The Margin of the Horizon

These photographs were taken during sailing to and from the Magellan Strait in Argentinian/Chilean Patagonia. Trips were made in December 2015, February 2017, November 2019 and March 2023

The Strait of Magellan is a maritime passageway located at the extreme southern tip of South America, between Patagonia and the big island of Tierra del Fuego. Thus, it is the main natural passageway between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, and navigator in the service of Charles I of Spain, became the first European to navigate the strait in 1520 during his global circumnavigation voyage. Until the Panama Canal opened in 1914, the Strait of Magellan was the main route for steamships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Nowadays, this whole area, especially Patagonia, remains one of the most pristine waters in the world but is highly threatened by the fishing industry that is now settling on the country's last virgin coasts, in the region of Magallanes, south of Patagonia and Southwest Atlantic on the Argentinian side. The expansion is taking place without scientific evidence or serious studies to limit production to water capacity. This could have catastrophic consequences for local ecosystems, which are part of one of the most significant aquifer reserves in the world.
These photographs were taken during sailings from the Port of Coquimbo to the Strait of Magellan in Chile, concluding with disembarkation at Puerto Madryn, located northeast of the Province of Chubut, Argentina, also from Montevideo in Uruguay to the south again. Trips were made in December 2015, February 2017, November 2019 and March 2023