Scenic Sailing - Amalia Glacier

We've been at home at the Canal Cottage for  nearly two months now but I am determined to complete our winter travel adventure on the blog before starting anything else.   

Day 6 of our trip was such a magical day I'm tempted to just show the pictures because no words can express the awe.

 

For that matter, my pictures don't really capture the grandeur either.   You have to imagine seeing the fjords and ice floes completely lining the horizon  as we sailed for miles.  The picture above was taken from our balcony very  early in the morning.  We knew we'd be sailing past the Amalia Glacier but we didn't think about how we'd wake up feeling as if we were right there in the ice fields.  (Admittedly while safe and  warm in our cozy stateroom .)   

 

The massive Amalia Glacier is slowly eroding the slopes of Mount Reclus, a volcano located directly behind it.  The ice floe arrived here millions of years ago from the heights of the Andes Mountains.  

 

As massive as what we saw seemed to us, this glacier is just a small part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, one of the world's largest continuous ice fields.  During the Ice Age, this sheet of ice covered the entirety of southern Chile.

 

 

Grateful that 'The Planner" (Bill)  had chosen a room  on the port side of the ship for this perfect view, we watched daybreak from the balcony window and then hurried to the ship's World Cafe (a buffet restaurant)  so that we could get a window table on the same side of the ship.  Because  you can't miss breakfast (if you are like me at any rate). 

 

The morning awesomeness continued as we ate.   (Our table was not only on the good side but was also  close to the door to the walk-around track which is located on that deck of the ship.    I went outside several times to take a picture in the open air.   But not for long -- although it was early summer in Chile, it was cold and windy -- not outdoor weather at all.

I am never bored on at-sea days, but usually on those days the view is the open ocean.   Ocean-gazing is relaxing for a while in a Zen-like way and there are always other things to do on the boat. (For me, that usually means reading a good book when I tire of the view, but there are many activities available.)   But for almost all of this day it was actually hard to tear our eyes away from the stunning views.  

 

Later on it turned out to be a good day for sky-watching as well.

 

Amalia Glacier is part of Bernardo O'Higgins National Park.  The Park is named for Chile's first head-of-state who had been the leader of the revolution that freed Chile from Spanish rule.  His ancestry was Basque-Spanish and (surprise) Irish.  Learning about him explained why on the days before we had seen streets called O'Higgins, something we had thought rather incongruous at the time.   But it's just like most cities in the USA have a Washington Street.

 

The National Park itself is huge and apparently not very developed for tourism.  It is only accessible by helicopter or boat.  That would be quite the adventure; we were happy to have had this safer and easier view of part of it.  Before we left the glaciers and fjords behind, the Captain stopped the ship quite close to the glacier and everybody watched while  four brave crew members took a skiff out to the glacier.   

They brought back large chunks of ice which were used for special pre-dinner cocktails served in the lounge while we  listened to the ship's piano/violin duo.   We enjoyed a later than usual dinner in one of the ship's specialty restaurants for a perfect ending to a lovely day.  

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY; and  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;    

 

 

Comments

[Jenn Jilks]

What a lovely adventure you had!

[Nature Notes..Michelle]

Wow.....what an amazing opportunity.....Talking of aging. I now qualify for a scooter that I hope will allow me to go to more places that require walking like the zoo. But it is a kind of ....need that I never saw for myself....Michelle

[Breathtaking]

Hello Sallie :=)
What a great experience you had. Enthralling images of the fjords and the Amalia Glaciers. The snow capped mountains are a beautiful sight and you took some wonderful photos. Thank you for your commentary Sallie, for it added greatly to the spectacular views knowing you could see them whilst you ate your breakfast, and watch whilst crew members brought back chunks of ice for your drinks.
I really enjoyed your post,...and am glad you will continue to share your holiday photos.
All the best
Sonjia.

