Ask any experienced mariner to list the 5 most iconic sailing experiences in the world and I daresay that “Rounding the Horn” will appear on every list… perhaps at the top.

Cape Horn is the southernmost point of Tierra del Fuego, Chile, and is deemed the place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. It is legendary for presenting navigators with precipitous waves and gale force winds. The 40th southern parallel has often been referred to at “the roaring forties”, the 50th southern parallel as “the furious fifties”, and the 60’s as “the screaming sixties”. Understandable since there is little in the way of land mass to abate the prevailing winds that circle the globe. Cape Horn is located 56 degrees south. There are no land masses to resist the winds until Antarctica, 500 miles to the south. That “gap” between continents has the effect of funneling and further concentrating the winds. Compounding this is the rise in the sea floor that similarly magnifies the already steep prevailing waves. It is not uncommon for “rogue waves” of 90 feet or more to catch a ship unawares with dire consequences.

King Neptune gave us a taste of the Cape Horn “experience”…

We encountered driving rain and sleet interspersed with moments of breaking clouds and the hint of blue skies above. Winds were fickle, often changing direction and at times whipping the wavetops into a foam that was then driven as streaks across the water.

We never felt threatened but the likes of Joshua Slocum (first solo circumnavigation 1885) and Richard Henry Dana (“Two Years Before the Mast”, 1840) were near in my thoughts.

The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 eliminated the route of the Horn for all but adventurers and the largest merchant ships. United States WW2 battle ships (Iowa Class) were designed to (just) fit the canal with only inches of width to spare.

Incredibly, there is a landing dock at Cape Horn lighthouse with a visitors center.

A monument is in place given to the memory of mariners who have lost their lives attempting the passage. The gleaming steel sculpture is in two pieces that when viewed create the image of a soaring Albatross. Keepers of the lighthouse sign on with their family for 12 month tours of duty.

The following day, November 28th, we reentered the Beagle Channel and made our way down the “Avenue of Glaciers”. The entire day was a procession of one majestic ice cliff after another.

Chile and Argentina’s Southern Patagonian Ice Fields are the second largest contiguous non-polar ice mass in the world. Over 4,700 square miles are situated in Chile and nearly 1,000 in Argentina. The Ice Field feeds hundreds of glaciers. Our passage took in close views of 5 of these, and culminated in the astounding Garibaldi Fjord and Glacier where our ship spent the better part of 2 hours within feet of the cliff walls and glacier.

The ship sent out a tender and crew to “capture” some of the ice that had calved.

One chunk weighed over 700 pounds and is currently on display shipboard.

Perhaps the adventurous can convince the Ship Steward to shave a bit off to cool a gin and tonic. There are some small pieces of debris locked in the blue crystalline ice… they have been there for over 15,000 years. It’s about time they were liberated.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Glaciers are considered one of the most accurate long term indicators of climate change. During our 2017 visit to Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier we saw incredible evidence of that glacier’s retreat. Similarly we learned from the Park Rangers at Glacier National Park that by the year 2025 the Park’s last glacier will be gone. The Southern Patagonian Ice Sheet is also in decline.

To use a metaphor… Huge oceangoing ships require many miles to arrest their speed or change course. A Captain must begin executing the change far in advance of the distant threat to navigation. The magnitude and inertia of climate is like that of a ship. If one waits to act until the dangers become obvious or acute, it will already be too late.

One of the featured shore excursions that Viking offered as an option was a trip to the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego (National Park of Tierra del Fuego). We have learned that the ship arranged outings can often be duplicated through the local vendors at a fraction of the cost. Most passengers prefer the ease of just “letting Viking do it”, but for us there is an added element of adventure in striking out on our own.

The Viking arranged tour of Parque Nacional cost $100 US per person. We were able to take a local bus to the Park, pay our admission, and be free to explore without adhering to a group schedule for $25 US each.

In one sense this park is not to be compared with “Yellowstone”. There is a humble visitors center and cafeteria. But with the exception of the one gravel road into the park and one trailer with bathroom facilities, there are no visitor conveniences.

In another sense this National Park compares quite favorably with Yellowstone. The scenery is spectacular!

Christine and I spent a couple of hours hiking together. She then returned to the visitors center to relax with her book which gave me license to pursue a hike at my chosen speed. 10 miles and I had covered enough of the trails to give me a deep sense of accomplishment.

The Park was established in 1960 and contains 243 square miles of pristine Patagonian and subarctic forest. This is the region of the southern terminus of the Andes Mountains. The scenery is breathtaking!

There are 20 species of land mammals and 90 species of birds that call the Park home. There are no animals that might be considered a threat to humans, however a number of “exotic” (non-native) species have been introduced to the Park and become invasive threats to the native flora and fauna. These include the Muskrat, European Rabbit, and North American Beaver.

Due to the extreme southern latitude, tree line is only 2,000 feet above sea level. The demarcation between forest and tundra is striking.

The southern Park boundary is the shoreline of the Beagle Channel. At lower elevations nearing the Channel the climate is moderated by the water. Average winter temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The Summer average is 50 degrees. Average annual rainfall is a very wet 28 inches. There is no dry season.

Our good fortune provided us with a day that was sunny and mild. My hike took me to the terminus of National Route 3 that connects the southernmost part of a Patagonia to Buenos Aires which is 3,094 km to the north. Antarctica is a little less than 1,000 km to the south.

I continued on to the southwestern park boundary which is (literally) a stones throw from Chile and is marked by a navigational beacon.

The Beagle Channel extends east to west for approximately 240 km. The Channel is named after the HMS Beagle which in 1833 explored these waters with its equally famous passenger, Charles Darwin.

