Chilean Fjords landscape with clouds

We awake this morning to an azure sky dappled with clouds like an Appaloosa. This is the day we’ve been waiting for. Albatrosses glide near the surface or rest on the water, lacking the wind for a more powerful flight. A solitary giant petrel scans the water for good. Piercing the water’s surface and springing from the waves with their playful romp, numerous teams of fur seals seem to be enjoying themselves as much as we are. It seems that we have approached a colony because there are so many seals that we could call this Fur Seal Strait. The landscape makes us feel removed from any speck of civilization — the islands of rock and scattered wind-sculpted trees bear no sign of life. As we leave the channels to enter the sea, fin whales blow off the port side. I am told that we have entered notoriously rough waters, but we are blessed with a gentle, amicable sea.

                                                                           Chilean Fjords

Black-browed albatross gliding over water in the Chilean Fjords

Southern fulmar in the Chilean Fjords