Another Scenic Sailing Day: Tempano Glacier

On our second scenic cruising day, the skies cleared a bit, and no rain fell, so viewing the Tempano Glacier offered a different experience--a dry one!

Yesterday, late afternoon, we sailed from Amalia Glacier, through fjords, until we eventually reached the Pacific Ocean. Most passengers needed no announcement to tell us we were in less protected waters. The Mariner lurched and leaped, heaved and hoed, making sleep an elusive venture. It wasn’t long before the navigation team steered the ship back into the Archipelago and calmer waters.

When Sherpa and I awoke at 6:10 AM, only darkness was visible through our window. We poured our coffee, watching and waiting, as gradually the skies lightened, and the outlines of the nearby shoreline came into focus. Sunrise was 7:04 AM, several hours later than the sunrises we had seen in Antarctica only a few days ago! Captain Abhi announced we would be at Tempano Glacier around 9 AM.

We pulled in close for great views of Tempano Glacier. The light was brighter than yesterday, so we could see more definition and color in the glacial ice, stunning views of the orange lichen on the gray granite, and incredible rock formations. We even had a few reflections in the calm waters to add a bit of depth to the scenery!

This building block jumble of granite blocks was one of the more interesting sidelights. Shaded with orange lichen, these rocks popped right off the shoreline.

This region is a part of Bernard O’Higgins National Park. Just to the left of the glacier, a small ranch house clung to the rocky shoreline—home to the resident Park Ranger. If you’re thinking of a career change and wish to get away from the crowds, maybe this sort of remote work would appeal to you.

Just think! If YOU were the Park Ranger, you’d have great scenery in your front yard…or would that be your front fjord?

Tempano Glacier is part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, which covers much of southern Chile and Argentina and is the world's second-largest extrapolar ice field.

Look at that ice field highlighted in white on the map, an ice field that stretches for over 220 miles with an approximate area of 6,360 square miles—hard to comprehend, isn’t it? Only a tiny fraction was visible to us from the fjord.

As we left the glacier and cruised Iceberg Fjord, the clouds descended again. (Tempano is the Spanish word for iceberg and so we were seeing Glacier Iceberg in Iceberg Fjord.) There was still enough light to catch a final reflection of the mossy green and gray granite shoreline. Beautiful!

Sherpa’s Destination Beer for today was purchased in Punta Arenas in anticipation of scenic cruising days. Pilsen Coiron, brewed by Coiron Mejicana Brewery in Punta Arenas, Chile, is an American Lager with a 4.8% ABV.

Sherpa’s notes: “This is not a mainstream, mass-market type of beer. It’s not a traditional Pilsner despite its name. It has a medium/light body, a hazy light gold color, and a bland flavor with a slight sharpness. A bit flat. It’s an okay beer, though I wouldn’t buy it again. 4.5/10.”

Tomorrow’s port of call: Puerto Chacabuco, Chile.