# 407 - SKORPIOS III - THE KAWESKAR EXPLORERS ROUTE
The Southern Ice Fields

THE KAWESKAR EXPLORERS ROUTE

Day 1 Saturday
Reception of passengers at Punta Arenas airport, transfer to the Skorpios office. Check-in. During the afternoon, transfer by bus to Puerto Natales, arriving at 19.00 hrs. aprox to the Skorpios Terminal. Embarkation. 20.00 hrs. Welcome drink and dinner on board.
20:30 hrs. Ship sets sail from Puerto Natales, navegating the Patagonian Channels, Kirke Narrowness, Channel Morla Vicuña, Seno Unión.

Day 2 Sunday
During the morning, we will continue navigating through the Sarmiento Channel, Pitt Channel and Concepción Channel. 19.00 hrs. Arrival to the Antrim Fjord. Dinner on board. Dancing Party.

Day 3 Monday
08.00 hrs Visit to Pío XI Glacier, navegating in front of the glacier, the biggest of South America, with a surface of 1263 km2, belonging to the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, the biggest national park in Chile.
12.30 hrs Ship weighs anchor from Seno Eyre and Grappler Channel. 16.30 hrs arrival to Puerto Edén, disembarkation in botes. Two hours excursion, visiting this village, located in Wellington Island. It’s first inhabitants were the kaweskar or alacalufes aborigines. This village doesn’t have any streets, only footbridges, were it is possible to take a walk arround town and go up to a viewpoint. Ship sets sail at 18.30 hrs from Puerto Edén, navigating through the Paso del Indio and Paso del Abismo.

Day 4 Tuesday
09.00 hrs visit to the Calvo Fjord were we will be able to appreciate four glaciers, of different shapes and colors. Excursions in “Hercules” boats (icebraker motorboats). Boats gets close to the Calvo Glacier, only if the weather conditions allow so. 13:00 hrs Ship set sail.
During the afternoon, navigation through the Peel Fjord. Visit to the Asia and Amalia Fjord. 18.00 hrs Ship sights land in Villarrica Creek, trips on boats, if the weather conditions allow so. 23.00 hrs Ship sets sail.

Day 5 Wednesday
09.00 hrs Visit to the Montanas Fjord were we will be able to see five little glaciers that hook of from the hills to the sea.Walking towards the glacier Bernal.
16:00 hrs Ship sets sail from the Montanas Fjord, cross of the Kirke Narrowness, during the night, the ship casts anchor at Seno Ultima Esperanza. Farewell Dinner and Ball.

Day 6 Thursday
Navegating Seno Ultima Esperanza, 08.30 hrs arrival at Skorpios Terminal in Puerto Natales. 10.00 hrs passengers disembark, transfer by bus to Punta Arenas.

End of our services

ON BOARD SERVICES
All of the Skorpios services are based on cordial, friendly personal attention. This characteristic of the people of southern Chile has become the trademark of our family service, providing a quality service that meets international standards. Even the smallest service details are given priority and importance, aboard the Skorpios. The satisfaction of our passengers needs is our daily goal.

Amongst the services of the Skorpios that are highlighted are: (the bar is always open, without additional cost), passengers can visit all areas of the ship without restriction (from the machine room, to the control bridge, even the kitchen). Gastronomical needs are provided for without restriction & menu changes are accepted without additional cost, games and reading rooms, smoking and non-smoking bars, bilingual trip information, simultaneous chat translations, satellite telephone, cable & public TV & and all of the commodities of hotelier that correspond to a luxurious service.

WHAT`S TO SEE

THE PIO XI GLACIER
The Pio XI Glacier is located in the North section of the Southern Ice Fields, at the end of the Eyre Inlet. This glacier is the largest glacier in the southern hemisphere, with a surface of 1,242 kms that transforms it into a true colossal of ice. It front is approximately 6 kms wide, its ice towers reach higher than 75 meters and it has a length of 60 kms. It is one of the few glaciers that are found in its maximum neo-glacial position. It has registered advances of up to 10 kilometers during recent years.
The antiquity of the Pio XI Glacier is millenary; it originates in the Southern Ice Fields and has a surface of 13,000 km2 and an extension over the Andes Mountains of more than 35 kilometers. Pio XI is one of the 48 glaciers that originates from this Ice Field. It is here that the M/N Skorpios III closes in on the glacier, navigating through the different sizes and shapes of ice floes, whose colorful ices of blue, light blue and white profoundly impress the visitor.

