Although we have been to this port perhaps twice in the past, not much about the actual pier area looked familiar. This is a working commercial dock, and access to the downtown area of Punta Arenas was by a complimentary shuttle. Which was a good thing. While sailing on the Tales of the South Pacific last fall, we did not have the convenience of these shuttles.
A city of 110,000, Punta Arenas is located in the Strait of Magellan, named after the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, who circumnavigated the world in the 1500's. Difficult to travel to, this area has a vibrant fishing industry these days. After WW II, many Europeans migrated from Germany and Croatia to Chile, bringing with them sheep for wool and mutton, and the vines to plant wine grapes. That industry has certainly sky-rocketed. And to increase the economy, Chile has recently made this a duty free zone, making the tourists happy.
There were several ship tours that took folks on the usual sight-seeing bus rides in and out of town. One such tour took the folks to a working sheep ranch, located on another island. Here at the ranch, the guests got to see a sheep shearing demo, and also see the sheepdogs at work. Lastly, you could learn how to milk a cow. Never know when you might need this skill. A trip to a national park, and one to islands full of Magellan penguins were offered. But the one excursion that stood out was the 11 hour tour to Antarctica on a 2 ½ hour plane ride to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, where we already sailed around. This time the excursion would allow the guests to walk on the continent, and take a zodiac boat ride ……all this for the price of $3600. Will have to inquire tomorrow to find out how many people did that tour.
The best thing we saw today was clear blue skies, and sun, although the temperature was still brisk, it was tolerable. The surrounding waters looked more like a placid lake, instead of a bay. At least the all onboard time was 7:30pm this evening, so we had plenty of time to go to town. Breakfast first, then some internet work would give the tour groups a chance to board their buses, and clear the gangway.
The shuttle bus filled, and we were off for a slow ride to downtown by 10am. The road took us along the waterfront of the bay, with housing on one side, complete with walkways and bike lanes. Now it was starting to look familiar as we neared the downtown area. At one time, we had docked or tendered right near the base of the main drive, making the walk to town quite close. Today there were two ships there. One was the Balmoral, a Fred Olsen vessel, carrying mostly British passengers. The other smaller ship appeared to be a ferry. The town was going to be busy today.
The drop-off point was at Plaza de Armas, or the main square. An elaborate statue in the center of this square was that of Ferdinand Magellan looking towards the strait. A statue of a Patagonian native was below him, and the legend is that if you kiss the toe, you will be immune to seasickness, travel in calm waters, and return here in the future. The monument was surrounded with a park of mature trees. When we arrived, there was a group of local dancers performing a ritual-like native dance to the music of the Andean flutes and drums. On the side street, there was a row of handicraft and souvenir stalls selling alpaca knit items, penguin knickknacks, which are becoming redundant now, and plenty of the blue lapis lazuli jewelry. It was so full of potential customers, we decided to hike to the next site.
That was the Cerro la Cruz Viewpoint, located a few blocks uphill from the square. Climbing up a series of steps, you can see the panoramic view of the Strait of Magellan, the city below, and the island of Tierra del Fuego, where we were yesterday. Only one of us climbed the last set of stairs, while the other enjoyed the view from down below. There were a few small houses on this rocky, unpaved road, and a pretty female calico cat came for a visit. Much better than the dogs that chased us while in Rarotonga last fall. Bill reported that the same vendors were on the top street, selling the same souvenirs that we saw 8 and 10 years ago.
Back down to the square, we saw the Braun Menendez Palace, home of a wealthy family that lived here. Inside this building was a restaurant as well as a pub. Had it been opened (it was only noontime) we would have gone inside for lunch. But a sign in the window said they would open at 1:30pm, and we did not want to wait that long. Following the ship's map, we took a walk towards the main street, but could not locate any of the cafes on the map. In fact, a whole corner building had recently burned down to the ground. The smell of the smoke was strong, so it must have happened within the week. One of the tenants in this building happened to be a pizza place. Figures.
Had we been able to listen to the entire port talk on this town, we may have known to head for the waterfront, as we heard later that many restaurants were located there. Many people were lined up to go back to the ship, where lunch was waiting for everyone in the Lido or the Pinnacle Grill. It was a Lido salad and sandwich for us.
Back in our room, we worked on photos until we got a phone call from guest services offering to connect us with the IT tech to try to solve our computer problem. Meeting at the office on deck four, we spent at least an hour with the assistant tech, but eventually solved nothing. We do know that many of our friends are having the same problem with sending emails, so we know the glitch is not with our computer, but with something that has been tweaked onboard. Hope this gets resolved, because the photos are backing up.
Dinner found only four of us tonight, since Barb, Susie and Woody went to another birthday celebration for a mutual friend. It was nice to be able to visit with Greg and Heo for a change, and since there was no live show in the Mainstage, we stayed in the dining room until 10pm.
We have a few days at sea now, which should be nice. And maybe the days will heat up slowly.
Bill & Mary Ann
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Report # 92 Punta Arenas, Chile February 6, 2020 Thursday Sunny & 48 degrees
