Isla Las Huichas

Scenic Cruising in the Chilean Fjords.

Second day in a row of cruising at sea. Off to a bit of a late start (getting into a bad habit) so grabbed some muffins and a banana and headed for our 9:30 lecture by Dr. Richard Bates, on the oceans and the effect they have on climate. Well let’s just say that it’s very complicated. He outlined the global wind directions and the effect that they had on climates all around the world. Another factor is ocean currents, and the effect that they have, as well as circulation of sea water from the bottom to the top, and how that changed ocean temperatures which led to changes in the direction of the trade winds. Cold water at the bottom of the ocean can take upwards of 1000 years to rise to the surface and begin to effect changes. He also pointed out that 50 million years ago North and South America began to separate from the Pangea, which led to changes in ocean levels and ocean currents and thus enormous climate change.
And on a larger scale, about ten million years ago, due to tectonic plate movement, Antarctica began separating from South America and 5 million years ago Central America began to form.
All of these changes affect global temperatures which can cause melting of glaciers. 10 % of the earth’s surface is covered by glaciers and 85% of that is in Antarctica. Glaciers store 75% of the earth's fresh water which, when they melt, changes the salinity of the oceans which change currents which change climates etc., etc. It gives me a headache!
-Oh, and did I mention that the subduction of one plate under another plate creates heat which changes land and ocean temperatures and causes the creation of mountains which on their own, cause changes in local, if not continental climates. My headache is getting worse. Thank goodness he was such a good lecturer.

Last night was a bit bumpy and we are now sailing outside the fjord area but should soon be cutting back into the fiords which will result in calmer seas. It is a rather miserable day today. The temperature is about 12°C, waves approximately 12 to 15 feet high, pouring rain and visibility of only several hundred yards because of the rain and the fog. What a shame as this is supposed to be the most awesome part of the cruise for scenery.

In the early afternoon, we realized that we would probably come close to Gary and Karina on their sailboat. They were supposed to be sailing southward past us as we were sailing northward to where they had just left. After many e-mails and text messages back and forth, we were finally able to contact them by cell phone using WhatsApp and had a really fun 15 to 20-minute conversation with them. As it turns out they were docked in Puerto Aguirre and our ship was passing within five nautical miles of them. Had the weather and other conditions been more appropriate Gary said that he would have sailed out to see the ship. It was great to know that they were safe and sound, they narrowly avoided yet another, in their seemingly endless, disasters. As they docked at their berth in high winds the throttle cable broke. All is well notwithstanding cold and rainy conditions. They are hunkered down with winds of about 30k and sideways rain but are happy and feeling upbeat. Really? Apparently, by Gary’s description, Karina has everything she owns on. He said the door/hatch is still open but said if it gets cold, they can shut the door and he might even turn on the heat!!
They are hoping to receive the necessary parts to fix the throttle cable shortly.

The chef and 40 people in his department have been working for over a month to make a large gingerbread village which is now on display in the main social area, the Atruim, on deck one.

We sent the following e-mail to Lilah and Callie.
Hi girls,
The chef and 40 helpers made these gingerbread houses and put them out two days ago. The windows are even made from clear candy.
Also, when you walk to school the next time think about the length of our ship. It is almost as far as from Birch street to Cedar street. Almost two blocks!
Lots of love
Grampa

One of the options for dining tonight was a special fish and chips dinner on the patio deck which turned out to be pretty good. After that we went to the show, but Don was tired and left early. Tomorrow, we are supposed to go on a 7-hour tour when we land at Puerto Montt, including a catamaran tour around Lake Emerald. Hope it clears up.Read more