THE AMALIA GLACIER
Following along the Peel Inlet, we find the Amalia Glacier, situated in the central section of the Ice Fields, its long silhouette appears to be hanging between the peaks of the mountains, to see it is an awesome spectacle, its ice towers, and its colors contrasting with the surroundings, create emotions in all spectators. This glacier is one of the 48 glaciers that composes the Southern Ice Fields, which are considered to be the third largest reserve of fresh water in the world. The Amalia Glacier has a width of approximately 1 kilometer and a height of 40 meters. Its mass of ice is supplied, for the major part, by the intense snowstorms that occur almost throughout the entire year. In this paradise of natural beauty, the M/N Skorpios III sails in close to the face of the glacier and then moves from the south to the north so the passengers can enjoy the entirety of the glaciers spectacular white splendor.

CHANNELS / FJORDS
The crossing begins in Puerto Natales, sailing through the Kirke Narrows, heading towards the north through the Moral Vicuña, Seno Union, Collingwood, Sarmiento, Concepción and Wide Canals, so as to anchor in the beautiful spot known as Seno Eyre.
While navigating through these canals and fjords we commence to be fascinated with scenery of impressionable contrasts of lights and shades, where the mountains run into a sea that is dotted with Isles; lands furrowed with winds; a region in which the glaciers continue their slow work, pulverizing rocks, plowing out valleys and immense canals, that in past ages were explored by, amongst many others, legendary navigators such as Ladrillero, Darwin and Fitz Roy.


LAS MONTAÑAS CHANNEL
This Fjord gets its name because it is surrounded of enormous mountains, which bring down, all the way to the ocean exuberant flora and trees. We will sail this fjord for almost two hours, passing by Newton Island to get to see three glaciers: Zamudio Glacier, Paredes Glacier and Bernal Glacier. All of these come down gently from the mountains, bringing into the sea their millenary ice. In this place, we will stop for two hours aprox., and we will take a walk through the dense forest to the base of the Bernal Glacier, were we will be able to appreciate its beauty, touch its bluish ice, free from any contamination.
This fjord is the last part of the Southern Ice Fields, here ends the ice cape that covers the Andes Mountains. With out any doubts, the Montañas Channel captivates because of its breathtaking beauty.


THE CALVO FJORD
We furrow through of the Peel Fjord so as to enter the Calvo Fjord, where we visit six glaciers that seed these quiet waters with colorful and multi-shaped ice floes, through which we take a pleasant excursion in motorboats and have a toast with our tradition of whisky on millennium old glacial ice. The navigation amongst the icebergs is a unique Antarctic phenomenon that is difficult to forget. The motorboats move through this paradise, taking time to visit each “ice sculpture”, so that the tourists can take pictures and if possible even touch the icebergs.

CITIES AND VILLAGES
In the Magallanes region, the tourist has the possibility of knowing ancient, and new, Cities and Villages; to visit them is to remember the past. Exploring their streets and places of interest is very agreeable. In the Kaweskar Explorers Route visitors have the possibility of becoming acquainted with Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales and Puerto Eden, besides this there are small villages that also are worthy of taking advantage of as you visit this area. For example, take the opportunity to visit Porvenir, El Turbio, Usuahia, Calafate, as well as many other Argentinean Cities in this zone

PUNTA ARENAS
Punta Arenas, with a population of 140,000 is capital of the Magallanes region, an urban center that is located on the shores of the Straits of Magallanes, in the Brunswick Peninsula, at approximately 53º - 54º latitude south. Formerly this city was called Punta Arenosa, which literally translated means “Sandy Point”, due to the fact that J. Byron discovered it in XVII. It is situated 2,500 kms to the south of Santiago. Punta Arenas was founded as a military fort in 1849 to reinforce Chile’s intentions to gain sovereignty over the Straits of Magellan.
Punta Arenas was constructed as a supply post for ships before the inauguration of the Panama Canal. In 1927 it was renamed Magallanes, however in 1938 the city returned to its original name.
Punta Arenas has a great historical and cultural past. Originally it was inhabited by European Colonists that arrived in these territories looking for new horizons, it was these early settles that developed the limber and agricultural industries, its traditional antique homes, many of them national monuments, give graphic account of the successful past. Today it is the doorway to the austral Patagonia of Chile. It possesses all of the required infrastructures of larger cities, such as: Hotels, restaurants, international airport, commercial centers and all the necessary services for tourist reception.

