Canal Gabriel and Seno Almirantazgo

And it is before the day ends when she drops anchor at the so-called Hope Bay. A wonderful natural harbour opening between high mountains and thick forests at the eastern coasts of the large Capitan Aracena Island. It was all the way back in 1826 when the British Captain Parker King discovered and named the bay, using the Adventure’s auxiliary vessel, the Hope. The Adventure surveyed and mapped these surroundings together with the Beagle during her first voyage to these latitudes.

But having a look back in time, all in all we enter now an area that was sailed by the Europeans much earlier than the Beagle Channel, which we left behind a bit further south.

Here, already by 1520, Fernao de Magallanes ventured along the strait that today bears his name.

And today, as one of the highlights of the area where we find ourselves, we head along Canal Gabriel. Also called “Canal Cascada” or Waterfall Channel, as many of them (even around 100) can be seen coming from the melting hanging glacier over the southern shores of the channel.

Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa sailed along it aboard the caravel Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza in February 1580.
This spectacular waterway runs in a NW/SE direction for about 22nm between Dawson Island and Tierra del Fuego, and links Seno Magdalena to Seno Almirantazgo. At its narrowest, Angostura Gabriel, is just about a cable and a half wide, and at its shallowest it is 12 meters deep.

It cuts between high snowy peaks, with the pyramidal summit of Monte Buckland (2042 mts) towering above, half hidden today in the clouds and drizzle.

Around us Peale’s dolphins show up. At port and starboard the coastline looks, and it is, pretty close, with the pathless and dense temperate rainforest of the channels leading to steep slopes up the hills festooned with waterfalls.
In the meantime, over the smooth waters of the channel, those who are up to it get climbing the rig instructions and practice.

Here strong tidal currents flow and timing the sailing through can make a big difference. Fortunately, the Europa rides the current with just a breeze blowing from her back, reaching speeds at the narrowest point close to 12 knots.

Passed the narrows, the channel widens and the currents ease. And it is just by midday when we drop anchor at the well-sheltered cove “Caleta El Che”, lying west of the small Peninsula Lautaro, right at the eastern entrance of Canal Gabriel.

While the ship anchors at the entrance of the bay, to go ashore the zodiacs negotiate a narrow and shallow neck that opens to a wider cove. There, a small beach surrounded by densely forested slopes welcomes us. An Andean Condor soars over the mountain, a hummingbird quickly flies past.

Up the beach, a tough climb through pristine old-growth Patagonian forest leads to grassy steep slopes to reach a viewpoint on a shallow and large saddle up the hills. Step by step we make our way over and under a maze of bushes, tree trunks and branches densely covered in mosses and lichens.

Once we make it to the top, the views from up there are staggering all around. We are at the feet of huge sheer cliffs, mountains and precipitous peaks covered by glaciers. At their bottom extend the green forests and swamps that characterise the coastal and lower areas of the Chilean Fjords.

Looking to the other side, the bay branches into two arms. As picturesque as it could be, the Europa lies at the very entrance of it. Definitely the effort of the climb is worth it.

The way down follows a different route, though still pathless, trying to find a less steep and slippery slope leading to the tree line and eventually the beach.

In the bay, a small pod of the rare and endemic Chilean dolphins swim by. Their populations are pretty unknown and are restricted to the southern Chilean fjords; it is always a great treat to be able to see them.

Back on board for dinner, the Europa still remains quietly at anchor for a few hours before resuming her way into Seno Almirantazgo. Still there are about 50 nautical miles to cover until she can reach the head of it, where tomorrow’s activities are planned.

This sound is a grand fjord, indenting from a WNW to ESE direction into Tierra del Fuego, to the heart of the Cordillera Darwin. It is home to numerous bays, islands and glaciers. Due to its large size and characteristics, different ecosystems can be found in it, from the wet and moist cold-temperate climate zone to the alpine strata, trans-Andean steppe and the ice cap that covers its highest areas.

As our days and activities here go along, we gradually realise that the allure of the southernmost tip of the Americas lives on many scales. From the high peaks and glaciers to the large variety of little lichens that thrive on the bark of old beech trees.

The beauty of Patagonia lies not only in its grandeur but also in the smallest details – the delicate petals of a wildflower or the shimmer of a raindrop on a leaf.

Bruce Chatwin. “In Patagonia” 1977