Poking our nose into Laguna San Rafael we got our first glimpse of the glacier
One goal for our late-summer cruising in Chile was to reach Laguna San Rafael, home of the tidewater glacier that’s closest to the equator in the world. Located at a latitude of about 46 degrees, having a glacier at sea level here is roughly equivalent to having one in Portland, Oregon, or Lake Como, Italy.
We dropped the dinghy in the lagoon so we could get some photos of Madrone and pick up some bergie bits for a cocktail or two later in the evening
Madrone carried us southward through the beautiful channels of northern Patagonia, sometimes sailing and sometimes motoring into headwinds, sometimes coasting over glassy-smooth water and sometimes burying the bow in meter-high standing waves generated by strong tidal currents.
Motoring towards the glacier to get a better view
The glacier itself is protected by a pair of narrow passes, through which a huge basin of water drains and fills each tide cycle – we need to navigate each at or near slack water because of the strong currents. Once through the final pass, it’s another 7 miles up Rio Témpanos (Iceberg River) to get to the lagoon that hosts the glacier. We find the river aptly named, as we swerve around both large and small bergie bits floating on the current.
Turning the corner into Laguna San Rafael, we’re greeted by the mile-long face of the glacier and what looks like a solid pack of ice. Moving slowly and waiting for the tidal currents to move the ice, we’re able to pick our way through into clearer water and approach to within a couple miles of the glacier face. That’s close enough for our comfort – we’re not big fans of house-sized ice chunks near our fiberglass boat.
Some of the ice chunks in the bay were rather sizeable
Making it to the glacier felt like a significant adventure and a major accomplishment, but it turned out that the adventure was not yet over.
Doesn’t everyone use a screwdriver and a hammer to prepare Moscow mules and gin & tonics?
Turning around to get back to the entrance pass by slack water, we encounter a steady stream of bergie bits steaming into the lagoon on the 4 knot river current. We wind our way between them in a real-life game of Ice Frogger.
Glacier ice G&T to celebrate a great day
