Into The Fire ...

Joseph Addison, in his Essay on the Pleasures of the Imagination, wrote of a delightful stillness and amazement that he felt before "the prospects of an open champian country, a vast uncultivated desert, huge heaps of mountains, high rocks and precipices and a wide expanse of waters."

Quite simply, Joe would have freaked in Chile. The beauty is stupefying.

"The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore ... unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over things that seem impossible ... it is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors ... to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown."

- Ferdinand Magellan, 1520

Tomorrow morning I set sail on the M / V Magallanes, a vessel named in honor of the inspiringly-intrepid, iron-willed, rockin cool mariner who first plied the uncharted waters of Patagonia. The Navimag journey through the Chilean fjords encompasses four days of sailing from Puerto Montt down to Seno de Última Esperanza in Puerto Natales - gateway to the majestic Torres del Paine.

Etymology from the End of the World:

Seno de Última Esperanza ... the Inlet of Last Hope

Tierra del Fuego ... Land of Fire

Patagonia ... One theory credits Magellan`s crew with the naming of Patagonia after they encountered the Tehuelche people whose large moccasins made their feet appear huge - in Spanish, pata means foot. Bruce Chatwin, however, speculated that Magellan applied the term ´Patagon` (a fictional monster in a Spanish romance) to them.

"Those large and beautiful ships, invisibly balanced (hovering) on tranquil waters, those hardy ships that look dreamy and idle, don`t they seem to whisper to us in silent tongues: When shall we set sail for happiness?"

- Charles Baudelaire, 1859

- soaring south with a smile ... the llunatic of Lago Llanquihue