Baie Ainsworth (Argentina)

How do you discover Ainsworth Bay? On a 4- or 5-day cruise. Towards the mythical Beagle Channel, in the footsteps of the great end-of-the-world explorers. It’s up to you to choose your point of departure, based on where you are located. In Chile, you would leave from Punta Arenas to go to Ushuaia. In Argentina, you would take the reverse route.

After dressing warm (because the wind blowing over the bay is glacial), we go down in zodiacs, or inflatable speed boats. Where are we headed? To Ainsworth Bay, within the Cordillera Darwin mountain range, for a little hike facing Marinelli Glacier. The water all around our zodiacs is strewn with ice chunks. On the horizon, the Magellan forest unfolds, and a colony of elephant seals welcomes us on the beach of Ainsworth Bay. We also notice a few cormorants and Magellanic penguins.

The day's objective is to see a family of beavers building a dam in the waters of the bay. We finish the excursion heading towards the Tucker Islands. It's impossible to describe the breath-taking beauty of this untouched place. The crystal clear waters reflect the surrounding glaciers and icebergs. We leave empty-handed, but we're happy to have walked in the footsteps of the early Patagonia explorers.