Lima to Ushuaia – Chilean Fjords and Antarctica

Overview

A voyage that is full of experiences each more amazing than the last. With kilometres of sandy coastline, exceptional food and wine pairings, UNESCO World Heritage sites and undeniably some of the greatest views on earth, this voyage simply isn’t long enough. If it is change that you are after, if it is peace and tranquility, if it is grandeur like you have never experienced then it can only be Antarctica.

Explore Lima one of South America’s most culturally vibrant cities. With a breezy oceanfront location and a place that is rich in ancient history, colonial relics and traditional cuisine there will be plenty to do to fill your day. Embark the Silver Cloud.

Paracas is blessed with magnificent natural beauty and rich historical importance, offering inviting beaches, ideal weather and pleasant scenery.The shores of the Paracas Peninsula and waters of the bay teem with wildlife and have been declared a national reserve. Condors frequently can be seen gliding on the sea winds or perched on the cliffs; pink flamingos often rest here on their migratory flights. The complex interaction between wind and ocean, sun and land has transformed this region into a kind of lunarscape under an equatorial sun. Another reason for travellers to come to this area is its proximity to the famous and mysterious Nazca Lines. Visible from the air, these strange markings stretch for miles on a large barren plain and have bewildered archaeologists, historians and mathematicians since their discovery over a century ago. The earliest Andean people found shelter here. The Paracas culture was known for fine weavings in geometrical designs and vibrant colours, which have been preserved for thousands of years by the dry climate.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Arica boasts that it is “the land of the eternal spring,” but its temperate climate and beaches are not the only reason to visit this small city. Relax for an hour or two on the Plaza 21 de Mayo. Walk to the pier and watch the pelicans and sea lions trail the fishing boats as the afternoon’s catch comes in. Walk to the top of the Morro and imagine battles of days gone by, or wonder at the magnitude of modern shipping as Chilean goods leave the port below by container ship. Arica is gaining notice for its great surfing conditions, and in 2009 hosted the Rusty Arica Pro Surf Challenge, a qualifying event to the world series of surf.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Situated between the ocean and the mountains of the Coastal Range is Chile’s largest city of the northern region. Antofagasta’s role as the port for the exportation of nitrate began in 1866. In 1872, when silver was discovered, the first municipality was established. Today, Antofagasta is still the centre of nitrate and copper mining, as well as an important hub for rail traffic to La Paz, Bolivia, and Salta, Argentina. According to the treaty signed after the War of the Pacific, much of Bolivia’s international commerce transits through Antofagasta. The area surrounding Antofagasta is renowned for having the highest solar intensity in the world. Its archaeological zones, desert and mountains make it a sought after place for travellers looking for unusual destinations. The city’s landscaped plazas are a tribute to man’s conquest over the desert.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Disembark this morning to explore Valaparaiso, Chile’s oldest and most important seaport that’s bustling with activity. With its improvised urban design and unique architecture clinging to the hillsides, Valparaiso is a labyrinth of winding narrow streets, cobblestone alleyways and colourful hillside neighbourhoods. Continue a short distance north around the bay to Viña del Mar, the most famous and visited seaside city of the area. Its many parks with huge trees and palms have led it to being known as the “Garden City”. Also visit the beaches and the 1930s-era Casino, and learn about its history.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Today you will visit Niebla, a small village on the banks of the Rio Valdivia where Chile’s Corral Bay meets the Pacific Ocean. Now Niebla is a beach resort, but in 1671 it was a defensive fortress built by the order of the Viceroy of Peru to prevent attacks against the town of Valdivia by pirates and corsairs. Niebla is well-known for its lively markets, the remains of the colonial fortress declared a National Monument in 1950 and restored in 1992, and a museum dedicated to its history. Nearby is the charming river port city of Valdivia, where cultural influences from the native Mapuche, Spanish settlers, and German immigrants have blended.

Today you will step off into windy Puerto Montt. For most of its history, it was the end of the line for just about everyone travelling in the Lake District. Now the Carretera Austral carries on southward, but for all intents and purposes Puerto Montt remains the region’s last significant outpost, a provincial city that is the hub of local fishing, textile, and tourist activity. Today the city center is full of malls, condos, and office towers—it’s the fastest-growing city in Chile—but away from downtown, Puerto Montt consists mainly of low clapboard houses perched above its bay, the Seno de Reloncaví. If it’s a sunny day, head east to Playa Pelluco or one of the city’s other beaches. If you’re more interested in exploring the countryside, drive along the shore for a good view of the surrounding hills.

