Cruising
Voyage to the end
OF THE WORLD Sailing through one of the most remote regions on earth means a cruise line has a big responsibility to care for the shores its passengers alight on, discovers Jeannine Williamson in Patagonia
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olding firmly onto the ship’s handrail I extend a tentative rubber booted foot towards the rigid inflatable boat gently bobbing on the water below. Heeding the advice of the previous evening’s introductory talk I’m dressed “like an onion”, and in so many layers I bear more than a passing resemblance to the Michelin tyre man. I’m certainly not kitted out to do any dainty dance steps but that’s the advice being issued by expedition leader Cristobal Villanueva. “Remember to do the cha cha cha as you get on the RIB,” he says. “Step on the step, step on the boat and then step inside.” Three easy moves later and I’m sitting next to a small group of
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fellow passengers and we head out across Admiralty Sound, an offshoot of the Strait of Magellan. It was just over 500 years ago that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered this strait while leading the first expedition to successfully circumnavigate the globe. It’s a natural passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean but at one time the corridor of icy cliffs stretching across Patagonia was seemingly impenetrable and impossible to navigate. Today it still remains one of the most isolated spots on earth and Australis is the only expedition cruise company to navigate the narrow fjords and shallow bays in the wake of Magellan and his pioneering men.
Delicate habitats
Alighting from the RIB at Ainsworth Bay is much easier. Crew members have put down a gangplank and I step out onto springy, wet grass. We set off on a nature hike and I begin to shed the onion-skin as I warm up, making a mental note not to wear so much the next day. We follow our guide into a sub-polar forest, stopping along the way as he spots calafate bushes huddling under trees and shrubs. The purple berries guarded by sharp thorns punctuate the verdant surroundings like small jewels and we stoop to taste them. They’re like blueberries - only better. Deep in the woodland we pause at a crystal-clear waterfall tumbling down an emerald moss-covered rock face. Nearby is a small tree with
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