Autumn’s my favourite of the seasons of Patagonia, the nothofagus trees creating incredible colours here, and the weather less wet than in summer (and warmer than winter, of course). Quarantine’s meant we’ve been a bit less busy, so I shot some pictures this time, mostly while walking the doggy. These leaves are falling as we enter May.
Category: Travel/Places
Orcas and whales
Last Monday (9th of March) Puerto Williams had a dramatic day, by the standards of this little isolated city: a number of orcas chased two whales onto the shores, and went on to kill them eventually. Orcas are seen in the area rather occasionally, and while whales are common in the channels of Chile, they don’t often enter the bay. They tend also not to be sei whales as these ones were, being the smaller humpbacks normally.

The 2020 Cape Horn race
Conditions didn’t allow the Desafío Cabo de Hornos race to reach the Horn itself this time; instead boats competed in the Beagle nearby. Click to view photos individually.
Bible boat: Chilean-built tall ship Victory
Wreck of Williams
Tied to the Pontón Micalvi, the stranded naval vessel that acts as dock in Puerto Williams, are boats of two varieties, all moored onto one another in rows with the last to arrive outside. There are the charterers, with their trips in the summer to Cape Horn or to Antarctica, and there are the cruisers, stopping for a few months at the tip of South America before they turn north from here. But one yacht’s never left Micalvi in the years we’ve known the place, innermost boat in the innermost row throughout that time, next to Micalvi with six visitors outside. Continue reading “Bible boat: Chilean-built tall ship Victory”
The southernmost city
Through the seasons in the world’s southernmost city, Puerto Williams, Chile. Continue reading “The southernmost city”
Winter Puerto Williams
Strolling in southern Patagonia
A main attraction of Puerto Williams – only major settlement in Chile’s Cape Horn province – is the nearby five-day Dientes hike. But here I’ll look at short strolls in the area, both for the less ambitious visitor, and for all curious about this remote place. Continue reading “Strolling in southern Patagonia”
Dientes de Navarino
The Dientes mountains, south of all settlements, are almost within sight (if the clouds ever cleared) of where Cape Horn ends the land completely. We did this five-day hike with Xoe’s brother when in Puerto Williams before.