The Gold Loop Earing, A Foot on the Table and Title of “Cape Horner” - Cape Horn
“The Fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” - Vincent Van Gogh
Navigating around the Cape was a near-impossible feat for sailors who braved its intense winds and treacherous waters in the 17th century. However, those fortunate enough to return from a successful trip were entitled to numerous benefits, including dining with one foot on the dinner table and wearing a gold loop earring and the title of “Cape Horner” to boast of their seafaring victory.
Located on Chile's Isla Hornos in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, Cape Horn is widely considered to be the southernmost tip of South America. At the point where the Pacific Ocean collides with the Atlantic Ocean, the legendary Cape is prone to unpredictably strong winds, choppy waters, icebergs and rogue waves and is often referred to as a sailor’s graveyard.
Though Cape Horn was a significant trade route between the 18th and early 20th centuries, the opening of the Panama Canal rendered this route obsolete. This of course hasn’t prevented people like me along with thousands of cruisers from making recreational journeys to the Cape, or the bragging rights that come along with them!
Cruising on a floating city is not at all like the hazardous journeys of the sailors of old but never the less the notoriety lives on making the passage a very special occasion. Starting out in Santiago, Chile where we spent a couple of days before heading to Valparaiso to meet our ship this journey marked my first taste of South America and the wonders it offers.
Valparaiso Harbor
Like many large cities in South America, Valparaiso has it’s mix of colorful slums with beautiful graffiti and gorgeous homes with views of the ocean. We spent a fun day driving in from Santiago, stopping at Chilean wineries and driving around this city before heading to the cruise terminal to board our ship.
As it turned out there was a strike of some kind and we ended up spending considerable time in the cruise ship terminal before we finally made our way aboard our ship. As we stood on the deck the beautiful city was laid out before us in all its splendor. I haven’t done a lot of cruising but I was ready for the adventure of sailing around the southern most tip of South America and most particularly the epic Cape Horn.
Puerto Montt was our first port of call with it’s volcano dominating the beautiful clear water of the lake. Settled mostly by German settlers you can see traditional homes hidden along the hills as you drive from the port to the lake. As we sat by the crystal clear waters of the lake my cousin fell in love and said she would love to buy a property and retire here.
Punta Arenas. We arrived in port on a festival day. Wandered into the town to find people in gaucho type costumes dancing in the main square to the sound of lively music.
We had not signed up for a formal tour so we just wandered over to the taxi rank and in our few words of Spanish supported by sign language engaged a taxi who drove us around the island where we saw the terminal from which the smaller ships took sail for the Antarctic, a beautiful cemetery, the cathedral and paid homage to the statue of Magellan while we watched the dancing in the square.
So Many Penguins. There are penguin breeding colonies on all these ports of call that we stopped at before we rounded the cape.
Ushuaia, Terra Del Fuego. This remote part of the world is the last populated southern outpost of the world also known as the end of the world. Actually there is a post office where you can stop at and get a stamp for your passport which we all know is illegal to deface your passport but people do stop and do it. While it was Summer in the Southern hemisphere it was freezing cold and I had to stop at the local gift shop and buy woolen gloves and heavy woolen socks. I had checked the weather before the trip and it was supposed to be in the 40s and 50s but I can assure you that I wore every single warm garment that I had brought with me plus what I bought and I still shivered.
Sailing through the Beagle Channel, with looming glaciers on either side. I stood on the viewing deck and thought about icebergs and the Titanic as we sipped on brandy laced coffee and shivered in the cold air.
We did it! Rounded the cape and earned all the privileges of being “Cape Horners”.
It was a rough passage with many passengers sick in their state rooms. Fortunately I was wrapped up and by now chased into the dining room thanks to the tennis ball sized ice balls that were falling on the viewing deck. As we crowded against the window, its the best I could do in terms of recording the actual event.
I love traveling but I don’t really consider myself an adventurer, never the less I had goosebumps realizing that we’ve reached the bottom of the globe and there is no civilization further south of us.
I believe this is the legendry Amalia Glacier. Brrr! you really feel like you can reach out and touch as you sail between these land masses heading for the Atlantic Ocean. Imagine that we actually set an alarm so we could bundle up and get to the viewing deck in order to stand in the biting cold wind as we sailed past these uninhabited islands and glaciers.
There’s no escaping the fact that whales were hunted in these waters. The well preserved skeleton of a whale alongside the gun that was reputed to have killed 20,000 whales.
The famous Whalebone Arch in the Falkland Islands. We walked around the very English looking town and stopped in the chapel where my cousin asked the chaplain about the graves of Indian soldiers who had served and died here. My uncle was in the Indian army and she seemed to have done her research before we came out here.
While we made do without being fluent in Spanish or Portuguese we would have been much better off if we knew Spanish more fluently in these smaller ports of call where only Spanish was spoken. It was quite refreshing to hear the queen’s English here in the Falkland Islands.
Safe in warm and friendly Argentina. The woolens were put away and the Summer clothes came out.
In Buenos Aires a visit would be incomplete without a visit to the famous La Recoleta where Eva Peron’s remains are now buried. I could hear the refrain “Don’t cry for me Argentina” from the musical as we toured to the famous balcony and other sites in Buenos Aires.
This voyage would be incomplete with the mention of the passion and rhythm of the most sexy Latin dance. Not only did we enjoy the nightly performances on board ship that featured the dancing or the opportunity to learn the steps but we got to enjoy a superb meal and a tango show as part of our day in Buenos Aires.