Bright, wooden huts teeter on stilts over Castro’s estuary waterfront, inviting you into a patchwork of colour that’s sure to brighten any day. These traditional palafitos give the warmest of welcomes, as you prepare to experience Chile at its most vibrant. Castro has faced something of a tumultuous past, having been hit by a by a succession of earthquakes and fires – the most recent a devastating earthquake in 1960. But this city is incredibly resilient, and today the capital of Chiloe Island makes for a fantastic base for exploring the archipelago that surrounds it.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Tortel is a commune located in Southern Patagonia, a spectacular wilderness region of rugged mountains, glaciers, rivers and forests of infinite beauty. The uneven geography of Tortel shapes a unique landscape, characterized by an archipelagic area with numerous islands and channels. Tortel is known as the “footbridge city” for the unique beauty of its wooden walkways that connect the piers and houses of this quaint place through bridges and stairs, built from cypress wood, that run for four and a half miles around the cove and that respect the rich vegetation that grows under them. Even though it is the sixth largest commune in Chile, it has the lowest population of all with roughly 531 people.

The English Narrows warrant time spent on the outer decks as the Captain and local Chilean Pilots expertly maneuver through the slalom course of islands and channel markers. The waterway is home to Magellanic Diving Petrels, Steamer Ducks, and the rare endemic Chilean dolphin. This small dolphin is shy of ships and enjoys spending its time in constricted straits with heavy tidal rips such as the English Narrows.

The Pio XI Glacier is classified as a tidewater glacier, which means the river of ice starts in the high mountains and then courses downhill all the way to sea level where it slowly melts into the salty ocean bit-by-bit. The Pio XI Glacier is an offshoot of the South Patagonian Ice Field and approaching from the sea, the ice sprawls out in front of the ship in a wide band that reflects a remarkable shade of brilliant blue.

Winding through the vast expanses of the Chilean Fjords will reveal mountains looming on both sides, waterfalls, and the marvel of hardy flora clinging to barren rocks. Seals and dolphins patrol the length of these uninhabited fjords as they have done for millennia. Small fishing-boats come out of Punta Arenas luring fish and trapping for king crab, while terns dip and glide coaxing their own small fish out of the deep, dark fjord waters amongst tiny islands thick with vegetation.

Welcome to Chile’s City at the End of The World – a wind-whipped, fractured land of islands, glacial fjords and mountains, which drop away towards Antarctica. A hardy city, where the temperature hovers in single figures throughout the year, Punta Arenas nevertheless offers a warm welcome and refuge, ahead of – and following – epic adventures and expeditions south across Drake Passage. Punta Arenas is a remote place, but with custom-free status, and more than 100,000 people calling it home it’s also surprisingly cosmopolitan.

Looming like a colossal river, frozen in the icy hold of time – the first time you set eyes on the Garibaldi Glacier will live with you forever, sending shivers down your spine that are absolutely nothing to do with the fjord weather’s chill. A stunning, unimaginably vast wedge of slowly creeping blue-white ice, the glacier is a fitting climax to the voyage through the cinematic majesty of the Garibaldi Fjord. Sail amid tumbling waterfalls, tightly-packed forestry and soaring mountains as you explore the glacier-sculpted Parque Nacional Alberto de Agostini – the newest member of Chile’s exclusive club of extraordinary, remote National Parks.

A southerly frontier – on the cusp of wild nature and extraordinary adventures – the excitement in Ushuaia is palpable. Prepare for memorable exploits amid the extremes of this southerly location – as you adventure into the colossal scenery of the fractured Tierra del Fuego and beyond. Known as the ‘End of the World’ Ushuaia looks out across the Beagle Channel, and is surrounded by the Martial Mountains to the north. One of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet – Argentina’s land of fire, National Park Tierra del Fuego, is a place of titanic natural forces and limitless beauty. Snow-covered mountains poke the sky, while glaciers spill down between peaks, and gaping fjords open up. With incredible wildlife – from penguins to whales – the park offers some of South America’s most amazing hiking opportunities and panoramas.

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale watching, catching up on your reading or simply topping up your tan, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

For the next 3 days you will be exploring several location in the Falkland archipelago. The first two islands that you will visit are New Island and West point Island, these remote islands are home to a proliferation of seabirds and migratory birds including the stunning black-browed albatross. Our first penguin sightings will be on West Point Island with its bustling rookeries of rockhoppers.

