Passages of Patagonia on the Ship Destiny's Dreams

In the attic of a lighthouse keeper's house built in the 1800s on the Mystical Coast, someone opened a weatherbeaten old wooden box in the corner. It contained the ship's logs and journals from the 1800s for a vessel called Destiny's Dreams.

There was also a colorful, textured woven cape. It must have been treasured by someone very much.

These are the stories of the voyages of the Destiny's Dreams from those journals.

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Silhouetted against the sky, the young sailor named Joaquin climbed the rope ladders to the ship’s topsails of the vessel Destiny’s Dreams. They were in the Patagonia Passage at the tip of South America in the 1800s.

“Careful.” The captain of the ship called to Joaquin.

“I will be fine.” He called down to the captain. “I will furl the main sail around the boom. Then I can trim the fore and aft sails close to the center of the boat.”

Joaquin was the boatswain, also called the bosun. He was young but experienced from starting as a boy on another ship.

“He knows what he is doing.” The first mate, Adelberto, spoke to the captain. “The ship will be more agile now in the narrows of the Strait.”

“He is a very impressive young man.” Captain Alfonse’s voice held admiration. “Clever. Good ideas.”

Miles away on the shore, seventeen-year-old Estrella felt the cool wind from the waters of the Patagonia Passage. It blew through the otherworldly lands at the tip of South America.

The fingers of the chilly gust touched her cheek. It seemed to whisper to her of the scenes that her sightless eyes could not see. 

Next to Estrella, her best friend and playmate, Sombra, looked up at her. Sombra’s name meant shadow and he went everywhere with Estrella.

He was an animal with a sharp, foxy face and pointed ears. Now he stood looking up at her adoringly. His coat was reddish brown with darker accents.

“Papa, I hear singing and music. What is out there?” She tilted her head.

A cape of bumpy textured woven fabric in bright colors enveloped her shoulders.

The low, grey clouds above seemed less dark, as if the cloak she wore brightened everything around it.

Ignacio, her father, squinted into the distance over the silvery waves.

“A ship. Moving fast. Built for speed. People on the deck. Some type of gathering. Wait till they get closer. I can’t see much yet.”

A few minutes later Estrella heard bouncy rhythms of stringed instruments and a flute playing. The songs were like melodies of birds in the morning, with a background of breezes.

“Someone is singing. What wonderful music.” Estrella’s mouth curved into a smile.

“There are people on the deck of the ship singing and dancing. It must be a party. This is so unusual. Let’s get your mother.”

Estrella placed her hand on her father’s arm . Together they walked past the rough buildings in the village to a cottage. Sombra walked close to Estrella's side.

Estrella reached down frequently to touch the top of Sombra's head, and stroke his ear.

 A while later, Ignacio, Estrella, and Sombra returned with a tall woman, wearing layers of thick wraps for warmth.

“Ines, see that ship. what do you think of this?” The man spoke to his wife, who smiled, then laughed. 

“They do look funny. Hopping and swaying around like that. I guess it is their style of dance.”

Out on the ship known as Destiny’s Dreams, the Captain looked through his telescope at the shoreline.

The passengers on the ship were celebrating their entrance to the Patagonia Passage. It would take them from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Every week they found something new to celebrate. It was becoming a tradition on the Destiny’s Dreams.

Captain Alfonse’s colorful parrot, Foresta, bobbed and hopped from one claw to another. A smaller, grey parrot, Bonita, squawked and made her favorite sound.

“Hahahaha.”

The ship entertainers from Buenos Aires played their instruments, sang, and danced to music.

 Some passengers sat gathered around a woman next to a large lantern with blue, etched glass. It cast an indigo glow on everyone. She was telling stories.

“What kind of ship is that?” Ignacio's voice held both laughter and puzzlement.

“We must be imagining this.” Ines chuckled.

“Mama, Papa, such wonderful sounds.” Estrella’s voice rose with excitement and her smile widened.

She felt so alive. The sounds awakened something inside of her. Estrella tingled all over.

“There is so much to hear that I can almost see.”

It was true. In the dark shadows that shifted in front of her, with the tiny bits of light, shapes seemed to form.

