Travels > Cruises & Antartica > Skorpios Cruises

Cruises to the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields

Kawéskar Explorers Route.

(Puerto Natales / Glaciar Pio XI / Puerto Natales) 6 days – 5 nights.

You can only love what you know
you can only care for what you love…
we were born in this ocean sown of islands;
a place where volcanoes and glaciers
sculpt illusions and where the legends
come to life in the secret fjords…
this is the territory of Skorpios at
the Chilean Patagonia…

On 2003 this new and astounding route through the iced seas at the austral Patagonia was inaugurated, aboard the Skorpios III Cruiser, a ‘Super Class’ ship.

Be one of the first to sail the Angostura Kirke, Eyre Sound and Canal Pitt. Feel like a pioneer discovering the greatest oceanic glacier in South America, Glaciar Pio XI.

Disembark at Puerto Edén and visit this village without streets located at Isla Wellington, whose first inhabitants were the Kawéskar Indians (also known as Alacalufes) and discover its viewpoint.

Travel styles	Cruises
Season:	Year round
Beginning day:	Saturdays
Departure:	Group
Minimum of pax:	No minimum of pax
Difficulty:	Minimum difficulty
Trip starts at:	Puerto Natales
Trip ends at:	Puerto Natales

Photos:
Cam

View

Maps:

View

Itinerary:

View

Service Details:
Services
View

Day	Itinerary	Day	Itinerary
01	Puerto Natales	04	Paso del Abismo - Caleta Villarica
02	Angostura Kirke – Fiordo Antrim	05	Fiordo de las Montañas – Seno Última Esperanza
03	Fiordo Antrim – Glaciar Pio XI – Paso del Abismo	06	Seno Última Esperanza – Puerto Natales
Lodging: 5 nights in cabin.

Itinerary

	Puerto Natales
We can go on board beginning at 18:00 hs. to participate in the welcome cocktail at 20:00 hs. Soon after, dinner is served as the Cruiser leaves Puerto Natales to initiate the course through the Kawéskars Explorer’s route.

	Angostura Kirke – Fiordo Antrim
We sail several patagonian channels, such as Angostura Kirke, Canal Morla Vicuña and Seno Unión; then we continue by Canales Patagónicos Sarmiento, Canal Pitt, Canal Concepción. Around 19:00 hs. we arrive to Fiordo Antrim.

Fiordo Antrim – Glaciar Pio XI – Paso del Abismo

At 8:00 hs. we are approaching to Glaciar Pio XI, a very particular one, as it is the largest glacier in South America. We dedicate the morning to enjoy its extension from different view points.

After noon we continue our travel through Eyre Sound and Canal Grappler to reach around 16:30 hs. the village of Puerto Edén, which we will visit by disembarking on small boats. Once there, we will have two hours to enjoy this village, located on Isla Wellington, whose first inhabitants were the Kawéskar Indians, also known as Alacalufes. Even today the ethnic features of their heritance can be appreciated in Puerto Edén’s citizens. This peculiar town has no streets, and instead there is only a wooden runway where we can wander and visit the houses. Likely, many of the passengers will also dare to ascend to the spectacular viewpoint from where an astonishing panoramic view can be taken.

Finally, we resume our cruise through Paso del Indio and Paso del Abismo.

Paso del Abismo – Caleta Villarica

Around 9:00 hs. Fiordo Calvo amazes us with its four glaciers of different shapes and sizes. With the rest of the passengers, we embark a small icebreaker named Hercules to take excursions in front of the Calvo glacier, but this is always depending on the ice conditions.

About 13:00 hs. we leave heading to Fiordo Peel and then visit the Asia and Amalia fjords, and finally arrive to Caleta Villarica by the afternoon. If weather allows us, we will make some boat trips across the inlet. At 23:00 we continue our travel aboard the Cruise.

	Fiordo de las Montañas – Seno Ultima Esperanza
During breakfast we will be sailing Fiordo de las Montañas, where five small glaciers can be seen hanging from the hills to the sea. Here we can take a walk to Glaciar Bernal, until 16:00 hs. when we say goodbye to Fiordo de las Montañas to cross Angostura Kirke as we travel to Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound). By night, a big farewell party takes place on the Cruise.

	Seno Ultima Esperanza - Puerto Natales
After sailing Seno Ultima Esperanza we arrive around 8:00 hs. to Skorpios’ private harbor in Puerto Natales. The journey ends around 10:00 hs., once we and the rest of the passengers have disembarked.