PUERTO NATALES
This is the capital of the Province of the Last Hope. Founded in 1911, it is situated at the top of a small hill that has a slight incline. Puerto Natales, 247 kms north-east of Punta Arenas, can be reached by vehicle or modern buses, it is at sea level on the shores of the Señoret Canal and in front of the the Patagonian Los Andes Mountain.
It is the Port of entrance to beautiful natural landscapes such as the worldwide known Torres del Paine National Park and the Cave of Milodon Natural Monument. From the slight incline on which it is situated one can see the Riesco Mountains, the Macizo Paine and the wind blown Southern Ice Fields.
Puerto Natales has a population of 15,500, being connected to Argentina via the Turbio River, a coal-mining city in which work the majority of the Puerto Natales population.
Besides its attractions that have already been mentioned is: the Casino of Games of Puerto Natales, the Municipal Museum, and the Town Square where an antique train engine is found, a steam locomotor that was used in the Bories Industrial Plant, which worked with the production of the cattle ranches of that epoch of splendor for the Agricultural Society of the Tierra del Fuego, the principal hacienda of that time.
The magnificent territory that surrounds the city is dominated by cattle ranches and the immediate areas by acreages and small irrigated parcels of land that are used to produce vegetables and other products, all of which have the quality of having been produced in an organic manner.
There is a good tourist infrastructure, which boasts Cafe Restaurants, the most southerly Casino in the world, small and picturesque commercial establishments, a historical museum and Travel Agencies that offer a wide panorama of tours that the tourist should not miss. Furthermore the visitor has at their disposal an attractive choice of places to stay, from large hotels to small B & B residences that offer personalized attention.

PUERTO EDEN
Situated on the Island of Wellington, it is the last habited place on the maritime route between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales, by way of the Messier Canal.
The first inhabitants of this area were native tribes, the Kaweskar and Alacalufes. Currently the last living members of this ethnic group, which are at the point of extinction, still live here. The first white men, from the Chilean Navy, arrived in this area in 1930 using it as a re-supply point for the seaplanes that fly between Chamiza, Puerto Mont and Punta Arenas.
It is accessible only by water; there is no airport and no overland routes. It is located at 49º 07’ 34” south and 74º 25’ 01” west on the Island of Wellington, a Pacific archipelago. It is a strategic point for access to the Southern Ice Fields.
It has a population of 284 and pertains to the Magellan and Chilean Antarctic Regions, whose capital is Punta Arenas. This area is part of the Natales community.
It has a temperate, cold, rainy climate, with precipitation of ?????? mm and temperatures between 12º and –4º C.
The principal economic activity is fishing, the extraction of mussels and public administration. It is located some 2,075 kms from Santiago.


OPTIONAL TOURS

TORRES DEL PAINE
This National Park covers 181,000 hectares & is situated in the Ultima Ezperanza Inlet some 150 kms from Puerto Natales. UNESCO declared this Park a Worldwide Biosphere Reserve in 1978. It has three access points: Portería Sarmiento, the Laguna Armarga & Laguna Azul. This park possesses incredible beauty & walking paths that run through different type of pampas, thick Magellanic forests, and lagoons filled with ice floes. The principal highlight, know world wide, are the Towers and Horns of Paine: it has multitude of multi colored lakes such as: Nordeskjold, Pehóe, Toro, Sarmiento and Grey; Laguna Azul with its snow capped peaks Grey and Dickson and the Serrano River, from which can be caught large salmon. As well visitors can view impressionable glaciers, all of which are surrounded by gigantic rocks that characterize the silhouette of the Horns of Paine. There are seven Forest Ranger stations distributed throughout the Torres del Paine Park all of which have communication with the Administrative Headquarters of the Park. From these Forest Ranger Stations excursion on foot or on horse, camping, climbing and fishing, can be arranged.

Besides this there are huts in distinct places for overnight stays. Upon entering this National Park species that are born in desert ambients can be found, such as: there are shrubs such as: mato barrosa, mata negra, senecio and calafate amongst the shrubs and broom sedge amongst the herbaceous. In the interior of the park there are small forests of Tenga, grass shrubs, clover and other plants and flowers of great beauty such as the capachitos and orchids. In this marvelous natural paradise there are about 21 species of mammals, such as: Puma, guanaco & guemul. The birds, for their part, are represented by: ostrich, black necked swan, small short-necked swan & eagle, amongst others.

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