A RAINBOW IN THE LAND OF FIRE

The Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) province in the southern tip of Argentina is every nature lover’s paradise. I can’t imagine how Charles Darwin felt when he first explored this region almost two hundred years ago. This was first discovered by Ferdinand Magellan on his way to the Pacific and was named after the bonfires dotting the shoreline, which were produced by the natives most likely for heating. I visited this southernmost part of the world back in December of 2018 and captured this photograph at the area where the world’s southernmost post office stands. I did not have my DSLR ready and the rainbow was slowly fading so I used my iPhone 7 Plus to capture the moment. I later took more pictures with my DSLR (sans rainbow) and will feature them in another post.

THE ROMANCHE UP CLOSE

Two years ago, I sailed through the Beagle Channel, which is a strait between Argentina and Chile in the southern tip of South America, passing through the breathtaking Glacier Alley. Charles Darwin himself sailed through this very channel and saw glaciers for the first time back in 1833. This was also my first time to sail in this part of the world but not my first to see glaciers. Of the many glaciers we sailed past, the Romanche intrigued me the most because of the waterfall flowing out of the edge of the glacier cascading down into the channel. I took these photographs of the Romanche from the balcony of my stateroom as we slowly sailed through this magical land named Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire).

SAILOR’S DELIGHT

Sunsets on partially cloudy skies are always the most glorious. The sun projects all the red and gold into these heavenly puffs creating the wildest visions in the sky. The richness of the colors are just breathtaking and it evokes a sense of wonder while the dark shadows where light fails to touch create a sense of mystery. Visions like these make one appreciate this beautiful planet we live in. It also provides the viewer an opportunity to reflect on the day that’s just about to end. I certainly enjoy photographing sunsets especially when it burns the sky just like the ones in this post. These were all taken onboard a cruise ship as we were sailing south of the Atlantic Ocean to the tip of South America. They say red skies at night are a sailor’s delight and true enough it was smooth sailing the rest of the cruise. I used my iPhone 7Plus to take all these photos.

THE LIONS OF THE BEAGLE

During our cruise to South America in December of 2018, our ship docked at the southernmost city in the world…Ushuaia, Argentina. The city is located in the banks of the Beagle Channel and we were told that Charles Darwin sailed on this very channel with Captain Robert FitzRoy on the HMS Beagle and saw a glacier for the very first time. Along the channel are hundreds of islands teeming with life, which can give any wildlife photographer plenty of photogasms. LOL!

We took an excursion that sailed around these islands and one of the stops was at a sea lion colony.  The water was rough that day and our small tour boat was rocking like crazy I had to cling on the rails for dear life. Despite nature tossing me around I was able to capture a good number of photos although there were also a lot of blurry shots.  It was amazing to see all these sea lions in their natural habitat as I’ve only seen them before in zoos. Here are some of the photographs I took and I hope you all enjoy looking at these lovely creatures in such a wild yet magnificent environment. If by any chance you decide to go somewhere wild and exciting, I highly recommend going down to the southern tip of Argentina.

PUERTO DE PUNTA DEL ESTE

Punta del Este, Uruguay was one of the stops during my South American cruise last December of 2018. These photos were taken at the pier while waiting for the tender to take us back to the cruise ship. I’ve been meaning to post these photos years ago but keep forgetting. These were actually taken using my old iPhone 7 Plus as I didn’t bring ashore my DSLR. I love how the clouds made the sky look very dramatic in these photos. The old yet colorful boats tossed by the tide also added a rustic feel to the composition. iPhones really capture good photos although the lack of depth always makes me regret not taking my DSLR with me.
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