On December 18, in the morning, we left Puerto Natales with a local pilot to guide us through the Messier Channel - Fiord of the Mountains - and through the winding Kirke Narrows, accessible only to small ships.
To quote Wikipedia: The general features of these channels are high, abrupt shores, with innumerable peaks and headlands remarkably alike in character, the bold, rugged heads giving an appearance of gloomy grandeur rarely seen elsewhere. The shores are generally steep-to and the channels, for the most part, open and free, while the few dangers that exist are usually marked by kelp. The tides are regular and not strong except in the Kirke Narrows (where we are headed).
The "gloomy grandeur" as seen while drinking coffee on my cabin deck while we cruised.
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