We have got the Golfo de Penas ahead of us and thus an open sea passage which will take about one and a half days without the protection of the coastal waters that we have enjoyed so far. It is obviously important to have a good weather window for that, which we were supposed to have now, but reality was different. The wind and sea were quite rough already in the channels, and the latest forecast spoke a quite different but very clear language.
Waiting for the wind to calm down, Isla Jungfrauen
So there is not much to do but to wait for better times regarding the open sea passage. Something that is great at the time being (later, we will have to catch up again, though), as we have got the Isla Jungfrauen nearby, which has the beautiful Caleta Virgin. The name of the island („Island of virgins“) is interesting, but it does not keep the promise, as we have found out by now. But the island has got the beautiful Caleta Virgen, which turned out to be a great place to stay safely with a ship and beyond that, it is a great place for hiking! Once you have got beyond the usual few metres of dense coastal forest, the landscape opens up and offers many great hiking opportunities over hills and smaller mountains with stunning panoramic views, some lakes, wind-beaten trees and a lot of amazing places to discover. An unbelievably beautiful hidden corner of the planet! We were all a bit tired after the last night, but that was quickly forgotten in the beauty of the scenery. And in here, the weather is great! The Caleta is well sheltered, so hardly notice anything of the strong winds and heavy seas outside (on the mountains, you can hardly stand at times) and the sun is with us most of the day. Lovely!
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As mentioned, we will have to catch up again time-wise, the days are going and they are not coming back. But we could not have found a better place to wait for better conditions, and when you see the photos, I guess you don’t believe that we are stuck here for weather reasons.
What you can’t see in this picture: Due to strong winds you can hardly stand on some of the higher spots.
There’s definitely no better place for a day of waiting.