Magellan Straits

Seno Almirantazgo extends ESE more than 40 miles from the S end of Canal Whiteside and has three long inlets branching off the S side. These cut deeply into the heart of Cordillera Darwin and end at the foot of tidewater glaciers, after running between steep cliffs and vertical walls. Not all the small branches of the main sound have been fully surveyed, but some of them are deep enough for good approaches to the shoreline and cruising around.

Captain Parker King, during his expedition here in March 1826, named it Admiralty Sound, paying homage to the British Admiralty.

All the way at the back of it, which we approach overnight, as it is 50 nautical miles away from our last stop at Caleta el Che, lies Jackson Bay, one of the two only known breeding colonies in Chile for Elephant seals and a Black-browed albatross nesting area. Further to the south at Parry Bay sometimes there are chances to see Leopard seals. Here they have a small local population, the northernmost in the world, as it is mostly an Antarctic species. Around are some of the most impressive bays and glaciers in the southernmost part of Patagonia. Good reasons why it is worth spending the time to sail all the long way here and have the chance to explore the surroundings, even though the day is rainy and overcast.

To start with, the whole area at the head of Seno Almirantazgo is nowadays under the survey and management of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the NGO Karukinka, and to visit it is mandatory to land with local guides/rangers. That is why by the early morning, three of them are brought on board. After a short talk about their doings here and the efforts put into nature conservation, we all go ashore with the goal of finding some of the Elephant seals that live here and doing a short hike following a path in the forest to an impressive waterfall. A long time ago these seals could be found also a bit further out of the main fjord, at Ainsworth Bay, but nowadays it seems that all have moved here.

Shallow waters lead to an ample valley and right from the landing site we already can see several of them. A few have a bath in the shallows, others pile up a bit higher up amongst driftwood and ponds surrounded by vegetation.

They are now finishing their moulting after finishing the breeding season.

Scientific studies have been conducted on them for more than 20 years, tagging, taking fur and blood samples and even placing some GPS tracking devices on some of the pups born here. The results of this research are giving some light on where these Elephant seals came from (some of them still from ancient populations in the area that were thought to have been wiped out by the sealers of the late XIX and early XX century, some of them from Peninsula Valdes in Argentinean Patagonia and the rest from the Falkland Islands) and where they go when they leave. Amazingly, some of them even go to the Drake Passage and South Shetland Islands.

The surroundings are again spectacular, no matter the incessant rainfall during this grey morning. High cliffs and snowy peaks tower over our heads, a large waterfall flows down close to the shoreline. In the background along the valley a group of Guanacos observe us during the whole duration of the landing.

Dark-bellied Cinclodes and Tyrants forage over the long beach left behind by the low tide, while flocks of Upland geese fly around.

After a nice and comforting lunch and with our wet clothes hanging in the hallways to dry, we slowly make our way into Parry Bay. The area is roughly charted until the fjord is divided into two arms, then both of them are not charted at all.

The rain continues, clouds hanging low covering the mountain tops and many of us stay inside to keep dry and warm. Gradually, the atmosphere and scenery change to a more glacial landscape. The rain stops and the clouds lift enough for us to see snow covering the mountain tops. Small bits of ice start appearing alongside the ship. The air feels colder. Suddenly, a glacier appears as we round a corner, and soon we can see a larger glacier at the end of the fjord arm far in the distance. A thin elastic layer of sea ice joins the small bits of glacial ice. Green vegetation and trees cover the mountain sides, and streams of water flow down the mountains meeting the fjord. With snow covering the top parts of the vegetated mountain sides, the scenery looks closer to a painting than real.

As we steer deeper into the secluded bay, it gets more and more spectacular.

With our cameras and binoculars out we cruise the area, having at the same time a good scout over the bits of drifting ice, searching for the elusive leopard seals that are sometimes seen here. Every now and then we think we have found one, but it turns out to be sediments on the ice. And then, suddenly, Coni spots something grey moving far in the distance between two chunks of ice, there is one of them! Yawning and stretching, it looks up to see what this noise is, then resting again. What an extraordinary sight, observing such an animal, mostly found in the coastal waters of Antarctica. But here a small population lives, actually considered the northernmost breeding group of them.

We continue a bit further towards the end of the fjord arm with Mount Darwin ranging high to the west with its 2467 m and the Cordillera Darwin glacial field feeding the glaciers flowing down the mountain sides towards the fjord. Hanging glaciers sit high up in the cliff sides while others are making their way all the way down towards the water line. Crevasses of different sizes show signs of the interaction between the moving ice and the hard rock below and beside it, friction making the ice move slower in these parts while the middle and top move faster, which breaks up the ice creating crevasses. The cold and icy atmosphere in white and blue colours is contrasted by the greenery of the trees and vegetation to our sides. What a beautiful and mystical landscape. The light is dimming as we turn around and head out of Parry Bay with warm dinner waiting for us inside.