. It was rebuilt (originally built in 1584) in basilica style in 1892 and has a renaissance style tower in honour of St Francis de Sales and the Order of the Salesians as they are called. The most moving windows were of the history of missionaries ministering to the native Indians. What we hadn’t known before was that Magellan himself lost his life in the Philipines fighting to convert the population to Christianity.

Down the road we passed plaques remembering adventurers like Captain Scott 1868 - 1912 and Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) who used the port as a base. Scott announced from there his successful expedition in discovery in 1904 and Shackleton rescuing his men from Endurance in 1916. On the front we saw hundreds of Ganay Cormorants gathered on a broken down jetty. We moved on from this historic and challenging place.

We were soon sailing through the Fjords on our way to the Skua Glacier which is part of a huge protected National Park called the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park.

Are you asking yourself who was Bernardo O’Higgins? I asked myself the same question. Known as ‘The Liberator of Chile’ [1788-1842] he was from Spanish and County Sligo Irish ancestry, and during his lifetime visited Britain and Spain. As General he defeated the Spanish in 1817 and was the Supreme Director of Chile until 1823.

At this stage of the voyage it remained light until 10pm and that night of 6th February we sailed past the Southern Cross of the Fjords. This cross marks the most southerly point of mainland South America and was lit by the late sunset. A very moving site in these remote regions.

The next afternoon the Skua glacier came into view as a blue haze being one mile across at its widest point. Ice was falling away in small shards. One of them was retrieved by the ships tender and later sculpted by one of the Indian chefs into a Phoenix bird. The remainder was added to passenger drinks. The sheer scale of this glacier cannot be caught on camera but was on the footage from the ship’s drone cameras.

Having Morning Prayer in the 10th deck Observatory on the move in this extraordinary and dramatic setting of the fjords was overwhelming in its intensity. Again, we wondered at the creation and our Creator.

Blessings,

Edward and Jane

Next stop Puerto Chacabuco in the middle of nowhere…