This 8-days seagoing expedition, along the islands of the straits of Magellans, rates among my 3 top adventures of my last 20 years. It reminded me of my sailing passage of the
Galapagos Islands. They shared navigation among the islands, the tameness of exotic animals found there; but this adventure provided the thrill (or illusion) of being in places never seen by humans before.
Once out of the Straits of Magellans proper, we never saw another boat of signs of human activity. Imagine walking around nameless glaciers and navigating along uncharted narrow channels not knowing if they let to an outlet or a dead end.
Every couple of days or so, the vessel will approach a stream coming off the mountains to refill its bilges with the pristine water running from the melting glaciers. The crew will land with a water pump connected by a hose to the ship bilgesmto replenish the water supply, so clean that not additional treatment was necessary. During some of these occasions, we went ashore and walked through enchanted forests that had not known the sound of a chopping ax.
The landings provided outstanding photo opportunities of glaciers, geological formations and marine animals that came ashore to rest. On one occasion, after landing, safety gear and photo equipment were laid on the beach at what appeared a safe distance from the waves. A small tsunami arrived causing despair among the photographers who rushed to rescue their gear. I had the opportunity to photograph King Penguins and Elephant Seals for the first time. The King penguins just ignored us and in occasions, they were the ones approaching us. I also got shots of Rock Hopper Penguins and of the elusive Giant Kingfisher.
I was amazed at the huge size of the elephant seals and their disdain for the close proximity of humans; they just followed our movements and snorted at us when approached to close.
Most of the participants of this expedition were photographers, among them, some of the top wildlife professionals from
Argentina and
Chile; I was the only outlier there. There were also a naturalist guide, a filming team from
Chile, as well as the vessels' crew.
During navigation time, the photographers shared their images and gave informal lessons on basic photo equipment, and Photoshop CS5 techniques. As for the first image above, where else have you seen a professional photographer providing photo tips to an attentive audience aboard an inflatable boat in frigid waters? Or what about such an awkward position to take a photo; only possible in the southern hemisphere where everything is upside down.Often while navigating among the channels we ran into whales, orcas, dolphins and sea lions offering great photo opportunities. In particular, the breaching of aquatic mammals was a challenging activity to capture. It appeared that I was always in the wrong side of the ship; when a whale breached, all I could catch was the huge splash of water created as they hit the water, but as consolation I got a few images.
The M/V Forrest was a cargo ship recently converted to an adventure vessel capable of carrying about 20 travelers in comfort. The relaxed environment of the voyage was the results of a highly trained crew whose first duty was safety followed by friendliness, impeccable service.
What about the food? Well, I have been in luxurious ocean going cruises and honestly, the freshness and gourmet quality offered here, exceeded all others. Three full courses were served daily, with the option of ordering items other that the regular offerings. All was included in the price of the cruise. I was not even charged for the pound /day I gained during the cruise
We were all the best friends of the galley's Master; who could resist such an incentive? If interested in getting more information regarding this extraordinary ocean going safari go to http://www.patagoniaphotosafaris.com/mn-forrest-en.html
Calafate is the gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier in the providence of Santa Cruz, Argentina. This glacier unlike most other glaciers on earth is growing and is to Argentina what the Masai Mara is to Kenya as a tourist attraction. Most visitors will stay in Calafate and visit the glacier for the day. As a result, the tourist accommodations are booming at an incredible pace. I was there the first time in May 2009; and returned in February 2010, I was amazed as to the number of new hotels and lodges rising along the shoreline of the lake on the road to the glacier. The old sleeping town is gone. Still much of the old charm is still left as illustrated above.
