Mare Australis I

Code: CRUAT08

Duration: 5 Days / 4 Nights

Punta Arenas - Ushuaia

Day 1 – Saturday - Punta Arenas
Check in at Magallanes 990, Punta Arenas, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cruise ship boarding at 6:00 p.m. The Captain and crew give a welcome cocktail reception on board. Immediately afterwards, the ship departs for “the uttermost part of the earth”. Our excursion will take us through the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel to explore one of the most breathtaking wilderness regions in the world: Southern Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. We have just embarked on a Great Adventure!

Day 2 – Sunday - Ainsworth Bay / Tuckers Islets
At dawn, we continue navigating through Almirantazgo Sound, arriving at Ainsworth Bay, inside the Alberto De Agostini National Park. From a distance we may see the Marinelli Glacier which descends from the Darwin Mountain Range, and we will learn how life begins after the retreat of the ice. We will also take a walk to discover a beaver dam in the marvelous subpolar Magellanic forest. On the beach, we will try to see elephant seals, but we cannot guarantee this as the precise location of the colony is unpredictable. Later, we sail to Tuckers Islets, and after lunch we board the Zodiac boats to view Magellanic Penguins (which only live in the Southern Hemisphere), and Cormorants. In September and April this excursion is replaced by Brookes Bay where we land for a short walk to approach a glacier

Day 3 – Monday - Pia Glacier / Glacier Alley
We navigate along the main part of the Beagle Channel to reach Pia Fjord, where we disembark near Pia Glacier. We take a short hike to a look-out point with a spectacular view of the entire glacier tongue, stretching from high in the mountains all the way to the sea. After this unforgettable experience, we continue sailing along the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel through majestic “Glacier Alley”.

Day 4 – Tuesday - Cape Horn / Wulaia Bay
We sail through the Beagle and Murray channels to reach Cape Horn National Park, where we will disembark (weather permitting). Cape Horn, is a sheer, 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory, and in the past it was the only entrance to the Pacific Ocean. This place is known as the “End of the Earth”, and it’s the last territory before Antarctica. The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in June 2005. In the afternoon, we go ashore in historic Wulaia Bay, once the site of one of the region’s largest Yamana aboriginal settlements. Charles Darwin landed here on January 23rd, 1833, during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. This area is also renowned for the mesmerizing beauty of its vegetation and geography. We will walk through a Magellanic forest of Lengas, Coihues, Canelos, ferns, and other native vegetation to reach a look-out point.

Day 5 – Wednesday - Ushuaia
Arrival at Ushuaia, Argentina’s most important city on Tierra del Fuego, and the southernmost city in the world. We disembark at 8:00 a.m., enabling you to get an early start on visiting the city and national parks, and on continuing your trip through Patagonia.