Cool Chile Coast

Cool Chile Coast: An Introduction:

My personal introduction to the Cool Chile Coast was the first few days of an Antarctic Cruise. Regardless, Chile became an outstanding experience of its very own.  I nicknamed it “Cool Chile!”  Chile is a long skinny country along the West side of South America and bordered by the Pacific Ocean. 

This blog features several Chile ports-of-call, its volcanoes, its Fjords, three routes around Cape Horn, and Ushuaia, an Argentine City, which is the furthest South City in the World.  From Ushuaia we dropped down into Antarctic.  That is another complete blog. In a word, this entire trip along the Cool Chile Coast was awesome.

Chile’s Ports-of-Call in the Cool Chile Coast:

Puerto Chacabuco:

Although our cruise began in Santiago, this was our first port of call. This town is in the Aysen region of the northern section of Patagonia. It is the most important seaport of this region. From Puerto Chacabuco we visited a llama farm and enjoyed Mt. Villarrica along with Chile’s lush vegetation.

Puerto Montt:

Puerto Montt is 655 miles south of Santiago, Chile’s capitol.  It is a good-sized city with a population of over 250,000.  Its strategic location as the gateway to the northern Chile Archipelago caused it to grow more than other Chile coast towns.  In addition, toward the end of the Twentieth Century, Puerto Montt became the second largest salmon producer in the world, surpassing Alaska and Japan.  The city’s culture is a unique blend of its German heritage and the ancient Chilean culture of the region.

One of Chile’s most active volcanoes, Calbuco, is very near Puerto Montt. Significantly to the locals, its latest eruption was 2015; at that time, it spewed a giant funnel of ash.  This volcano is near a lake which we visited.  Later, at an ice cream stop, we spoke with a local who shared her personal experiences on the day the mountain erupted.  This was Calbuco’s first eruption in 50 years.  I live in the shadow of Mt. St. Helen’s, which also erupted around 50 years ago, so it was easy for us to relate.

Punta Arenas:

This city was our third and last port in Chile.  It is the largest city south of the 46 parallel south, the largest populated Southern Chile city, and because of its southern location, it’s the coldest city in Chile.  Despite the cold weather, it has a population of over 100,000 and is a very busy city and port. 

Punta Arenas was established in 1848 as a penal colony because it wanted to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan.  Despite this rather foreboding origin it continued to grow because of increasing maritime traffic and its proximity to the Strait.  Since the city’s inception, Chile used Punta Arenas as a base to defend its sovereignty claims in the southernmost part of S. America.  In 1881 the Boundary Treaty between Chile and Argentina recognized the Strait of Magellan as official Chilean waters.

In addition to its proximity to the Strait of Magellan and the gateway to Antarctica, Punta Arenas is the base for 3,860 square miles of sheep ranches.  This region of Patagonia is shared between Chile and Argentina.  These ranches were begun between 1880 and 1900 by Croatian and Russian immigrants. 

The Volcanoes of Chile:

Chile is a country of volcanoes, second only to Indonesia. There are over 2,000 volcanoes in Chile, and more than 500 of them are potentially active.  Chile’s volcanoes are tall and cone-shaped with many layers of hardened lava and volcanic ash.  Over the last 450 years, 60 have recorded eruptions.  Experts predict that 40 different Chilean volcanoes could erupt in the near future. 

Mt. Villarrica, specifically referred to as Chile’s Mt. Fuji, is Chile’s most active volcano!  Its first record eruption was 1558; its most current eruption period began in Dec. 2014.

Mt. Llaima is Chile’s second most active volcano.  Earlier in this blog I noted the most recent eruption of Mt. Calbuco near Puerto Montt.  Both Mt. Villarrica and Mt. Calbuco are on beautiful lake shores.  Correspondingly, this is similar to Mt. St. Helen’s and Spirit Lake in Washington State.  Mt. Villarrica is 9,380 feet high while Mt. St. Helen’s is only 8,366 feet high.  Consequently, the volcanoes of Chile once again help make it Cool Chile.

