Gauchos, Glaciers and Penguins

Upon arrival at Punta Arenas International Airport, guests will transfer from the airport to the Cabo de Hornos Hotel in the main square in downtown Punta Arenas.

A luxurious tour of Patagonia begins early in the morning as guests board a ferry across the Strait of Magellan from the Punta Arenas wharf to the town of Porvenir on the northern shore of Tierra del Fuego. The ferry journey usually takes - depending on weather and sea conditions - from two to four hours. Founded by Croatian immigrants in the 600s, Porvenir was briefly the center of a local gold rush. Despite its small size, the Tierra del Fuego Museum located here is worth visiting. Among the exhibits you can see XNUMX-year-old mummies of the Selk'nam people, and at the other end of the historical scale - an overview of Patagonian cinema.

From Porvenir, guests travel along the coastal road on the northern shore of Useless Bay (Useless, Bahía Inútil), which received its unfortunate name thanks to British sea captain Phillip Parker King, who, while surveying the bay in 1820, stated that there was "no anchorage here , neither shelter nor any other advantage to the navigator.” King penguins have established a colony along a tidal creek at the eastern end of the bay. About a hundred birds are protected within the Parque Pingüino Rey private reserve. A well-marked trail leads down to the shore allowing viewing of the penguin nesting area on the other side of the stream. Nearby is the pioneering, windswept cemetery of the historic Estancia Caleta Josefina, which preserves the remains of Scottish settlers, including several "killed by the Indians." 29 km further east is the San Sebastian border crossing, where travelers pass through Chilean and Argentine border posts. The highway running across the island soon reaches the South Atlantic and leads along the coast to the Rio Grande.

The industrial center of Tierra del Fuego, Río Grande, developed through sheep farming, energy extraction and, more recently, industrial production. A large military base and monuments along the coast road remind us that Río Grande was an Argentine military area from where the attack on the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) was carried out. Guests spend the night at the Río Grande hotel or at one of the estancias (ranchos).

Travelers start the day by sampling the Gaucho lifestyle and Patagonian "asado" barbecue at the 80-year-old Estancia Las Hijas, located about 80 km south of the Rio Grande. Once again on the road, soon the travelers leave the pampas and enter the Magellanic forests, over which snow-capped peaks tower in the distance. Herds of guanaco graze in the meadows on both sides of the road. A short stop in the hilltop town of Tolhuin offers views of the island's largest freshwater lake, Fagnano. There is time for a snack at the legendary Panadería La Unión before continuing on the road. Passing through the southernmost part of the Andes, we arrive in Ushuaia for check-in, boarding the luxury expedition ship M/V Stella Australis, and embarking on the sea segment of our exclusive Patagonia voyage.

As dawn breaks, the luxury ship Stella Australis crosses Nassau Bay and enters the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. If weather and sea conditions are favorable, travelers will be able to disembark on the windswept island that hides the legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch naval expedition - named after the town of Hoorn in western Frisia - Cape Horn is a vertical, 425-meter-tall rocky promontory overlooking the stormy waters of the Drake Strait separating South America from Antarctica. For many years it was the only shipping route between the Pacific and the Atlantic, often called the "End of the Earth". The park was declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2005. The Chilean Navy operates a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lighthouse keeper and his family. There is also a tiny Stella Maris chapel and a modern Cape Horn monument.

Sailing back through Nassau Bay, we anchor in the legendary Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the history of civilization is as fascinating as the natural environment surrounding guests. It was originally the site of one of the largest indigenous settlements of the Yámana tribe in the region. This bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s while traveling on HMS Beagle. The area is known for its fascinating beauty and dramatic geography. After visiting the Australis-sponsored museum located in an old radio station, which is dedicated to the Yámana people and the activities of European missionaries in the area - passengers can choose from three hiking tours (of increasing difficulty) that lead into the densely forested mountains above the bay . On all trails, visitors have the opportunity to walk through the enchanted Magellanic Forests full of Lenga, Coigüe, Canelo and ferns, finally reaching viewpoints over the bay.

After dark, the ship returns to the Beagle Channel and sails west along the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego to a wonderland protected within the Alberto de Agostini National Park. Rounding the Brecknock Peninsula on the western edge of Tierra del Fuego, the luxury ship M/V Stella Australis briefly ventures out into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. It then navigates a zigzag route through the Cockburn, Magdalena and Keats Fjord canals, finally reaching the picturesque Agostini Fjord. Named after an Italian Salesian priest who worked in the region in the first half of the 20th century, Agostini Fjord is surrounded by numerous glaciers and steep, wild mountains reminiscent of the famous towers of Torres del Paine.

This day's morning tour takes travelers to the Águila ("Eagle") Glacier, which rises above a tranquil glacial lagoon surrounded by ancient forest. After the Zodiac lands on the beach, passengers hike around the lagoon to where the glacier's jagged blue façade rises. Sometimes you can spot a condor circling high in the sky, and there are always plenty of birds on the shores of the lagoon. This landing is the perfect opportunity to experience the beauty of Patagonia's subarctic rainforest and see how the forces of nature have shaped this spectacular landscape.

*In April and September, instead of Magdalena Island, we take guests to Marta Island

After an overnight cruise through the Magdalena Channel, the M/V Stella Australis returns to the waters of the Strait of Magellan and then drops anchor off the shores of Magdalena Island, which lies halfway between Tierra del Fuego and Chile. Topped with a distinctive lighthouse, this island was an essential source of supplies for sailors and explorers, and is inhabited by a huge colony of Magellanic penguins. At dawn, weather permitting, hikers will go ashore and walk along a path that leads among thousands of penguins to a small museum housed in a lighthouse dating back to 1902. The island is inhabited by many other species of birds. In April and September - when the penguins live elsewhere - this tour is replaced by a trip aboard the Zodiac boat to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions. After a short cruise south along the strait, the expedition aboard M/V Stella Australi ends with disembarkation in Punta Arenas, which is scheduled to take place around 11:30.

Please note: the use of photographic tripods is prohibited on Magadalen Island.