I wanted to go see Upsala Glacier by boat, along with some of the other glaciers that are part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Unfortunately, a large part of the glacier’s front broke off several years ago, and the channel is now blocked with icebergs. And so the boat traveled to view, not the glacier (that comes in a later post, my friends) but the icebergs. Can you say, “Titanic?”

It turns out that icebergs are just as beautiful and perhaps even more surreal than glaciers.

At first, we saw just a few icebergs here and there in the lake, like ships on their own courses.

But as we headed up the channel, we got much closer to them. And they were bigger.

And yes, in case you’re wondering. They really do look blue. Depending on the light, sometimes glistening white but at other times, in the shadows, a blue so intense it hurts to look at and yet is impossible to look away from.

Soon the glaciers filled the channel.

Each, more beautiful than the next.

The landscapes and seascapes of this excursion were particularly magnificent. Next, I’ll post some seascapes (with mountains), and then we’ll move to the views on land.