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JR's Journal Beagle Channel Excursion and Tierra del Fuego National
Park
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| We awoke at 7:30 and were ready at 9:15 for the short walk to the dock
where we boarded a cruise ship and headed out into the Beagle Channel.
The sky had a high ceiling with patches of blue and occasional sunshine.
The mountains are absolutely spectacular, deeply carved by glaciers.
Numerous sea-birds circled the boat, including petrels, albatross, gulls and cormorants. We went out as far as Les E'claireurs lighthouse and then returned with stops at the bird rocks and sea wolf rocks. There were several thousand cormorants on the bird rocks. The sea wolf rocks were covered with sea lions and one southern fur seal. We stood just a few meters off of both rocks and got up close and personal with the fauna. Upon our return to port and the hotel, we piled into the bus and drove to a pizzeria on the west end of San Martín. The rain was pouring down as we ate pizza and drank beer. We walked the 8 blocks back to the hotel in a faint drizzle to help digest. We got back on the bus and drove about 6 km west of town along the coast to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Our guide was a guy named Pablo, who was very good but again knew little about the geology. I gave him a copy of the guidebook, which he appreciated greatly. Our first stop was a Bahía Ensenada, a place I had collected a TiO2 sample in 1998. The clouds had lifted so I was able to really appreciate the beauty of the place for the first time. Next, we took a walk along the shore of Lago Roca and had a cup of coffee at the confiteria. Our final stop was at Lapataia Bay. First we walked through the woods to the bay overlook. Then we went down to the parking lot where Ruta 3 ends. A group of Dottiphiles walked down to the bay to spread the remainder of Dottie’s ashes. Dale said some nice words. Then Joan and Bob spread some more. I was the final participant. I said, “A lot of you have said you would follow Dottie to the end of the world. Well, now you’ve done it. May she rest in peace.” The weather was clearing all afternoon so the mountains, with a dusting of new fallen snow, were spectacular on our return to Ushuaía. We returned at 7:30. We started our final cocktail party at 8:30. It is always sort
of bittersweet when these things end. Dinner was served at 9:30 and
was top notch, especially for an ACA hotel. Monty became the MC and
gave praise for Enrique the driver, Raúl, Angel, and me. I
spoke for a few minutes and then translated for the others. Angel
had arranged for a guitar to be present so I played a few songs.
The hard core stayed until after midnight but the 6:30 wake-up was looming
so we called it quits.
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Division of Environmental Studies, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences |