Laguna San Rafael, Chile

Cruise time-zombie-ism has set in so I am starting to mix up my days. Sometime between the Chilean Fjords and Laguna San Rafael (also a fjord), Brian and I caught a cold. After getting norovirus (a particularly nasty intestinal bug) a few cruises ago, I am compulsive about not touching common surfaces. I punch elevator buttons, use stair rails, and open doors with a scarf or the edge of my shirt between my hand and the surface. So I am particularly unhappy that I caught this cold.

Bonnie, Wendy and I went on the catamaran trip to the face of the San Rafael glacier. The fjord was discovered by Diaz-Gallarde in 1575. It is 10 miles long by 7 miles wide. It is part of a national park (a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve), much loved by hikers and adventure travelers.

It is described by tourist information as a place of "stunning natural beauty" which may be true but on the day we were there, the clouds were low, the wind was cold and mostly we looked at mist. It was an hour down the laguna to see the face of the glacier and we were not hopeful. But, as luck would have it, the sky cleared when we arrived and we were able to see the glacier covering the hillside. There was not enough contrast for my camera but I did get some ok pictures of small ice bergs (which the tour operator calls 'burgy-bytes')

The ice bergs varied from quite black to white to a very intense blue and in size from a loaf of bread to a bus. The catamaran captain threaded his way through the ice bergs, in a calm sea and got us fairly close to the glacier itself.

I was dressed for a bad Canadian winter day and glad of it when the mist came in off of the glacier itself.

Seeing the sun made us hopeful for the next couple of days as we continue to head north.Read more