Michael Jackson, McDuff Everton & Santiago Imberti
View all info
Daily Expedition
Reports
18 Mar 2024
Kirke Narrows and Puerto Natales , 3/18/2024, National Geographic Endurance
Aboard the
National Geographic Endurance
Patagonia
We awoke in Kirke Channel which forms the approach to Kirke Narrows, one of the two tight passages that allow us to visit Puerto Natales. This passage is barely over 100 yards wide and can only be transited at slack tide. We waited on the west side of the passage until the current was low enough to pass. While we were waiting, we were treated to great views of Chilean dolphins.
After transiting the channel, we made our way to Puerto Natales. After lunch some of us went on a hiking trip near Sofia Lake to a hillside cave, while others went on a tour of the town to enjoy the charms of Puerto Natales.
An experienced traveler, Michael has lived on several continents, including a year spent working as a naturalist and zoologist in Galápagos and three months in Kenya conducting a study of birds of prey. He is the author o f Galápagos: A Natural Histo...
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
We entered Bahia Capitan Canepa where the mountains were rounded over by ancient glacial grinding and the valleys had begun to fill in with nothofagus trees and many of the ferns, mosses, and lichens familiar to the rest of this region. Waterfalls were found around every corner, and both sea lions and fur seals were scattered about, playing in the cool water. Some places felt like scenes from Jurassic Park with waterfalls turning to showers before they hit the seawater below, while the wind fiercely blew the scattering droplets about. The rain was steady, but moods were bright as we encountered shags and oystercatchers along the shores of this magical place. Showers cleared by the afternoon while we made our way west to Ushuaia on the final leg of this voyage. The Beagle Channel always feels different depending on what direction we are traveling. At the beginning it is wonderous and full of mystery, but the return trip always feels sad as we prepare to disembark and bid farewell to our newly made friends. This part of the voyage is fun for spotting whales and Magellanic penguins, but we all know it is short for time. By 2130 dinner ended and National Geographic Endurance’s bow thrusters and Azipods were driving us to the pier for our final berthing of this incredible voyage.
Continuing with mythical and epic places, we made it to the end of our trip with a few days to explore glorious Staten Island. Made famous by its treacherous waters, furious winds, hundreds of wrecks during the 1800’s, and the famous Jules Verne novel, ‘The Lighthouse at the End of the World’, it is by nature one of the wildest places in the world. We experienced that with changes in weather that went from 50 knot winds with heavy sleet, to a sunny calm day minutes afterwards.
Today, aboard National Geographic Endurance, we explored Franklin Bay on Isla de los Estados, Argentina. The jagged coastline mesmerized us with its rugged layers of sedimentary beauty. We encountered diverse wildlife, from rockhopper penguins to majestic seabirds like black-browed albatross and giant petrels. Today’s expedition unveiled the untamed allure of this remote corner of the world where no other expedition company takes people, meanwhile etching memories to last a lifetime.