For the 10,000 years preceding Darwin’s visit the region had been home to the indigenous Yaghan people. Their adaptation to the environment is nothing short of amazing. It is believed that their base metabolisms were significantly higher than those of most northern humans. They fueled themselves with a calorie dense diet that was high in fats from the sea lions that they hunted. They smeared their bodies with animal fat for further protection and constantly maintained open hearth fires which at night gave the shores of the Channel the eerie appearance of being a land on fire. Thus the name, Tierra del Fuego.

The Yaghan had also learned that clothing was both impractical and dangerous. The constant rains meant that clothing would remain wet and contribute to hypothermia. Naked skin dried quickly and therefore to the amazement and consternation of the European settlers and missionaries the Yaghan spent most of their time naked.

It is estimated that there were over 3,000 Yaghan at the time that missionaries arrived in the 1880’s. The virtual extinction of the tribe soon followed due to European borne diseases, the overhunting of traditional Yaghan food sources, and the intolerance of Yaghan customs and traditions.

Hindsight allows us the luxury of an “enlightened” perspective. We may be critical of the intolerance of the settlers and missionaries. However, to have suggested at that time the error of European ways would have invited expulsion from the community, or worse. Such has always been the way of the embedded social, economic, and cultural traditions of those who are power.

I find myself wondering what traditions and values that we hold sacred today might become the subject of ridicule by future generations. Could they include…

The huge factory fishing vessels that deplete ocean stocks?…

Our stubborn dependence on fossil fuels?…

The establishment of global supply chains that have the unintended consequences of eliminating varietal diversity and of being a vector for the transmission of blight and disease?…

Or…

The suggestion of any of these things invites reproach as an attack upon the social, economic, and cultural traditions of those who are in power. Perhaps therein lies the answer to my question.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Many of you live outside of the United States. Today in the States is our holiday of Thanksgiving… Christine and I wish each and every one of you, regardless of your country of origin, our best wishes. We hope that you and those who you hold dear in your heart may find a moment today to give thanks for the blessings of your life. You are among the blessings that we celebrate in our life.

This is our third day in Buenos Aires, and our last night at the Recoleta Grand Hotel. Tomorrow we board the Viking Sea where we will make our home for the next 3 weeks. However, we are not through with Buenos Aires as the ship will remain in port for two more nights.

We now know that there is much of this city that we will not see. A few days is hardly enough time to explore the varied neighborhoods of this modern capitol city. We will continue our explorations, but it is doubtful that we will spend much time in any museums or galleries. The weather is fine and the streets are alive!

Shortly after leaving the hotel this morning we stopped to look at a map. Our quest was Cementerio de Recoleta and to seek the grave of Evita Peron. Seeing us, a nice lady and her 11 year old daughter stopped to offer their help. Miai speaks a little English, and relied upon her daughter to lend a hand with translation. Their kindness lead to a 15 minute visit and recommendations for places to buy custom made leather goods. Christine and Miai exchanged contact information. Miai is leaving soon for the States where I hope that she is afforded the same level of hospitality that she extended to us.

A short stroll brought us to the Recoleta park grounds and Cemetery. Today is Sunday so booths featuring local artists and their wares lined the sidewalks for hundreds of yards.

We took in an outdoor cafe for a leisurely lunch in the cool shade of an enormous rubber tree. This one’s limbs extended dozens of yards from the center and required the assistance of iron crutches to keep them elevated above the ground. One such support was supplied by a sculpture of Atlas the Titan. I took a moment to briefly relieve him of some of his burden.

Nearby were street performers giving impromptu Tango lessons. We could not let the opportunity pass. Taking turns we each enjoyed moments of imagined celebrity in the arms of a young Latin dancer. Fortunately, still images are much kinder than any video would have been. Ah, to be young again!

I have always been drawn to cemeteries. I have often wandered among the graves and imagined the life stories that must have been, but are now compressed into little more than a “Born on… Died on…”

The famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris France is home to such notables as Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and of course Jim Morrison of the Doors. It is a small city with tree lined boulevards and family tombs that are like small mansions. Cementerio de Recoleta is its equal on a slightly smaller scale.

Here is a place where The “Who’s Who” of Argentine society is now the “Who Was”. The tombs are among the most elaborate that I have every seen. Many are adorned with beautiful entries, stained glass windows, and doors with artistic brass engravings. One even featured electric coach lights above the door. Much as I looked, I saw no door-knockers.

Some of the tombs extended two or even three stories below the ground. Just inside the doors and “reception” were narrow stairs that gave access the the lower levels.

The grounds were the final resting places of Presidents…

Generals…

Liberators…

Giants of business and finance…

…and of course,

Evita Peron.

All of their celebrity is eclipsed by the tombs of two teenage girls. 19 year old Liliana de Szaszak (1944-1970) died tragically in an avalanche in Austria. It is reputed that her dog, Sabu, was so attached to her that he died in Buenos Aires at the moment of her passing.

Ruffian Cambaceres (1883-1903) was found dead in her bedroom of a suspected heart attack. On the night of her internment a watchman overheard sounds within the family mausoleum. Investigation the next day revealed that the coffin had moved. When the lid was opened scratches were found on the inside surface and all over Rufina’s face and neck. She had been buried alive.

Christine and I once visited an ossuary in Rome Italy. At the entry was a skeleton constructed from the bones of one or more of the departed. It was clothed as a monk and held a sign that declared, “What you are I once was. What I am you will become”.

The cemetery at Pere Lachaise and the one we visited today are final resting places, but they are also monuments to our arrogance. They are displays of wealth, status, and notoriety. They are fictions to a belief that we as legends live on forever.

Many of the tombs have become metaphors of the death and decay of those who are within. Fallen plaster, rotting caskets, dust, rust, and tarnish. Death is the great equalizer, and on that happy note…

Peace Everyone. Pete