[Pat]

Beautiful photos, Sallie! It does look like it would be cold on deck! Glad you were able to observe it from your room and breakfast table. We had a similar experience on an Alaskan cruise when our ship sailed down Glacier Bay National Park. Hearing the ice crack or "calve" as they called it, was remarkable!

[Photo Cache]

What an incredible experience. Sad to think that the possibility of the next generations might not see this.

Worth a Thousand Words

[Amy]

The glaciers are amazing, we recently visited Fox Glacier with similar scenery.

[Jim, Sydney, Australia]

Wonderful shots.

[::: Heidrun]

Dear Sallie, it`s a magical place indeed. I understood very well.

This week has been turbulent... The internet is too slow, it's tedious. Nevertheless, I don't want to miss out on looking at the individual posts, which I really enjoy as always.

And I'm delighted with your contribution to
MosaicMonday

Greetings from Heidrun

[Linda Walcroft]

Wonderful to see! Thank you for sharing.

[Peter B.]

This is something I've always dreamed of seeing. So beautiful, and thanks for sharing your photos!

[Penelope Notes]

These are remarkable images, Sallie, and I can believe even more amazing in person. On our Alaska cruise we had views of glaciers melting and large chunks of ice breaking off into the water … landing pads for seagulls. It was wondrous but also a sign of our warming climate.

[Carol]

Great photos but I agree it's really impossible to capture the beauty of huge nature environments in two-dimensional photos - glacier scenes or the Grand canyon

[JBig - Kentucky]

Love seeing the glaciers, the water and the mountains. We saw glaciers when we were on an Alaskan trip.

[Lillian]

Glacier is an amazing thing to see in real life

[Veronica Lee]

Your Amalia Glacier sailing adventure sounds fantastic!
Waking up to the sight of icy fjords stretching across the horizon must have been surreal.
Ending the day with a delightful dinner accompanied by music must have been the perfect finale to such a glorious day.

[magiceye]

Wow! Amazing views beautifully captured.

[Beatrice]

Sallie, please do continue blogging about your adventures as speaking for myself, I am enjoying seeing the wonderful places you visited, all from the comfort of my computer.

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Wow! What a place and gorgeous scenery and great photos ~ lovely journey with you ~ Am awed ~ thanks, hugs,

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[Lisa]

Quite incredible! Views that I have never seen anything like.

[tomthebackroadstraveller]

...this post highlights the magic that winter came bring to the landscape.

[Life Images by Jill, West Australia]

Why this is amazing. i can't imagine it. thankyou for sharing. Looks like it was a fantastic trip. Enjoy your week. I am joining you at Mosaic Monday.

[mae]

The experience must have been fantastic. Our travel to Patagonia was fascinating, but very different, with several days on land before we embarked on the ship. I’m looking forward to. your next installments!

best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

[Debbie]

i think you may have experienced the perfect day, with absolutely stunning views!! talking about and seeing the glaciers brought me a little scary shiver, it was nice to read that you were excited about the whole experience!!

and the ice went in the drinks?? how cool is that!! your pictures are stunning today sallie, i enjoyed the entire narrative!!

[ellen b.]

Well that's a view that most people in the world will never see in person. What a wonderful trip for the two of you. Hope the last few days of February are good ones at your Canal Cottage!

[Yogi]

Wow, that would be something to see. Generally at sea days are pretty quiet but one would be looking at the glacier constantly.

[Hazel]

Fantastic views of the glacier country! How long was this great cruise?

[DeniseinVA]

This must have been an amazing trip! Your photos are wonderful and what a lovely ending to the day. Drinking cocktails made with ice they brought back and listening to a delightful piano and violin duo. A lovely day indeed.

[Eileen]

Beautiful views of the glaciers and mountains.
I would love that view during breakfast.
It is interesting to have glacier ice in your drinks.
Take care, have a great day and happy week ahead.

[Lorrie Orr]

Your glacier viewing sounds absolutely delightful, Sallie! Glaciers are truly marvelous, and it's terrible the way they are disappearing from all over the globe. How fun to have glacier ice in your evening drinks! Thank you for sharing.