Monday 2nd February, at sea off the coast of Chile 6 degrees

We woke to the sight of land – if it’s Monday it must be Chile! What I noticed immediately was that the pounding of the sea that we could hear last night, had stopped and we were in calmer waters. We had been told that we would round Cape Horn at about 9.00 a.m. this morning, so I am afraid ukulele will not be attended…… in the event, nor did Bridge happen.

Keith was keen to get out to his birds, but as I was adding additional layers the pilot boat was just leaving.

When I eventually arrived on the promenade deck (I now know to go out of the port side door! Even monkeys learn!) although the wind was perhaps not so strong, it was still blowing very hard. Quite a challenge to the old hair follicles! Nevertheless out I go and found my husband watching the Giant Petrels, Black browed albatross, sooty shearwaters and the Imperial Shags (which I have to say he doesn’t cease to be smutty about despite admonishment…..). (Everybody loves an Imperial Shag! Ed) They are magnificent birds.

The morning was beautiful.

We continued to watch Cape Horn get nearer as we circled the deck.

Eventually we went up for breakfast. We are amazed at how few people are out watching all this happening. It is spellbinding. I was chatting to someone the other day, and I know she is not alone, who is ‘Tolerating’ this bit of the trip for her husband – she really only likes the sun bathing in the Caribbean and can’t wait to get to that bit. It is a good job we are not all alike!!

After breakfast we dropped back to the cabin for a pause and then went out again as the Captain said we were passing the Horn. Suddenly there where lots of people out – but we could still see people sitting inside reading their books!

Before we left the cabin I took a picture of the bottom of the map we have on the wall. And it does not even mention Cape Horn!!!

How is a girl supposed to know where she is or where she is going… all very troubling. However we still have the pilot on board so I assume he knows!

Now we know!

Back to the deck. To be honest it was difficult to tell the exact moment we went ‘round the bend’ as it were. The Captain came back on the tannoy to describe what we think was ‘it’ and here it is….

It was incredible to think we were here. There is a house (home to a family including two children, a lighthouse on the promontory and a monument of an albatross to acknowledge all the sailors who have lost their lives navigating this part of the ocean. It is thought that over 800 ships and 10,000 mariners have lost their lives in these waters,

Cape Horn is the southern most headland on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Whoever thought I would pass this way again. (I visited Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia as part of a trip to Patagonia in the 1990s).

It was difficult to leave it…….which is why I had done 14,000 steps by lunch time!

The ship will continue up the Beagle Channel but that will be later. In the meantime we have gone around the Horn and almost turned back on ourselves to get in the position to turn into the Beagle Channel.

We eventually had lunch and then adjourned to the cabin for an hour or so before we went back on deck to see what was going on. By the time we went to dinner we were in the Beagle Channel with forested hillsides on both sides of the ship and it was a lovely evening. Much lighter than it has been.

The ship will stop in the Beagle Channel near Ushuaia to do the necessary port clearances at about 9.30 this evening and then continue on its way through the glaciers of Chile to Punta Arenas on Wednesday,, our next Port of Call.

It feels as if we have been to the end of the world. (It has been a truly glorious day. Ed)