Monday 17th February
This morning we explored the large Argentinian island called Tierra del Fuego, or ‘land of fire’. Here we saw how earth movements and volcanic activity, coupled with intense glaciation have broken apart and twisted the Andes Mountains in this region. Rocks have been metamorphosed, twisted, pushed in many directions and split apart.
A most interesting part of our visit was to the most southerly post office in the world on a pier above the Beagle Channel. A special stamp in a passport, book etc is available to record your visit. Nearby is the southerly terminus of the Pan American Highway. This road stretches from northern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, through the Rocky Mountains, the rain forests of Central America, the altiplano of the Andes to terminate in Argentina.
4:00 p.m. was boarding time. After being allocated a cabin and being ‘put through’ an abandon ship drill we set sail along the Beagle Channel for about 4 hours before reaching the South Atlantic and the Roaring Forties. Fortunately it was relatively calm! A light swell quickly put tired travellers to sleep after a fabulous evening dinner.