Glacier Alley, Fjords in the Cool Chile Coast:

Since I’ve narrated many times about Alaska’s glaciers; ie. Hubbard Glacier, I was excited to see Chile’s glaciers.  Regardless of location—Alaska, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, the Alps, etc.—glaciers are ALL formed the same way and have the same characteristics.  Glaciers are a vital part of the Cool Chile Coast. Chile calls this Glacier Alley.

Glaciers are formed by layers of snow that fall in high altitudes and consequently NEVER melt.  As layers and layers of snow accumulate, they compact into a substance known as firn.  Glaciers are not ice, rather they are compacted snow.  Their accumulated weight causes them to eventually begin to move downward toward the sea. 

When glaciers meet the sea, they’re called tidewater glaciers; if they retreat, they’re called hanging glaciers.  Glaciers that flow across large open areas are called piedmont glaciers; when they meet a lake, they’re called a valley glacier.  Yet, their origin and composition are all the same. In the Chile Fjords we witnessed by hanging glaciers and tidewater glaciers.  During our visit to Glacier Alley we visited Amalia and Brujo Glaciers which looked exactly like Alaska’s glaciers. in Glacier Bay.

Many ships wreck in the fjords.  In 1961 a merchant vessel hit an under water rock formation and ran aground in the middle of the fjord; 35 souls were lost.  It is too difficult to remove remains, but this wreck is a reminder of the treacherous nature of these waters.  Ships have sunk in these fjords for years.

Cape Horn Channels

There are three navigable channels around Cape Horn, and each, for example, has its own particular advantages and disadvantages.  On our cruise, we had very good sailing around Cape Horn, for which we were all thankful.

• The Strait of Magellan: Historically, this is the famous navigable sea route that separates southern Chile to the north and Tierra de Fuego to the south. Because of his attempt to sail around the world, it’s named for Ferdinand Magellan who discovered it in 1520. It is the most natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  In addition, its frequent narrows and unpredictable winds and currents make it difficult to navigate.  It is shorter

•  The Drake Passage:  The Drake Passage, named after Sir Francis Drake, is the open sea route around Cape Horn.  Because of its location, Cape Horn is the most commonly used by commercial vessels as well as many cruise ships.

•  The Beagle Channel:  This is a 150-mile strait is in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago at the extreme southern tip of S. America between Chile and Argentina.  Along with the Strait of Magellan, and the Drake Passage.  Before the construction of the Panama Canal these three alternate routes were the only ways to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific by sea.

Puerto Ushuaia, Argentina

Most certainly Ushuaia was a captivating surprise.  Even though it is located in Argentina, it definitely belongs in this blog!  Located at the far tip of S. America, it is the furthest south city in the world.  Typical of glacial areas, markedly, we had a variety of weather in the short time there. from sunshine to driving rain, to gusts of winds that made it difficult to stand.  Yet, despite weather and location Ushuaia is a thriving city.  Even though it’s in Argentina, to me it was the final piece of the Cool Chile Coast.

Ushuaia was founded in 1884 as a prison town. Because of these beginnings, there are still artifacts of those prisons in the area.  It is bordered by the Martial Mtn. Range on the north and the Beagle Channel on the south.  Consequently, this is the most common “dropping off” point to Antarctic which is still 680 miles south! 

Surprisingly, there was a lot about Ushuaia that reminded me of Alaska.  The Alaska city of Ketchikan has rain and winds similar to what we experienced there.  On a very interesting excursion we took into the mountains, we visited a dog sled camp comparatively identical to one near Skagway, Alaska.  Without a doubt, that is a big part of the Cool Chile Coast.

Cool Chile Coast Conclusion:

Above all, Antarctica was our stated destination on this particular trip. Yet, the beginning several days in Chile were just as interesting and educational.  I definitely recommend visiting Chile, and one day hope to visit again.