Off the coast of the southern tip of South America is a tiny island called Isla Magdalena. It sits in the frigid Antarctic waters of the Strait of Magellan, a curvy, navigable sea route separating South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The channel’s major port city is Punta Arenas, where we stayed while we awaited our descent into Patagonia. The Strait of Magellan is named after Ferdinand Magellan, the first European to navigate the channel in 1520. His passage wasn’t easy: the Strait of Magellan is known for its treacherous weather, tricky passageways, and glacial climate. It took him thirty-eight days to complete the…