I have previously visited glaciers in Iceland and Alaska but none compares in majesty and awe to Perito Moreno. The iceflow covers approximately 100 square miles and has and average height of 200 feet where it flows into Lago Argentino. One of the major attractions for this glacier, is the fracture. This occurs when the ice flow creates an ice dam splitting the lake in two. When the dam is eventually broken it causes a spectacular water rush. This event is not easily predictable and not an annual event. Just watching and listening to iceflow moving is most interesting. One hears like rifle shots as the ice flows and chunks of ice break and fall into the lake. This process of large pieces of ice separating from the glacier is called calving; these calves then float about the lake pushed by the winds and water current until eventually melting away.
As tourism increases in Perito Moreno, the government activities to accommodate the influx of people is impacting this natural wonder. An extensive elevated metal trail and stairs ways is being completed. No doubt this will expedite the movement of visitors but at a cost of impacting the beauty of the area. They have constructed several “orange colored” rest stops along the trail that ruins the view. Could have they done this in a more subdue way? Is there a need for these structures in the first place?
The hand of bureaucracy using the excuse of “safety” has struck again in Perito Moreno. When I was there in 2009, I was able to access the shoreline in the area where the ice dam is formed (see image below). Now the old elevated trail that provided access to the shoreline has been closed.
No longer will visitors be able to experience to be close to the iceflow from land, see the deep blue/cyan colors created by the light filtered through the cracks in the clear ice from ground level, or touch the milky blue waters. Yes, there are boat tours that take you close to the iceflow or trekking on the glacier, but another experience to enjoy the glacier has been lost. Where else in the world could one experienced standing near the base of such a massive wall of ice?
I found that renting a car to visit the glacier for the day is more cost effective plus gives you the flexibility of staying at the glacier longer and stopping along the road to take landscape photos. One thing about Argentina that is more extreme than in other countries that I have traveled, is their gouging of tourists. You will pay ten times more for entering the national parks than a local citizen; but their practice of charging higher airfares to foreigners I have never experienced before. And is you are a US citizen and fly into the country, you will pay $130 fee, the good news, once you pay it, the passport is stamped and good for multiple entrances until the passport expires. In fairness this practice is not limited to Argentina, the same applies in Chile , but if you cross the border by land this fee is not charged, so walk or drive, don’t fly.
A few times during my travels I am overwhelmed by what I find. Even though I know where I am going and what I am going to see, I find myself not prepared for what I encounter. During my recent travels to Argentina I found myself in this situation when I first arrived at the Perito Moreno Glacier near the city of Calafate. I have seen glaciers previously in Iceland, Alaska, Mongolia and Chile but not of the magnitude and scenery of this one. It is located at the Glaciers National Park where there are other glaciers but Perito Moreno is the master. It is about 3 miles wide and the ice walls about 200 feet high. The ice mass advances about 6 feet per day and is one of the few glaciers that is still advancing; it has not been told about the green house effect yet. I took a boat tour and got real close to the ice wall but at a safe distance. The walls are shedding blocks of ice continuously and when they fall into the water, create great waves and noise. The noise sounds as the crack of a high powered rifle but by the time you hear it, the block of ice is already fallen. One is able to photograph the splash and waves created by the fallen block of ice but it is very difficult to capture one falling.
This photo was taken from the boat and gives a good perspective of the ice wall height and its blue color. But there is no image that can capture all the hue of blues visible to the eye. In some areas the ice seem fluorescent.
This image shows a narrow area between the glacier and a point of land of the Peninsula de Magallanes. At times the glacier grows an blocks the southern branch of the Lago Argentino. This does not happens every year but when it does, thousands of tourists arrive to see the collapse of the bridge due to the pressure of the water rising in the bloked lake. This view is from the southern branch of the Lago Argentino looking north.
This view gives a panoramic view of the whole glacier and the mountains are to the West. You can see the tree leaves changing into red and yellows since I was there in the fall. The seasons are reversed from the northen to the southern hemispheres. 
This image was taken with a 16 mm lens set at a 45 degrees angle to get the diagonal of a full frame digital camera. Then I Photoshop it and cropped it to get the widest dimension cutting off the corners. No image of this place can really capture its magnificence.