Monday, April 2, 2018

Garibaldi Glacier, Chilean Fjords. . . . . . . . .


Garibaldi Fjord, Chile
March 10, 2018
58F Cloudy skies with scattered showers 

One of Chile's newest and largest national parks, Parque Nacional
 Alberto de Agostini (5,600 sq. miles), is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
 because of its swathes of distinct ecosystems and special landscapes. 
Centerpiece of the park is the Cordillera Darwin, whose slopes drop precipitously
 into the sea. Valleys not filled by the sea are covered by glaciers which also
 occupy small high plateaus.


The Garibaldi Fjord is a narrow passage in the Chilean Fjord system strewn
 with floating ice of all shapes and sizes. Ribbons of waterfalls snake down
 the steep mountainsides and a rich ecosystem of plants and wildlife has evolved. 



Early mornings on board an expedition ship usually mean late nights are
 out of the question! One needs to be up, preferably at dawn, on deck to
 experience the exciting arrival to a place where you'll soon be experiencing
 nature from water level once the Zodiac boats start loading.  



This Zodiac cruise was Bob's first ever! He was a little nervous but soon got the
 routine down pat and, like everyone who experiences these amazing boats, 
enjoyed being able to get to special places otherwise unapproachable from larger
 cruise ships.

 Here the Garibaldi Glacier tumbles into the sea. . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . Bob with our dear friends Kim and Rob and one of the larger icebergs we passed,
 and by then the weather had taken a turn for the worse, sea began to get a bit choppy.

Sea ice and kelp.
 

Bob braving the elements on his first Zodiac ride. . . . . . . just another 700 miles
 south and he would have made Antarctica!!!


Returning to the Hebridean Sky after an hour long cruise. . . . . . the always 
waiting hot drink and warm towel was welcome.


Next time: those adorable birds we all seem to love so much, penguins.
You don't have to go all the way to Antarctica to see them!

16 comments:

  1. Breathtaking photos and scenery. Mary that looked like wonderful fun.

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  2. Hi Mary :) I love your photos and thank you for posting them. I would have been white-knuckling the ropes on that Zodiac!! I'm not very good in choppy frigid water, but my gosh what beautiful scenery!!! :)

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  3. Absolutely incredible, Mary. I am so glad you share your travel adventures with us.

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    1. Glad you enjoy these trips Mel - wish you could have joined us!

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  4. What an absolutely gorgeous, pristine area. Your photos are always so incredibly beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Tammy, you are so kind to praise my photos. Some of them were not easy on the bouncing Zodiacs - thankfully we can at least straighten them by editing - I so dislike crooked photos!

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  5. Fab - u- lous Mary, love the scenery, good job that you were both dressed cosily, it looks jolly cold.

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    1. Rosemary - perhaps you will show the photos to your husband and remind him of his days in Chile! Next post will be in the Strait of Magellan (Punta Arenas), and I'm sure he's been there from what you told me about his travels for work.

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  6. What absolutely stunning scenery.

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    1. Lorre it was awesome scenery and smooch fun. I haven't forgotten you and will hopefully get myself caught up and get to the post office very soon - like this week!!!!

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    1. Remember now dear friend - there's no bad weather, just the wrong clothing, hahahahah!!!!!
      Actually it really wasn't cold at all - on the Zodiacs it looks colder than it was perhaps, but you have to wear waterproofs as sometimes you get splashed when going at speed. Most days when I checked the weather on my phone Raleigh was having much colder weather than we were - even snow on two occasions.
      It was a great adventure - we had a wonderful time.

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  8. Absolutely stunning scenery, and captured so well by your discerning eye and lens. I'm glad Bob enjoyed himself in the end. A warm drink would be most welcome after this excursion.

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  9. What a rugged landscape and incredibly beautiful!

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  10. Dear Mary, Your photos are sensational. What a different and beautiful world!

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  11. How exciting for Bob to have this experience, but I imagine it was exciting for you too eventhough you had done it before. Love seeing the glacier and the ice floating in the choppy sea.

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