The following morning you will arrive in Stanley, the capital of the Falklands Islands. As you wander through the charming streets of brightly painted houses, learn how this quiet harbour was once a major port in the 19th century for tall ships rounding the fabled Cape Horn. There are several interesting activities to enjoy today. Stanley has an excellent museum that outlines the historic events that took place during the conflict with Argentina in 1982. The waterfront memorial built to commemorate the lives of the British servicemen killed during the war is a sobering reminder of recent history. Stanley’s famed philatelic museum with its impressive collection of historic stamps is another interesting diversion.

Your last day in the Falkland Islands will be spent visiting Bleaker Island- a private island that is excellent for birdwatching- and Sea Lion Island which is home to the southern sea lion and ninety-five percent of the southern elephant seal population. Because of the penguins and the seal populations and the deeply shelving coastline, this island is one of the best places in the Falkland Islands to see orcas (killer whales) –there are two resident pods.

The Drake Passage has a notorious reputation for its turbulent seas due to the westerly winds and the funneling effect of the passage. The Antarctic Convergence, a natural boundary where cold polar water flows northward and warmer equatorial water moves southward, is within the Drake Passage. When these two currents meet, nutrients are pushed to the surface, often attracting a multitude of seabirds and whales. Black-browed Albatross, Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels glide in the air currents alongside and in the wake of the ship.

Promising thrilling adventure, legendary tales and immaculate Antarctic beauty, Elephant Island is perhaps Antarctica’s best-known location. The exploits of its early explorers have immortalised this harsh, monochrome island in the tomes of human history. Believed to take its name from the elephant seals that early explorers spotted lolling on its rocks, the volcanic island was not properly explored until 1916 – when Ernest Shackleton and his men were stricken by the weather and sought salvation on its shores. Their story of survival, stranded in this barren land, is one of humanity’s most evocative and inspiring accounts. Elephant Island is written deep into the legend of Antarctic exploration, and you’ll discover Shackleton’s tale for yourself as you arrive in the island’s icy realm. The remarkable, slowly flowing Endurance Glacier – which you’ll see on arrival here – takes its name from their ship, The Endurance. Visit the monument that stands to Shackleton, often surrounded by a migrating crowd of tiny gentoo penguins, at Point Wild – the spot where he and his 28 crew members camped for four and a half months of Antarctic winter.

The Antarctic Sound is a stretch of water named after the first ship to have passed through this body of water from the Bransfield Strait to the Weddell Sea in 1902. The Antarctic eventually sank and crew and scientists had to spend quite some time in this area before they could be rescued. Sites that have to do with this story – like Hope Bay or Paulet Island – are sometimes visited if conditions allow. At Paulet, Hope Bay and Brown Bluff Adelie and Gentoo Penguins breed, as do Kelp Gulls and Cape Petrels, Snow Petrels and Skuas. The Sound’s main attractions are the spectacular tabular icebergs that come from the Larsen Ice Shelf further south.

Remote and otherworldly, Antarctica is irresistible for its spectacular iceberg sculptures and calving glaciers, and for the possibility of up-close encounters with marine mammals and the iconic penguins. The Antarctic Peninsula – the main peninsula closest to South America – has a human history of almost 200 years, with explorers, sealers, whalers, and scientists who have come to work, and eventually intrepid visitors coming to enjoy this pristine and remote wilderness. It is a region of protected bays, unscaled snow-capped mountains, vast glaciers and a few places where whalers or scientists have worked. Just as irresistible are the many Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguin colonies, the seals basking on ice floes, the whales and orcas.

Some 770 kilometers south of Cape Horn, the South Shetland Islands are usually the first land seen in Antarctica. Separated from the Antarctic Peninsula by the Bransfield Strait, nine major islands make up the group. The region was the first to be exploited by sealers in the early 19th century, and because of its proximity to South America, it still is the most visited by scientists and tourists. Chinstrap, Adelie, Gentoo and Macaroni Penguins all breed here. In addition, because it is the warmest part of the continent, large moss beds as well as orange, black, grey and green lichens grow –even hair grass and pearlwort manage to survive. Leopard seals, Weddell seals, crabeater seals, Southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals can be seen in the water and on the beaches.

The Drake Passage has a notorious reputation for its turbulent seas due to the westerly winds and the funneling effect of the passage. The Antarctic Convergence, a natural boundary where cold polar water flows northward and warmer equatorial water moves southward, is within the Drake Passage. When these two currents meet, nutrients are pushed to the surface, often attracting a multitude of seabirds and whales. Black-browed Albatross, Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels glide in the air currents alongside and in the wake of the ship.

After breakfast, disembark Silver Cloud and transfer to Ushuaia or extend your stay in Patagonia.