Ripcord Adventure Journal 2.1

Shangri-La at Sea
Siffy Torkildson
Teetering on an opera house-like stage in the fifteen foot seas of the
south Atlantic, I am giving a lecture on a cruise ship about the 19th
century explorer, Annie Peck. A week into the cruise, that began in
the colorful seaside port of Valparaiso, Chile, we had rounded Cape
Horn, a mythical place for a geographer and oceanographer.
John Turk writes in Cold Oceans:
“The earth comes alive when the forces of nature collide. Hurricanes
and tornadoes arise when hot and cold air masses smash into one
another. The steepest, most dangerous waves develop along the
boundaries between opposing currents. When two tectonic plates
grind into one another, the earth buckles to form lofty mountain
ranges. There are a few places, called triple junctions, where three
opposing influences, such as three different currents, wind systems or
tectonic plates, collide. There is only one place on earth- Cape Hornwhere
three triple junctions meet at the same point. Three oceans, the
Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Antarctic converge at Cape Horn; each
one ruled by a different current.”
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We have the rare opportunity to cruise around Cape Horn Island -
the tip of South America. The previous cruise ship was not able to
visit this historical point due to the prevalent high seas. Yet, three
hours past this landmark, in the Atlantic Ocean, the seas become
wild. I am reminded of the times I was seasick on my university’s
oceanographic research vessel in the Pacific Ocean, once with 30
foot swells. But this time I am not seasick, although a few people
look green as they leave the theatre. It is as if I have crossed a
threshold to the other side, after we round the cape.
I imagine Ferdinand Magellan, the cartographer, navigator from
Portugal, as he set out in 1519 (ultimately to circumnavigate the
globe via South America) in order to find a quicker route to the
Spice Islands for the Spanish government. He died in the
Philippines, but one of his ships returned to Spain in 1522.
I gaze up at his statue in the plaza of Punta Arenas and wonder
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