Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas is located at 53 degrees south, 71 degrees west, along the Strait of Magellan to the west of Tierra del Fuego.  It is considered the largest southernmost city on the South American mainland.

It was a principal coaling and supply station for ships rounding the Horn prior to 1914.  That all ended with the opening of the Panama Canal.  The city had another rebirth in the early 1940’s when oil was discovered.

We had signed up for a ship sponsored shore excursion that left at 8:30a.m.  We were in the ship theater by 8:00 a.m. awaiting our tender ticket.  The pier in Punta Arenas is quite small for a ship our size.  So we had to go through the laborious process of taking the small tenders to shore.  The only issue we ever have with this process is if you get on first, you must wait for the entire tender to fill to bursting before it makes its way to the pier.

e found our tour bus once we were ashore and left on time for our day of touring.  First up was a stop at the Patagonia Institute.  This outdoor museum had an interesting display of farm equipment that the people of this area used in their daily lives.  They also had replicas of school houses and general stores to view.  It was nice to walk outdoors but overall the museum was not exactly riveting.

Next up was the local cemetery that was reminiscent of the cemetery in Buenos Aires.  Lots of huge mausoleums and gravesites were available to walk amongst.  While not as extravagant as the one in Buenos Aires, it was still very interesting considering that this city was so much smaller.

We then drove to an overview of the city which seemed to be the spot to try and take advantage tourists for some souvenir dinero.

 After a stop at a historical museum, we headed to our included lunch.  We were taken to a local sheep farm where the owner and his family barbecued us lamb, chicken and roast.  We had lots of different salads and all the wine we could drink.  The farmer described the life his grandfather started here and then he took us to see how they sheared the sheep wool from the farm.  The food was great.

Then we were taken outside the city about an hours away to Fort Bulnes.  Unfortunately, the freeway had just been torn up for refurbishment, so all that was left was a dirt road.  It was a very long, dusty, bumpy ride to the fort.  Once at the fort, we got to see the harsh life the soldiers had to deal with.  The best part though was the incredible view.

The mountains in the distance seen from the fort are the southern most part of mainland of South America as it descends into the Strait of Magellan.  How cool is that!

We just made it back in time to reboard the ship as we sailaway to view the Chilean fjords.

Good night!