Friday, August 7, 2026

The glaciers of the southern cone - Patagonia and Chile - are melting fast! My mom visited them 15 years ago

2012 Cape Horn Celebrity Cruises
  • Ship: Celebrity Infinity operated prominent 14-day South America and Cape Horn itineraries during early 2012.
  • Route Highlights: Itineraries typically departed from ports like Valparaíso (Santiago), Chile, or Buenos Aires, Argentina, navigating the Chilean fjords, the Strait of Magellan, Ushuaia, and rounding Cape Horn. Key Ports: Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, and Stanley (Falkland Islands) depending on the specific voyage variant. Santiago remains the capital and largest city of Chile, while Valparaíso is a completely separate coastal port city located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the northwest.
  •  My husband and I are on the Celebrity Infinity (February 2012), and I think the trip from Buenos Aries to Valpariso is much better because you get to see wonderful scenery and several glaciers from 7-10 PM the evening we sail from Ushuaia. I believe on the trip from Valpariso to Buenos Aries, you may miss the opportunity to see most of it because it's very early in the morning, on the way into Ushuaia.It was great for seeing the glaciers between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas as well as the Chilean fjords after Punta Arenas. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1501325-which-way-around-the-horn-is-best/ Rio to Valparaiso route Jan 21 - Feb 4. The weather around the horn was PERFECT!!! Even the naturalist on board commented as to how smooth is was!

 My Mom said it was "so smooth that the captain went around twice"!! Really? Maybe that was a joke by the captain...He turned the boat around! wow. It was not a joke. 

now 8% of those glaciers are gone already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctYoKLzfJAE&t=13s

Megadroughts by end of century - I think that is too conservative of a projection.
Since 2021, the Nilus project has been experimenting with artificial glaciers at a site near the El Morado glacier, which lost 19 percent of its volume between 2010 and 2018. It is not the only victim: the neighboring Echaurren Norte glacier has already lost more than 60 percent of its mass and is expected to disappear within 30 years.
“It’s not an individual concern. Not even a national one. It’s a global concern,” says Goldschmidt, about the loss of glaciers.
https://thebulletin.org/2025/09/goodbye-glaciers-hello-engineered-ice-cones/
they're freezing the run off melt water in the winter - just like in Ladakh!! 
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nJBy9EgQOlU

1936 trip around the horn vid 

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