Cape Horn

27th January 2018

This is the light house at Cape Horn. A very bleak and foreboding place, the weather here can change four times in one hour, sunny, rainy, foggy and windy. We were very lucky because the day before there had been 8-12 metre swells and we had been warned to expect bad weather.

However, as you can see, it was like a summer’s day in Cornwall!

This Sculpture high on the cliff is of an albatross, and if I had had a zoom lens you could see that it was made of many sheets of steel made to withstand the 120 mile winds.

In the old days of sailing ships if you passed around the horn from east to west you were entitled to wear a gold earring in your ear (either the left or right, I can’t remember) and one in the other if you passed west to east. Cape Horn is an island (I didn’t know that!) and we sailed around it both ways, so apparently Jane is going to by me a pair of gold earrings!!!

Within minutes the sun had gone in and the wind had picked up.

Then 5 minutes later the sun was back out.

This is their summer……

God only knows what it would be like here in the winter!

This is Nigel Marvin our TV wildlife expert. I was asked by a fellow passenger if I knew what a particular bird was from a photo he was showing me, I apologised and said sorry I didn’t have a clue, He looked puzzled said thank you and went on his way. I saw him the next day and asked him if he found out the name of the bird, he had and his wife said that he had mistaken me for Nigel! Nigel was sat by us as this conversation was going on and now every time we pass he asks my advice, what a nice chap!

To avoid the choppy waters of the Pacific Ocean we are going through the Beagle Passage and Magellan Straits.

Even these safer routes can be dangerous if the weather is bad!

Dolphins………..

These little fellows had so much fun, they followed the ship for hours. They certainly kept everyone onboard entertained and I took loads of photos. Mercifully for you I have just added a small selection!

The next morning we were passing through the Magellan Straights

And the glaciers .

Beautiful….

Even when the weather changes…. Squall coming in!