The itinerary for the voyage was misleading
in that there was really only one day in the fjords – the first was in open sea
(which was choppy enough to make some people ill – not TSH and Diva) with entry
to the first fjord at 17:00. When they eventually got there, TSH and Diva
thought the fjords were very similar to those in Norway. They varied in width
and at one point it seemed that the Silver Spirit was on a lake, while at other
times, both banks were quite close. The nearest hills were reminiscent of the
central English Lake District fells, covered with low vegetation but with some
bare rock. In places, snow covered peaks and glaciers could be seen through the
mist on the higher peaks beyond. This was the first rain of the whole trip.
The butler spotted a ship-wreck but for
some reason the captain did not draw attention to this sea feature.
There was another special dinner
(tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, pasta, beef, tuna, sticky dessert) for the
Circlers, this time in La Terrazzza.
Punta Arenas is not the most
interesting town but the short excursion gave a good idea of a region which has
always had to work hard to counteract its climate and its distance from places
it trades with. The terminology of ‘discovery’ and ‘native Indians’ seemed very
colonial and old-fashioned, not to mention politically incorrect. The main
statue in the town shows Magellan in triumph, with the original inhabitants of
the region beneath his feet. The guide was the son of a man who left London
after the first world war but most of the European settlers here came from what
is now Croatia.
Punta Arenas is at the extreme south of
the mainland of South America. It is on the Magellan strait – across the water
is Tierra del Fuego, a separate island which belongs partly to Chile and partly
to Argentina.
Many guides in Chile have said that
Chile is the major exporter of salmon in the world but a Norwegian guest insists
that Norway has that distinction.
