The world is a water-colour painting!

As we start to write this blog we are in the Chilean Fiords sailing towards Punta Arenas. This is a very wet region of Chile experiencing 3 meters of rain a year in many areas. You might assume then that it is often cloudy and wet- and you would be right! However, today we had one of those very special days when the clouds were broken to reveal blue sky, and the sun was able to light the mountains around us. Every scene looked like a water-colour painting! The light was soft and the blue haze in the air smeared the detail in a very attractive way. Much of the land was covered with temperate rain forest but some areas were virtual bare of vegetation and looked ice-scoured. Many photographs were made by our passengers and bloggers!

After sailing through a portion of the Strait of Magellan, we arrived at Punta Arenas in the late afternoon. “Punta” the capital city of Chile's southernmost region Magallanes and Antartida Chilena. It is a vibrant city of over 120,000 people, with amenities you would not expect is such a remote locale. Remember, we are over 2000 kms south of the Chilean capital of Santiago. As we approached the wharf around supper time, a large pod of Dusky Dolphins greeted us, swimming along side and playing in the bow wave.

Once we had cleared customs into Chile, passengers going to Torres del Paine National Park left the ship for what will be a marvelous time. Others left the ship to explore the city, and the rest keenly anticipated the excursions tomorrow.