Rounding Cape Horn

I could hardly believe that I was sailing around Cape Horn.  In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would be at the end of the world.

It was overcast, windy and chilly outside.  The temperature was in the upper 40s with a wind chill of about 30.  The seas were still rough, but not as rough as they were the day before.  Fortunately it is summer season at the southern tip of South America.  Since it is summer, the days are longer as well.

The sun rises at 5:00 am and sets around 10:15 pm.  Almost 17 hours of daylight.  I would hate to be here during the winter months, when the days and nights are a lot colder and you only have about 6 to 7 hours of daylight.

It was about noon and Kenny and I wanted to be on the upper deck to be able to experience rounding the Horn.  We bundled up with several layers of clothes and grabbed our cameras.  There was already at least 800 passengers on top.

As we began to round the Cape, a historical expert on the ship provided the background of the Horn via the ships’ intercom.

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern-Chile and it is located on the small Hornos Island.  It marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.

Cape Horn was discovered and first rounded by the Dutchman Willem Schouten, who named it after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands.

To imagine all the sailors and vessels that have traveled this path.  Columbus and Magellan were trying to find a quick passage West in order to bring spices from the Asian countries back to Europe.  Pepper, nutmeg and cloves were worth their weight in gold. Columbus went west and discovered America. Magellan discovered the fast passage West via the Magellan Strait and then was the first to circumnavigate the globe.

Looking out at the land, it was hard to imagine anyone every living in this area.  All I could think about was the frigid water, bleak days and the barren land.

After experiencing this adventure, I am ready to return home and read more about these men that were determined to discover new lands and therefore prove that the world was indeed round and it could be sailed around without falling off the edge.