Beagle Channel
Caleta Olla, Glacier Alley and Pía Glacier.
The point where the Beagle Channel divides into two arms; and we entered the northern one. The scenery here becomes even grander than before. The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country, and boldly rise to a height of between three and four thousand feet, with one peak above six thousand
feet. They are covered by a wide mantle of perpetual snow, and numerous cascades pour their waters, through the woods, into the narrow channel below. In many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the mountainside to the water's edge. It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of snow. The fragments which had fallen from the glacier into the water were floating away, and the channel with its icebergs presented, for the space of a mile, a miniature likeness of the Polar Sea.”
Excerpt From
The Voyage of the Beagle, Or a Naturalist's Voyage Round the World. Charles Darwin
An overnight sail brought us to the dividing point between the NW and SW arms of the Beagle Channel. Two navigable passages, of which we choose the northern one to continue our southern Patagonia explorations.
In the early morning the anchor rattles down to the seabed, we are now at Caleta Olla (with “Olla” meaning cooking pot, a name given after the shape of this protected area against the strong tidal currents and often blowing strong westerly winds).
Captain FitzRoy found and used this anchorage during his exploratory expedition to the area in the 1830s aboard the Beagle. From here they set foot first on an islet on the eastern side of the bay, which they called Isla Diablo (Devil Island) after one anecdote that he lived here: On May 8th he wrote ”We reached the place where the two channels commence, and stopped for the night on a small island. Soon after dark, one of the boat’s crew was startled by two large eyes staring at him out of a thick bush, and he ran to his companions, saying he had seen the devil! A hearty laugh at his expense was followed by a shot at the bush, which brought to the ground a magnificent horned owl”.
It is not a horned owl what we find ashore straight away after landing at the sandy beach of Caleta Olla, but a much smaller Austral Pygmy Owl, perched on a branch.
The drumming of a woodpecker echoes in the background. Above our heads, high up, glides an Andean Condor.
The so-called Holland Glacier tumbles down between Mounts Bove and French, two of the high mountains of the Darwin Range.
A muddy trail heads into the otherwise impenetrable forest. It climbs up the hills where the treeline falls behind, the vegetation gets lower and it all makes for easier walking. Glittering under the morning sun that peers through the clouds, the glacier falls down the steep alpine landscape until it reaches a hidden large lagoon.
The very same steps, the very same spots along the same landscapes and views that Darwin had as he walked around here, soaking in the beauty of the scenery while tirelessly collecting samples and specimens almost two centuries ago.
Back on board, under sunny skies and windless conditions, the Europa has already heaved anchor and off she goes towards our next destination, Pía Fjord, located 28nm ahead on our route.
Along the Beagle, high mountains, dark green forests and snowy peaks, Cordillera Darwin towers to the north with peaks of over 2000m high.
Several bays and fjords open along the shore, narrow and with glaciers nested amongst their steep sides.
Soon after leaving our morning anchorage we gather on deck as we sail by the spectacular Italia Glacier, with its front calving into the Beagle.
A bit ahead, above us, shows up the majestic Mount Darwin. This alpine peak gets its name from an incident that happened during the Beagle expedition in the 1830s. Quoting the notations of FitzRoy:
Our boats were hauled up out of the water upon the sandy point, and we were sitting around a fire about two hundred yards from them, when a thundering crash shook us - down came the whole front of the icy cliff - and the sea surged up in a vast heap of foam. Reverberating echoes sounded in every direction, from the lofty mountains which hemmed us in; but our whole attention was immediately called to great rolling waves which came in so rapidly that there was scarcely time for the most active of our party to run and seize the boats before they were tossed along the beach like empty calabashes.
By the exertions of those who grappled them or seized the ropes, they were hauled up again out of reach of a second and third roller; and indeed we had good reason to rejoice that they were just saved in time; for had not Mr. Darwin and two or three of the men run to them instantly, they would have been swept away irrevocably.
FitzRoy report. Excerpt from The route of Darwin through the Cape Horn Archipelago.
After this Darwin’s deed, FitzRoy named the highest peak in sight Mount Darwin, which climbs up to over 2400m above sea level and is covered by great glaciers.
It takes another hour to reach the characteristic great waterfall of the hanging glacier Romanche.
Leaving it behind, we are closing up to our next planned stop, turning north into the beautiful Pía Fjord. A “Y”-shaped inlet that hides dramatic scenery and glaciers at the head of both its arms.
High gneiss and granite cliffs surround the ship, in front and above, snowy and steep peaks as we enter Pía’s eastern branch. There, by the afternoon coffee break, we reach the safe berth east of Punta Falsa Islet, then boats are launched to bring us ashore.
For a couple of hours we walk on the beach and moraines of the glacier, which in fact is an arm of the large Romance Glacier. Low tide had left behind lots of stranded bergy bits and growlers. A braided meltwater river at the foot of the vertical icy front offers a sensational viewpoint, nestled amongst the ice, the forested steep slopes and the rocky outcrops.
A stunning full day in the southernmost area of Patagonia. A second journey of a trip along its surprising and harsh landscapes, which quickly soak into us.
“Patagonia!' he cried, 'She is a hard mistress. She casts her spell. An enchantress! She folds you in her arms and never lets go.”
Bruce Chatwin, “In Patagonia”
