Punta Arenas

When we awoke this morning the ship was already tied up at the peer back at Puerto Natales. We got showered and dressed, packed and ready to go, well before breakfast. When the loudspeaker started up, the cruise director must have still been in a party mood from the night before, because he came on singing once again, more obnoxious than ever. But we still managed to have a nice breakfast. Then it was farewell to loudspeakers and onto the bus for a 2+ hour drive farther south to Punta Arenas (Sandy Point).

The Strait of Magellan from Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas is as far south as one can go in Chile without crossing over to Tierra del Fuego. It is right on the Strait of Magellan. It began as a penal colony, but became prosperous due to the large number of ships passing by, to and from the Pacific. The bottom fell out of that prosperity a century ago with the opening of the Panama Canal. Nevertheless, about 20,000 people still live and work here. There is a large naval base, and as the jumping off point for most expeditions to Antarctica, there is a tourist trade. Various government agencies and manufacturing companies pay large bonuses to entice people to come here to work. It’s a pretty godforsaken place.

Patagonian Cormorants in the Strait. ALMOST penguins!

The bus dropped us at a very nice hotel that OAT uses for overnights on Antarctic itineraries. From there it was only a two block walk, in light rain, to the Strait. We went to look at it, just to say we’d been there. We stopped at a supermarket and were amazed at the prices. As nothing really grows down here, and almost everything has to be shipped in from the north, the price are all very high. Also remarkable was the amount of beer and wine being stocked. It was at least a quarter of the entire store!

Magellan statue in the town square.

We changed some dollars to Chilean Pesos, walked through a little plaza, and visited a Catholic church, just because it was warm and dry there (homeless people and backpackers had found it for the same reason), then met the bus for the trip to the airport.

Our flight to Santiago was on time, but the seats were very cramped and uncomfortable on the 3 hour flight. Any refreshments, even a glass of water, was available for purchase. Nothing was being given away.

The plane touched down in a different world. Santiago was warm and sunny. Our hotel is very nice, as is the surrounding neighborhood. We enjoyed our free “welcome” glass of wine in the hotel bar, then went for a nice long walk around the neighborhood. After limited exercise on a small ship, the walk felt good. It eventually led us to a sidewalk cafe for empanadas and beer before we returned to the hotel for the night.