WorldTravelReynolds

We crossed over from the east to the west side of South America today. Meaning we are at the very bottom between two continents, Antartica and South America.

There is a lighthouse and a monument located at the top of the mountain.

The red lighthouse at the top of the mountain is called the Cape Horn lighthouse.

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage. For decades it was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world. With the development of the Panama Canal the traffic here is far less. The waters around the Cape are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and icebergs; these dangers have made it notorious as a sailors’ graveyard.

A memorial was erected in 1992 and is dedicated in memory of the men from every nation who died in the treacherous seas of Cape Horn.

The Cape Horn Memorial, or Albatross Monument, stands 24 feet tall on a hilltop at Cape Horn 165 feet above sea level. When viewed at a certain angle, the two separate huge metal halves appear to fuse and show the sky behind in the shape of an Albatross in flight. It was built to withstand the 120 mile per hour winds which at times blow through the area.

The inscription reads:

“I, the albatross that awaits at the end of the world…
I am the forgotten soul of the sailors lost,
rounding Cape Horn from all the seas of the world.
But die they did not in the fierce waves,
for today towards eternity, in my wings they soar,
in the last crevice of the Antarctic winds.”

There were some albatross birds in flight as we rounded the bend as if they are guiding other sailors to safety.

A short post but it was another experience worth noting!

May God bless you always,

Chuck & Lea Ann