Parque Nacional Alerce Andino, Chile
The end of our voyage provided another remarkable contrast in a journey that has been full of diverse experiences. From the hustle of Lima to the slow-paced island life of Robinson Crusoe; the stark landscapes of the Atacama Desert to the puna of the high Andes to the temperate rainforests of central Chile.
Throughout the journey we have been reminded of the irresistible forces of nature that shape our planet. An earthquake in Lima, before we had even reached the ship, reminded us of the geological instability of the region, further reinforced the next day by the evidence of extensive damage to the Paracas area from a large earthquake last year. And sailing south through the relentless flow of the Humboldt Current, the source of the rich marine life we have seen. And finally a display of the massive energy that built the Andes in the form of the Chaiten Volcano, which erupted in May of this year and caused a change to our original plan for today, which had been to visit Chaiten, now a closed and evacuated ghost town.
So we moved on and visited the temperate rain forests of the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino in search of massive trees and wildlife including the elusive Chucao tapaculo – a small bird with a big voice. Then we headed south to view from a distance the steaming slopes of the volcano and the snow-capped peak of Corcovado. With perfect timing, a small group of killer whales appeared as if wildlife did not want to be upstaged by geology, no matter how dramatic.
The end of our voyage provided another remarkable contrast in a journey that has been full of diverse experiences. From the hustle of Lima to the slow-paced island life of Robinson Crusoe; the stark landscapes of the Atacama Desert to the puna of the high Andes to the temperate rainforests of central Chile.
Throughout the journey we have been reminded of the irresistible forces of nature that shape our planet. An earthquake in Lima, before we had even reached the ship, reminded us of the geological instability of the region, further reinforced the next day by the evidence of extensive damage to the Paracas area from a large earthquake last year. And sailing south through the relentless flow of the Humboldt Current, the source of the rich marine life we have seen. And finally a display of the massive energy that built the Andes in the form of the Chaiten Volcano, which erupted in May of this year and caused a change to our original plan for today, which had been to visit Chaiten, now a closed and evacuated ghost town.
So we moved on and visited the temperate rain forests of the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino in search of massive trees and wildlife including the elusive Chucao tapaculo – a small bird with a big voice. Then we headed south to view from a distance the steaming slopes of the volcano and the snow-capped peak of Corcovado. With perfect timing, a small group of killer whales appeared as if wildlife did not want to be upstaged by geology, no matter how dramatic.
