Leaving Ushuaia we entered the Beagle Channel, which is named for Charles Darwin’s ship, tracing in the wake of the HMS Beagle. With Argentina on one side and Chile on the other, we made our way to Glacier Alley. 

• The Darwin Connection: These glaciers are fed by the Darwin Ice Field, which is part of the Cordillera Darwin. It’s an incredibly remote area—most of these peaks remained unclimbed until the mid-20th century because the weather is so fierce.
• The “Country” Glaciers: It’s a rare geographical tribute. As you sailed past, you likely noticed that each glacier has its own “personality.” The Italy Glacier is often the crowd favorite for its massive, steep ice walls, while the Romanche Glacier (named for a French expedition) is famous for its dramatic meltwater waterfalls that plummet directly into the channel.
• The Blue Tint: If the ice looked particularly deep blue today, it’s because the ice is so dense that it absorbs every color of the spectrum except blue. The older and more compressed the glacier, the more vivid that “electric” blue becomes.

Darwin wrote in his journal that it was “scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful,” noting how the blue of the ice contrasted with the dark green of the Nothofagus (Southern Beech) forests.

The channel is also a prime spot for spotting Andean Condors soaring on the thermals created by the mountains, or even the occasional Peale’s dolphin surfing the ship’s wake.

The sheer scale of the Romanche waterfall is usually a tough one to beat!