Avenue of the Glaciers

On the second to last evening aboard the Mare Australis, cruising through the Beagle Channel, we passed through what is called the "Avenue of the Glaciers." The channel runs along the south side of the Darwin Range of mountains - a range completely in Tierra del Fuego, and not part of the Andes which contains a giant ice field that can be seen in the glaciers that hang down the valleys of the range. One after another, massive glaciers came into view as we cruised along, our ship accompanied by albatross, petrals, terns and cormorants - flying with purpose back and forth across the channel.

The channel was named after the HMS Beagle - the ship carrying a young Charles Darwin on his now famous journey to South America in the 19th century. He actually spent more time in Patagonia than the Galapagos Islands, and documented much of the unique flora and fauna of this extreme land.