After a fairly uneventful crossing of the Drake Passage, we saw Cape Horn. In an average year, Cape Horn has 270 days of gale force weather, so we were very lucky in having a calm day.
The cape is named for the city of Hoorn in Holland. The ship that first saw and named Cape Horn was from Hoorn. Since then, many ships have passed Cape Horn, including famously the clipper ships at the end of the 1800s that sailed from Australia to England.
Many ships have also been wrecked in this area. The Chilean government has erected a monument to the sailors lost on Cape Horn and a lighthouse. They normally don't allow cruise ships to pass near Cape Horn (without a pilot), but they gave us permission, perhaps because of the mild weather.
Cape Horn figured in many of the adventure books I read growing up. It is amazing to be here, and even more amazing to have gone beyond into Antarctica.
