This
morning, we visited the tiny village of Tortel (pop. 500) and walked all over
the village via its extensive boardwalk system. The village sits on the edge of
the vertical walls of the fjord so the only way to get around is to traverse
the boardwalks which hang on the rock walls above the water.
In
one direction, some of us walked past small inns, restaurants, and a very small
market; others walked in the opposite direction, out of town, looking for
birds. We were especially fortunate to see six Andean condors soaring overhead,
and we met a few very friendly locals out for a boardwalk stroll themselves.
This entire, pristine area is protected by the Chilean branch of Oceana, which outlaws
salmon farming. The industry is extremely destructive to fjords in Chile, as
well as in Scotland and Norway where it is extensively developed.
Over
lunch, we re-positioned National
Geographic Explorer to an area we sailed past on previous voyages but haven’t
yet had time to visit. The area, called Puerto Brown, is the site of
spectacular, steep-sided fjords with many small channels that we explored by
Zodiac. We drove past a thick forest cover to the fjord walls, past some lovely
waterfalls, and some steamer ducks and neotropical cormorants swimming on the
still water.
After Zodiac cruises through Puerto Brown, we returned to the ship and sailed toward English Narrows, the first of two passages we will traverse on this voyage through the fjords of southern Chile.