 Out on the ship, Captain Alfonse’s rescued monkey, Rio, scampered up the rope ladders that led to the top sails of the ship. Then his long-fingered hands grasped a loose end of a halyard. Rio swung across the ship from one side to another, over the heads of the musicians and dancers.

“Ines. Did you see that?”

“Ignacio, I think I might have lost my mind.”

“What is it Mama? Papa?” Estrella reached over and grabbed her mother’s arm.

Then Estrella began to hum along with the music carried by the winds from the ship.

Next, she instinctively moved her feet, bending her knees and swaying. Lol

“I’m dancing.” She laughed. The music washed over her like the wind enfolding her. Estrella moved her arms and hands in a flowing gesture to the music.

Ines and Ignacio smiled at each other.

Several ships stopped at the village each month.

If the captains did not want to sail around the treacherous Cape Horn, then they could take the longer, safer channel of the Patagonia Strait.

At the other end of the village, a group of people stood outside a building watching the ship.

They began discussing their situation.

“If they drop anchor and come into shore in a boat we can ask if they have room for us.”

“ Yes. Good thing we left the other ships when the mutiny started. It was not safe. Too bad we have been stranded here.”

“When the food got low and we were eating mostly hardtack biscuits, I thought it could not get any worse.”

“I know. Then we only had the crumbling powder from the biscuits. We knew the captain failed to store enough supplies. No wonder two of the ships in the fleet quit and went north to Buenos Aires for food and supplies.”

“When the other ship’s crew had that mutiny I was afraid our ship would too. Good thing we saw this village and they agreed to row us into shore in their surfboat.”

The women, men and children in the group watched the Destiny’s Dreams closely.

They were eager to continue their voyage on another ship.

“Let’s drop anchor and take the surfboat into shore to explore and meet the people here.” Captain Alfonse felt curiosity and anticipation rising inside of him.

“I’ve never stopped along the Patagonia Strait before.” Adelberto, the first mate, nodded to Alfonse.

Everyone in the village began to walk to the supplies store. It was logical that the people in the rowboat would head over to that building.

Alfonse, Edelberto, and the other sailors in the boat pulled it up onto the pebbled beach.

Joaquin, noticed the interesting young woman wearing colorful clothing.

The girl did not seem to gaze at the newcomers, but she tilted her head and seemed to be listening intently.

When they got closer he saw her eyes were wide with long eyebrows like wings. But her eyes did not glance to the left and right or up and down.

Then he realized why.

She is without sight, he thought. But she is stepping along with such confidence. What a smile, too. His thoughts began to whirl and he drew in a quick breath of air.

Joaquin, Captain Alfonse and Adelberto introduced themselves in front of the supplies building.

Everyone began talking at once.

“Welcome to our village.”

“Where are you going?”

The passengers stranded there, from the ships of the mutiny, crowded close to the man wearing the peaked cap.

“Are you the Captain? Do you have room for ten more people?”

They poured out their story.

Adelberto and Alfonse wore expressions of shock.

“You are welcome to join our voyage on the ship Destiny’s Dreams.”

Joaquin found his eyes kept returning to glance at the young girl in the colorful cape.

Under the grey skies, she was like a beam of light. But it was not only her clothing but her face and expressive hand gestures that entranced him.

He decided to speak to her.

“Are you from the ship that had the mutiny too?” Joaquin saw Estrella turn her head when she listened to his voice.

Estrella noticed he had a naturally melodic tenor voice. It was a voice she liked.

Sombra leaned against Estrella’s leg. She reached down to put her hand on his head. He licked her fingers. Then he looked at the strangers. A protective feeling came over him. He placed himself between Estrella and the new people.

With a serious looking face, he pointed his ears at the people and gave them such intense, big eyed looks that they stepped back.

“Good Sombra. We are alright.” Estrella spoke to her friend. They communicated with their own invisible language as if thoughts and feelings could be sensed through the air. It was part of Estrella’s special gifts that compensated for her eyes.

Estrella’s parents explained they were long-time residents and were not from the ship.

The wind sent a strong gust then and the bright cape draped around Estrella’s shoulders slipped off and tumbled along the shore.

Joaquin ran after it. Estrella heard his footsteps leave.

Her mouth drooped slightly. She turned her head to listen to the sounds of his movement. But she tried not to be too obvious. There was something about him. Who was he?

