Seno Glacier - another epic Zodiac cruise in Patagonia

We progressed northward through Chile on Saturday, February 1st. Again, we were on the cusp of the Pacific and the Andes, so we were consistently in heavy wind and rain this afternoon. On our afternoon cruise, we were paired up with Mada, the naturalist who piloted our zodiac raft in Neko Harbor, Antarctica, about a week prior. As a reminder, that Antarctic excursion was where we had close encounters with humpback whales and navigated heavily clumped sea ice. As soon as we knew that Mada was piloting our cruise, we knew we had an adventurous afternoon ahead of us.

Reminder of the Jan 26th navigation of Neko Harbor - hyperlapse clip of a portion of that cruise above.

Mada, Naturalist and Zodiac pilot extraordinaire.

We boarded the Zodiac and set about the cove. This would be the heaviest rain we would encounter during an activity, so we definitely braced ourselves. Battling the weather on this afternoon was a small price to pay for the views of the fjords, waterfalls, and glaciers that we would encounter. As we left the ship, we immediately took in impressive views of waterfalls and surrounding cliffs. Below, you can see the initial views and get an idea of the storm we were navigating.

Video clip of the immense waterfalls fueled by the local glaciers.

After rounding several fjords and absorbing the magnitude of the area's waterfalls, we began to approach the glacier.

We continued progressing forward, getting closer-up shots of the glacier and ice formations in this narrow inlet.

I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the deep blue color of this dense and ancient ice.

Getting closer still

And a little closer...

And an extreme close up of the ice architecture

Now, having travelled deep into this fjord, we were quite a bit away from the ship. We were to the point that Mada double-checked our Zodiac fuel to make sure we had enough in reserve tanks to get back to the ship. It was a long ride. The rain continued to pour, and after being hit with the wind for a while, it was time to turn back and put the pedal to the metal. And so, the Zodiac was turned around, and we made our way...

Attempt at a hyperlapse return, but the rain waterlogged Chris' phone and had to shut down.

But never fear! Beth was there to pick up some additional footage.

We zipped through the fjord and got closer. Everything everywhere was totally drenched. Despite that, no way we would have wanted to be anywhere else in the world that Saturday afternoon.

The rain certainly didn't dampen the mood this Saturday afternoon...

After a very long journey and epic zodiac ride and having seen the magnificent scenery, it's time to get back onboard for a happy hour or two or three.

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