We arrived in Punta Arenas on a rainy day. It’s a town on the shores of the Straight of Magellan and is almost at the very end of the South American continent. It’s a colorful, usually cold and always windy.
Many international visitors arrive here to sail on Antarctic expeditions. We were so far south that the sun didn’t set until around 10pm .
At the center of Punta Arena’s is their city park with a monument honoring Ferdinand Magellan.
Apparently, if you rub the bronze foot of the indigenous person on the monument you are destined to one day return to Punta Arenas, have good luck and safe voyages! I’ll take the good luck and safe voyages.
We went to The Nao Victoria Museum it had replicas of ships that sailed the Straits of Magellan. This is the Nao Victoria it was part of the fleet commanded by Ferdinand Magellan that discovered the waterway around southern tip of South American. We walked all over the ships and it was really interesting to get the feel and the size of the ships.
Aye, Aye, Captain!
The HMS Beagle was famous for being the ship where Darwin started developing his theory of evolution.
The Jame Caird was a lifeboat from the Endurance. It was used by five men that sailed on a rescue mission from Antartica to the Sandwich Island. Sailing around the Cape is rough enough on a large cruise ship but I can’t imagine what it would have been like on this small lifeboat.
I have to admit I’m a Tombstone Tourist and the Punta Cemetery didn’t disappoint. It’s a very elegant cemetery.
Don’t you think these hedges look out of this world or from a Dr. Seuss book? I enjoyed our day in Punta Arenas but if you are ever going dress for the COLD.
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