From Torres del Paine, we drove to Puerto Natales to board the MV Skorpios III, our home for the next three nights as we cruised the Chilean fjords. This family-owned vessel is uniquely designed with a reinforced hull for navigating ice and a small size for threading through the narrow fjords and bays.
We departed Puerto Natales and sailed through the Kirke Narrows toward Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, home to the furthest flows of the massive Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Our ship is the only one that sails this particular route. We followed the path of Darwin and FitzRoy, to witness the ever-shifting palette of light and shadow on the mountains, sea, and ice without distraction.
 Our orange life jackets are easy to spot. |  Lots of photos |
Each day we boarded small Zodiac-like crafts that allowed us enter the fjords, disembark and walk to get a closer look at the glaciers. These glaciers are so vividly blue they seem almost lit from within. The second day we boarded an icebreaker boat, the Capitán Constantino, to sail through the choppy ice to get deep into the fjords for up-close and personal views of waterfalls, glaciers and wildlife: Peale’s dolphins, sea lions, petrels, cormorants, condors, etc.
 Karen and I have been friends since high school. |  A sip of 12 year old Scotch with glacier ice. |
These three days were a wonderful rhythm of outdoor adventures, relaxing drinks with friends and informative lectures. So far this Exploring South America itinerary is over-the-top GREAT!
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The captain's nephew and his friends went for a dip in the icy glacier melt. They didn't stay in very long!
