November 22, 2024 - Garibaldi Fjord

November 22, 2024 – Friday               Day 58 of this journey 

Chilean Glaciers – Garibaldi Fjord 

Be prepared. There are going to be lots of photos. 

We will be visiting another glacier today. This will be number four. So far, each one has been very different from the others.

Pio XI

 

El Brujo

Agostini

Garibaldi

The amazing scenery continues, the hundreds of waterfalls continue, I can’t get enough of the waterfalls or the scenery.

We arrive in the fjord where planned and immediately the zodiacs are put in the water and the drivers head out to scout the area. Even if they have been here before, they want to check things out and decide what they will show their passengers.

We’ve got a fairly early group, so we put on all the various layers and head down to A Deck. Our driver gets everyone settled, does the safety briefing and off we go. When he did his reconnoiter earlier, he had spotted several things he wanted to show us. Wonderful waterfalls and a very neat cave. Then around a corner you couldn’t even see, there was another glacier spilling into the water with a very cool looking cave.

This rock has been under some serious pressure.

From a distance, these trees looked dead.
On closer inspection, their greenery is only on the tips
of branches. This is a very harsh environment.

Our driver had spotted this neat indentation.

So we slowly approached and

got closer and closer

and closer

looking up over our heads

until we couldn't get any closer

We played in the sea ice for a while, then headed towards a colony of nesting Magallanic Cormorants. On the way, we stopped off at a zodiac where senior staff members were handing out glasses of champagne. It is the last day for the toys to be used on this segment, and we have learned that staff always tries to do something special. 

After enjoying the champagne, we continued on to watch the cormorants. They are black and white and from a distance almost look like penguins. But the black really isn’t black. It is a very dark iridescent blue or oily green. And you can pick up the difference when you see them in flight.

Our ship in the distance

The white streaks on this rock face are guano

Look near the crack

Back at the ship, we spend some time working on this blog. Days have been so busy; it has been impossible to keep up. 

Once again, just as it is time to leave the fjord, the Captain takes us up close to the glacier. Then it is time to head back out to open ocean. We’ll be “Going Round The Horn” in the morning.