The Beagle Channel is a spectacular passage through the lower end of the Andes just north of Cape Horn at about 55 degrees south latitude. It is lined by high mountains and several impressive glaciers. In several pictures you will see the MS Amsterdam following us through the passage. She is a huge 12-story tall cruise ship, from which one can gain a sense of proportion of the majesty of the landscape on either side.

Part way through the channel we were met by the Argentine customs boat who boarded a customs official and a pilot for the remainder of the day's passage into Ushuaia, Argentina.

The Beagle Channel is named for the 19th century British Navy surveying vessel HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Charles Darwin on the 1832-34 voyage that provided his geological and wildlife observations leading to his theory on the origin of species.