Sombra gave a yip and nudged Estrella. Then he left her side to run after the cape and fetch it for her.

Joaquin and Sombra both reached the cape at the same time, and Joaquin let Sombra have the cape.

He was surprised when the dog carrying the cape trotted at his side.

Estrella felt Sombra nudge her hand with the cape in his moutmouth.

Joaquin spoke. “I went to chase it when the wind blew it off your shoulder. Sombra wanted to carry it back. It is a very beautiful wrap.” Joaquin spoke softly, watching Estrella’s face.

She heard his melodious voice and said, “Thank you.”

While the other people made plans Joaquin answered Estrella’s questions about the ship, the music, and the singing.

“Here.” She spoke impulsively.

She wanted to have some kind of connection with him. Their brief conversation had pierced a sense of isolation she often felt.  

She loved her parents and Sombra. But she did not have friends in the village who were young people near her age.

She held out the cape.

“I want you to have this. It is very warm and it was woven here in the village.”

Joaquin felt a rush of emotion. He was so used to being alone in the world, although he was surrounded by sailors and passengers on the ship.

No one had ever given him a gift like this.

Little did she know what it meant to him.

He would treasure it and think of her. Now he sadly pictured the ship sailing away, taking him with it, leaving her behind.

She was someone special. He knew it. A deep longing filled him. A longing to talk to her and share his thoughts and experiences. There was no one who really knew him.

Estrella felt the air charged with some kind of energy.

She knew Joaquin was not speaking and wondered why he had paused. She enjoyed listening to his voice and hearing him talk about his adventures on the ship.

Ines, Estrella’s mother, noticed the two young people interacting. She knew her daughter did not have friends other than the few other adults in the remote village.

Expressions flitted across her daughter’s face like weather over the ocean.

Ines knew her daughter must be lonely. Life in the village could get monotonous. Estrella was young. But someday Ines knew her daughter might meet someone special, and even get married.

Now Joaquin held the bright woven wrap and it stood out on the grey day. He felt Estrella was like the cape. She was a brightness under the grey sky.

The music and singing from the ship was still floating over the waves to the villagers.

Ines turned to Ignacio.

“Maybe it is time for us to leave this village too. We have been here long enough.”

Captain Alfonse heard her.

“We sail on a joyful ship. There are plenty of food supplies. You are welcome to join us. Sombra can come too.”

Estrella could not believe her ears.

That night Ines and Ignacio talked long into the night. They felt it would be good for Estrella to be around more people. The captain appeared trustworthy and the ship was well-maintained. When they asked Estrella what she wanted to do she did not hesitate.

“Yes. Let’s go.” 

The next morning the passengers on the ship were excited about meeting the new people.

Estrella, Ignacio, Ines, and Sombra rode in the surfboat out to the Destiny’ Dreams.

On the deck of the ship amid the singers and musicians Estrella heard a familiar voice. It was Joaquin.

 “Good day to you Estrella, and to Sombra.” She felt Sombra lean against her on one side. On the other side Joaquin guided her hand to his bent arm.

“Shall we take a walk over to the musicians?” At Joaquin’s voice Estrella nodded and smiled.

She felt Joaquin’s arm move a little to the music on the deck of the ship.

Then they were moving their feet and dancing.

The salt air breeze was cool on Estrella's face. The sounds of the ship creaking, the sails fluttering, and the waves splashing blended together.

She loved the many sounds.

While they stepped slowly to the music, Joaquin began to tell her about his experiences on voyages and visits to ports. He saw by her face she was enjoyinlithe stories.

“Estrella," he said. "I want you to tell me about your experiences too. At the village. How did you find Sombra?”

Estrella felt a burst of feeling. Joaquin understood what was important to her.

He wanted to listen to her stories too.

She was not used to talking this way. Her voice was hesitant at first.

Joaquin spoke and murmured to encourage her.

He took the colorful woven wrap she had given to him, and wound it around them both at the shoulder.

Estrella felt the texture of the familiar fabric.

Wrapped in the warm cape together, Estrella and Joaquin felt like they were in a world of their own.

The Destiny's Dreams sailed on, to the songs of the musicians and the sea, the voices of the ship's parrots, and the sounds of the Captain's rescued monkey named Rio.

The ship carried Estrella and Joaquin deeper into the world of the Patagonia Passage.