Punta Arenas

The Gate to wilderness, 53° 9' 0" S / 70° 55' 0" W

06.12.2010 - 06.12.2010 6 °C

Buena Diaz Amigos,
My spanish is improving from zero to better.

After 3 hours of airtime we landed in Punta Arenas. Chile is a loooong country. From Santiago to Punta Arenas is about the same distance from Stockholm to northern Italy, and Santiago is in the middle of Chile. It was a beutiful flight and you could see the Andes (Anderna) and lakes and fjords. During the last hour in the air I saw one road ( and only one road! ) going south - no houses, no nothing - this is the gate to the outbacks. This is the gate to Patagonia. This is the last harbour before entering Drakes passage.

The FURIOUS FIFTIES are roaring at this latitude (breddgrad) it is constantly blowing , and further south we will meet the SCREAMING SIXTIES. This is place on earth that has the strongest winds.

Punta Arenas is a town with 150000 inhabitants, and have once upon time been a wealthy town suppling ships with food, gear and hope before sailing across the Drakes Passage or the Magellan Strait. Then they built the Panama Canal and the life in Punta Arenas became harder and more like the weather down here.

Flying dogs are among other flying objects are a common view here in P.A. There is a lot of stray dogs here roaming the streets. Yesterday the soccer team had played final and the streets (5 blocks) where crowded with cars honking the horns , waving flags and happy screaming supporters going round, round, round the blocks - just like home.

We ( my polar friends) went to dinner in a nice restaurant where we meet some of the researchers, Swedes and Americans. Had a real nice meal, this is a fish and meat country - vegetables are a bit overrated. Hard place to grow anything beacuse the wind, but they a have a lot of cattle farming. Back to menu - you could choose lambs tounge, eal cheeks or beef glands. But not this time kept myself on stable ground. But this is what I recommend after a weekend of waiting and queing.

Perfect end on a long day near south end of South America:

Pisco Sour - mums - straight to the head, nice cloudy feeling.
Shrimps with garlic and oil.
Scallops with piri piri (pil pil)
Escuda - the beer of Chile, perfect!

After that back to my luxuary hotel room (they built a Las Vegas hotel in this town -looks very odd - but I´m glad it is here). One night here, better enjoy this. The view over the ocena is MAGNIFICENT. Can see Eldslandet from here.

Hasta la vista - have to run.

Fråga att fundera på!
Goda Hopps Sundet är inte att leka med. Varför båser det som mest här bland alla hav - Här finns den starkaste och uthålligaste vinden?

Posted by Gennser 06.12.2010 05:53 Archived in Chile