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a spectacular beam of light from Sun through clouds. Tried to photograph it. In evening watched "Tootsie", then had a long talk with Mark about my relief map. He has hiked & sailed much of the territory and pointed out all the best places. Came down to cabin rather late after Toni had made popcorn. Toni soon came in quite upset over a broken romance. I set alarm for 6:00, as we want to get up to see most scenic part of Beagle Channel. 

[[underlined]] Sunday. March 17, St. Pat's Day [[/underlined]]
Roused out by internal clock at 5:45. Got dressed to go out. When I opened our door, Phil was outside. He said the boat was turning around. Mark had learned a few minutes earlier that we were already through some of the scenic stretch. Nobody told the night pilot to take it easy. So, turn we did, and Jeff & I on the outside bridge saw the passage twice... First in pre-dawn & second in the early light. We should be in vicinity of P.A. tonight.
 
Passengers are welcome in the Captain's bridge except in port and in difficult navigation areas such as the Beagle Channel. Nevertheless, as I stood outside this morning the Captain himself invited me in -- right past a sign in the window saying "Please Stay Outside." Last night we left our Argentine pilot at a border town & then took on 2 Chilean pilots. One of them was very friendly. Showed me a steamer duck paddling across the channel with its wings. He also showed me a magazine article

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about the earthquake in Chile a few days ago. He told someone else it was 9 on the Richter Scale. It damaged a town and affected many more over a large radius, including Santiago and Vina del Mar. We all spent much of the morning looking at wild granite mountains w Nothofagus beech trees in ravines. The trunks are light gray & dramatically twisted & bare. Some mountains are almost bare all the way to the water level. Others are brown w grass & dark in beeches. Several blue glaciers dominated the scene & we snapped away at them. Sprinkles now & then. Saw a huge, white [[strikethrough]] black-beake [[/strikethrough]] Kelp goose on shore -- only one. ❡ During early afternoon I packed all my bags ready to disembark tomorrow -- We expect to arrive in vicinity of Punta Arenas by about 2:00 am. But we cannot dock until 7 or 8. Then there will be customs to deal with.

I showered & shampooed & put on civilian clothes - black slacks & sweater over yellow turtle.
 
The pilot had told me that we would go through a narrow strait about 2:10 or 2:15 today. And, indeed, an announcement came over the intercom about 1:50 and we all crowded on deck. It was the same dun-colored hills, snow-capped peaks, and a few glaciers. Gray skies & sprinkles -- which the Chilean pilot says is typical weather here. 

It is about the wildest place I've ever seen. No sign of human habitation anywhere mile after mile. No sheep, no goats, no huts or lights. Despite the grass & trees it is as complete a desert, in its own way, as