OMG: We see a spectacular sight at Pia Glacier.

Overnight we sail around the western end of Tierra del Fuego and enter the Ballenero (Whaleboat) Channel.

As we are sailing we are given the opportunity to have a tour of the bridge.

We are told all about the navigational systems to guide the ship.
And learn a little about the charting of the voyage.

In the early afternoon, we enter Pia Fjord and board the zodiacs for a shore excursion in front of Pia Glacier.

On our way in, we see the glacier calving, making everyone in the zodiac very excited.  We couldn't wait to get onto the shore.

Here one chunk of ice has just hit the water.

The glacier is very active and we see many, many calvings.  Terry took the demanding hike that went higher up the mountain, through forests, boulders and lots of mud.

Joyce took the moderate hike that afforded a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintop down to the sea and lots of opportunity to snap photos.

Everyone wants to watch the calving.  It is happening every few minutes....even our guides are amazed at how often it happens.  It has been warmer than usual and this is the result.  We all hurry down from the hikes and stand and watch....

We only can catch the splash in the water of the ice when the glacier calves so Terry took some video and it is well worth watching.  I hope it plays for you...this is a OMG moment

We saw many more huge calvings; it was so awesome to stand there and watch.

With so much calving, the water of the fjord filled with ice and made it very difficult for the zodiacs to pick up passengers and go back to the ship.

 The crew struggled to maneuver the zodiacs around the large chunks of ice.

We finally got on board the zodiac and headed back to the ship.

We were told that had the fjord been so full of ice flow in the morning when we went to the glacier, the excursion would have been canceled--it was just too difficult for the zodiacs.

This put us late for going to Glacier Alley.

Living up to its name, Glacier Alley is the passage that features a number of impressive glaciers flowing down from the Darwin Mountain Range on the northern shore.  Most of them are named after European countries --Romania, Germany, France, Italy and Holland.  Unfortunately it was raining so the photos are not great.

Terry went outside each time we passed a glacier to take the photo so as not to take it through the window of the ship.  We were all sitting in the ship's lounge enjoying "happy hour" as we cruise on by.

While we cruised by the glaciers, the crew would serve a traditional appetizer of the country that the glacier is named for named as we were passing by it...Romania, Germany, France, Italy, Holland.

And I can't remember what all the appetizers were...although I do remember champagne!

So this was the most amazing day.  We saw so much calving of the glaciers...big ones, not just little splashes.  Glacier Alley would have been much more spectacular without rain, but it is what it is and that is what we saw...and we loved it all!

The end of the Glacier Alley marks the beginning of our next challenge--Cape Horn.  Weather and sea conditions tomorrow morning will determine whether we can go ashore....

To continue reading, scroll up towards the top of this page and click in the right-hand column the entry entitled:  We did it!  We set foot on Cape Horn!