Stella Australis 3

Having motored overnight toward the Beagle Channel, we had a lecture first thing on Tierra del Fuego and how it has been populated over time.  Then a chance to visit the bridge and see the duty crew navigating the vessel through the islands that make up the lower end of South America.

Our disembarkation today was at the Pia Glacier, where we walked up the glaciated valley side to a point where we could look at the face of the glacier and hear the groans and cracks as the ice compresses and shears.  The scale is difficult to perceive but the power of the ice is evident all around in the scouring of the rock that makes up the valley sides.

When back on board, we motor through a channel know as glacier alley - on the north side are 5 valleys with glaciers that feed into the channel, Romanche, Germany, France, Italy (below)and Holland.  All come off the Darwin Range.

After dinner, another film to watch (avoiding the bingo this time) on the cara-cara and how it preys on the Penguins and gulls.  All the time, we are motoring to the end of the land at Cape Horn.