Service details

Services included in the Skorpios III Cruise.:

Meals on board, breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.
Beverages during meals, including an excellent selection of wines.
Beverages at the open bar, including sodas, wines, liquors and drinks.
Excursions on land and water as mentioned in this program.

Friday, extra day prior to sail.
This is an optional extra day to the Kawéskar Explorers cruise aboard the Skorpios III Cruiser, and includes the following services:

Friday:
At 20:00 hs. check-in and enjoy a welcome cocktail and dinner onboard. Suggestion: if you enjoy taking chances, pay a little visit to Puerto Natale’s casino.

Saturday:
At 9:00 hs. full day excursion to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and visit to the natural monument Cueva del Milodón with pic-nic style lunch by the Laguna Amarga inside the park.
Back to the Cruiser at 18:00 hs. where we have dinner and set sail around 20:30 hs. to begin the experience of the Kawéskar Explorers Route.

This additional day includes:

Friday’s dinner on board.
Breakfast on Saturday.
Full day excursion at Parque Nacional Torres del Paine with pic-nic lunch.

The cost of this additional day should be confirmed at the time of your booking.

Transfers
If you arrive to Puerto Natale’s airport we can provide you a transfer to Skorpio’s private harbor free of charge on the day of your embarking. Likewise, we can provide you this free transfer to the airport on the day you finish your Cruise in Puerto Natales.

Torres del Paine – embarking the Friday before the Cruise.
Before setting sail to see the patagonian wonders from the sea, the passengers of the Skorpios III Cruise embarking on Friday have a wonderful chance to visit Parque Nacional Torres del Paine on a full day excursion to know this true wild garden of nature.

Not just the fauna is the main attraction… plenty of unexplored mountain ranges, crystal lakes and lagoons, unforgettable rivers and falls, and the stunning Torres del Paine come together into a place of wonder. A landscape where, in a single day, the four seasons can be experienced.

Glaciar Pio XI
Glaciar Pio XI is located at the north of the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields, at the end of Eyre Sound. It is the largest glacier in Southamerica, and a real ice giant with a total surface of 786 square miles, and towers rising above 246 feet high, descending trough the Eyre Sound in a 40 miles runway. Unlike most glaciers, in recent years Pio XI has grown in extension and it is currently at its maximum size ever.

The SKORPIOS III Cruise approaches this glacier to sail among icebergs of different shapes and sizes, colorful blue tones, white and light blue colors to be forever remembered.

Puerto Edén Village.
One of the most important visits in the SKORPIOS III Cruise is the arrival to Puerto Edén. Located in Isla Wellington, its first inhabitants were native tribes of the region, the Kawéskar, or Alacalufes and currently many of its members still populate the region.

Puerto Edén has only runways linking the houses, and the transportation is exclusively based on boats and canoes. Even nowadays, Kawéskars’ living is largely based on what nature provides them.

Years ago they were almost the only population of these cold areas, subsisted on fishing and hunting and kept themselves warm with a coating made out of sea lions’ grease and clay. They used to build leather tents in the places where hunt and fishing were best, but were basically nomads and used to travel in small groups seeking for sea lions, otters and different types of fish and shellfish.

Canoes were the main transports for the Kawéskars and their lives depended on them. Back then the construction was made with the cooked crust from a single tree, making them safer and capable to carry heavier loads. They were driven by women seated at the stern using a short handle palle. Men were at the bow with their harpoons ready for sea hunt. (Information from “The History of the Kawashkar” by University of Magallanes Editions).

It remains unknown since when exactly dogs accompany the Kawéskars, but there are records indicating that they played a fundamental role in the otter’s hunts. The dogs were a privilege of the men and they were obtained after marriage. Killing them was forbidden.

Glaciar Amalia and Estero Calvo
Entering Estero Peel the passengers of the Skorpios III Cruise can appreciate the view of Glaciar Amalia; its long silhouette ascends from the Andes in an unforgettable picture, thrilling with its ice towers and the colorful contrast with the surrounds.

Likewise, from Estero Calvo, the Skorpios III passengers will sight 6 glaciers crossing the chain of mountains and cutting through waters full of icebergs of amazing colors.

Flora and Fauna
Lile ducks, quetros, toninas, cormorants, cypresses, lengas, ñires, ferns, etc… these are just some of the local species that will amaze those who love the world with an ecological enthusiasm.