World Cruise Day 45/152 - Amalia (Skua) Glacier, Brüggen Glacier - Yo Ho Johann!

Cruise day: 45/152
Ports days: 15
Sea days: 30
Countries: 5
Continents: 2
Ports: 10

 

Today's adventure took us to the Skua or Amalia Glacier in southwest Chile and then the Brüggen Glacier, the largest glacier in the southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica.  The Brüggen Glacier is also one of a few in the world that is still growing.

We approached the glaciers via small channels running through absolutely beautiful landscapes.

We popped up for breakfast before arriving at the first glacier.  Here is Laura, pushing donuts.

Viking was paying homage to the common misconception that John F. Kennedy's famous "Berlin" speech contained an error in translation.  Supposedly, when he said, "ich bin ein Berliner", or "I am a Berliner", his mispronunciation equated to changing the meaning to, "I am a jelly donut".  This isn't really true, but it gave Viking an excuse to spoil us with yummy treats.

Our first visit was to the Amalia Glacier, also known as the Skua Glacier.  As we approached the Amalia Glacier, we encountered several dolphins that seemed interested in both looking at our ship and giving us a show.

A few Imperial Shags were also flying about as well as resting on ice floes.

As we continue our approach, more and more pieces of ice were floating in the water. Ice pieces are classified into three different types, based on size.  Growlers are smaller pieces, about the size of a grand piano, and only extend up to three feet above the water. Bergie bits are 3 - 16 feet.  Anything over 16-feet is considered an iceberg.

You can really see how the ice extends under the water.  Typically only about 11% is visible above the water. 

We finally arrived at the Amalia Glacier.  The clouds lifted and we were afforded terrific views. The face of the Amalia Glacier is about 70-feet or so.

The glacial ice is dense - I mean really dense.  That's what gives it its distinctive blue color.  Snow and ice reflect the full spectrum, so they look white.  Dense ice absorbs all the spectrum, except blue.  It melts extremely slowly.  Given the excellent quality of the ice, our intrepid crew ventured out to retrieve some of it and bring it back on the Viking Star!  When Viking guests need top-quality ice, Viking delivers!

A curious dolphin watches the action as General Manager, Johann calls the shots in his Viking helmet from atop the boat.

Divers in the water, wrestling a bergie bit into position.

They netted the bergie bit and then dragged it back to the Star.

Financial Officer, Chris, explained to the other crew how they would be pitching in with ship maintenance to help pay for this expedition. :-)

GM, Johann, celebrating his capture!

A second attempt to net the monster in hope of being able to hoist it aboard.

These guys were enjoying themselves and it showed!

Finally, at the ship, cooler heads prevailed and they determined that there was no way to haul this massive hunk onto the ship.

GM, Johann, raising a smaller trophy for all to admire.

They were able to shepherd a more manageable trophy to the ship and it was retrieved.

The ice was put on display on deck 7 near the pool.

As we sailed away, more stunning views greeted us as we head for our next stop.

More Imperial Shags were in the area. We started heading through more floating ice as well.

One interesting thing is that as you float through this ice, you can hear it popping and cracking as it melts. 

The crew opened up deck #3 forward for viewing, allowing many more guests to get up close and personal with the glacier.  That was awesome of them to do for us and really provided that "you are there" feeling.

The Brüggen Glacier, also known as Pío XI Glacier and named for Pope Pius, XI, is enormous.  As I mentioned, it is the largest glacier in the southern hemisphere outside Antarctica.  At over 41-miles long and with a face reaching heights of near 150-feet, it is an impressive sight.

The blue of the ice was beautiful.

As we left the glaciers, we marveled at the rugged beauty in the channel.

We went up for lunch to warm up from the damp and occasionally rainy 50-degree day.  Viking figured that people would be chilly, so they featured a soup lunch with multiple hearty soups, bread bowls, plus all the usual delicious choices.

Several folks took advantage of Viking's licensing and watched the Pro-Bowl on deck #7 on the big screen near the pool.  Viking had Doritos, Pringles, and popcorn and kept the pool grill running for burgers, hot dogs, and such.

Dinner featured lobster Thermador and baked meat and mushroom pies for us.

After dinner, the captain announced that we were about to pass a wreck in the channel, so that deserved a look.  It's been there for years.

The other highlight the captain provided was that we would be passing one of our sister ships, the Viking Jupiter, right here in the channel.  How cool is that?  While waiting for the Viking Jupiter, a tern flew by with dinner in its mouth.

Then, it was time for the Viking Jupiter close pass.

We really only saw crew outside, so I'm not sure how many passengers are on the Viking Jupiter at the moment. I saw one balcony with someone on it.

That was a really cool event.

The final event for this event-packed day was the Viking Star's Got Talent guest talent show.  Several guests and crew got up and shared their talents with the rest of the passengers and crew.  There were singers, piano players, a magician, a storyteller, a ukulele player, a hula dancer, and a duo jazz flutist/clarinetist and jazz harpist.  It was an entertaining evening and fun to see genuine talent from non-professionals.

That wrapped up a huge day on the Viking Star.  Tomorrow, Punta Arenas for our last port day in Chile and a visit to Magdalena Island and the penguin reserve.