Tuesday, February 25, 2020 – At sea visiting the Pio XI Glacier
We arrived at 7 AM at the large glacier / ice field which at this point is 6 km wide 75 meters high. It was shrouded in fog giving an ethereal mystical impression. As the ship spun around 3 times on its axis, the clouds lifted and the Glacier (named after Pope Pius XI) came to light with it’s characteristic blue hue. This is because of the high pressure of the ice, all the air has been squeezed out so all the eyes can perceive is the blue light. It appears “dirty” as the glacier (which travels at about 1 meter a day) picks up “tributary” ice fields along it’s 35 kilometer long 16 kilometer wide (1,250 Square Kilometer area) traverse from the high Andes to this typical U shaped fjord. The sediment is carried in the ice grinding it up into a fine powder and thus the water we are is appears cloudy. It is the suspended crushed rock into powder that is in suspension. Buenos Aires with it’s 6,000,000 people would fit 5 times into this Southern Andean ice field which is the largest in the world outside of Antarctica. The ice we see today melting into the fjord was snow that fell around the time of World War I and has been compressed and travelled all the way to this end of the glacier.
A good set of lectures this shrove Tuesday, with pancakes for all. However due to poor weather, the pancake race was canceled.
The port lecture on Callao, Lima, Peru was informative. Richard Crowley gave a very good overview of Chile the long thin country that is incredible diverse from top to bottom. The most arid Atacama Desert in the North to these wine and fruit growing region of the center, to the Antarctic region going down to Cape Horn. Robert Wilder spoke in the territorial history of the seas and the battles still raging for tiny islands to expand control over the seas.
The somewhat wild, quirky talented musician has an exuberant stage presence and amuses while playing the piano. A fun way to end the day.
Roger & Anne Travels 