DAY 70
CAPE HORN, INTERNATIONAL WATERS OF THE TERRITORIO OF ANTARCTICA
6am brought the announcement. We were minutes from rounding The Horn, the shore had been secured, and anyone desiring to set foot on the Southern most solid land in the world better get their life jacket on and hit the deck. 20 minutes to anchor.
We lept out of bed and started to scramble.
On deck you could see the Albatross just 100 yards in the distance. Elation filled the spirits of everyone on deck as we rounded the Cabo De Hornos and watched the lighthouse, which guides ships around the bottom of the earth came to into view.
On shore we hiked 160 wooden steps up the rocky cliff to the top of the island and stared out in wonder at the end of the world. A place where so few have walked that the 100 year old registry book remains unfilled. I was honored to place our names in it.
The one man navy stationed on this desolate island stamped our passports and welcomed us to the Territory of Antarctica.
The mood was high. The experience was glorious.

8:30am
Back on board we prepared ourselves for the bumpy ride back to Tierra Del Fuego through the Drake Passage. Point of interest: The Island of Tierra Del Fuego has more land mass than California, Oregon, and Washington combined, but a population of less than 300,000.
One more: Cape Horn is not a Cape. Its an archiapelo of islands not connected to the continent.

10:30am
Heading to the lounge. They are showing a movie on.....shipwrecks?????!!!!!!

1pm
The waters have actually been quite smooth today. But, the ship is blanketed in fog and a steady rain has begun. I am glad the captain knows his way, for as we have just found out....there are over 800 known shipwrecks beneath our bow.

2pm
Smooth sailing and the weather has cleared. We once again have beautiful views of the channel and island ahead.

4:30pm
Arrival and disembarkment in Puerto Williams, Chile. Puerto W is a tiny town with the large claim of being the Southern most city in the world. Nearly 12,000 miles South of New York City where we began. The Port was established in 1953 as a naval base for Chile. It is now home to 2,500 residents, 150 horses, 200 dogs.....and not much else.
We did however delight in finding Club De Yachtes Micalvi. This infamous yacht club is a de-commissioned antique battleship........and the legendary meeting place for The Cabohornos, an elite group of sailers who can claim to have rounded the Horn without engines or navigational equipment.
It was here we spent a pleasant afternoon sipping drinks. After a chance meeting, the Ambassador to Paruguay joined us for a Baileys and has since invited us to visit his home at the end of the month!
Taking shelter from the rain, drinking with dignataries, on the Island of Navarino, in the Beagle Channel at the Southern end of Patagonia........you can´t help but think "Does it get any cooler than this???"
Its hard to hide my secret smile as I think "Maybe it could." :)
The adventure continues.

9pm
During dinner a small boat pulled to our stern and three well-dressed men boarded our ship.
It turns out that as we dined we had crossed into the waters of Argentina. This was customs. Drunk from an afternoon of drinking at the yacht club and giggly and goofy from our days experiencing and our last evening together we all submitted to our inquiry by joking, laughing, and general merriment about being checked for contraband.

10:30pm
Get the party started! We all danced and chatted away our last evening together untilt he wee hours. The people on this ship have truly become our friends. Now.....and I hope forever.