February 11, 2011 - Day Ten - Punta Arenas, Chile - Trekking in the Andean Club and Sightseeing with Strays

Cocktail Total: 2 Grey Goose Vodka Tonics

Sunburn Status: Skin is back to normal….+ new freckles!

Sleep: 8 hours

Punta Arenas is Chile's southernmost port and is located on the Straight of Magellan. The area was named by the Spanish explorer, Ferdinand Magellan who discovered it in 1520.  The people who live here consider themselves first as Magallanicos, and second as Chilean citizens, which is not surprising due to the remoteness of the area. Interestingly, the California Gold Rush nurtured the growth of the port of Punta Arenas as those anxious to seek their fortune in the north Pacific first had to often voyage around Cape Horn in Steamer Ships. The area grew increasingly wealthy with wool and mutton farming in the late eighteen hundreds. Maritime traffic, and the prosperity of the port, however, slowed considerably once the Panama Canal opened. Today, Punta Arenas has a population of about 100,000 people and the port attracts fishing vessels from the South Atlantic as well as Antarctic research and cruise ships, and recently a duty free zone has promoted commerce and encouraged immigration. 

We arrived in the port at 10am and caught a taxi to the central square of the town, called Plaza de Armas. The weather was cold and windy and overcast, and we were told by our driver that this was a very typical summer day for Punta Arenas, and that we arrived on a lucky day, because usually it is much winder. As we would soon experience, Punta Arenas is the kind of town that regularly experiences several seasons in one day. We began our day cold and chilled by wind while wearing several layers. When we arrived in the square it was raining.  Half an hour later the sun was on its way out. Within 15 minutes we were shedding layers because it was too hot, and a couple of hours later it was cold enough from the wind to see our breaths again. Never a dull moment. 

With nothing in the town square of interest to Nathan or I (because we didn't want to purchase 'local crafts' in Chile that said " Hecho in Peru," and because there is no interesting architecture at all other than one historic house that belonged to a wool barron) we began to wander up the gentle hillside to explore the rest of the town. We wandered the downtown and the adjacent neighborhoods for nearly two hours and were pretty depressed by the time we finished. The most beautiful things in the whole town are its Alice in Wonderland inspired wisteria trees that are shaped into great mushroom clouds in a few parks. 

Here are is a short list of some of the things we found odd, in no particular order:

1. There are dogs everywhere. They are a little scruffy, but they look fed and decently cared for - However, they have no collars and are never on leashes. They run around the city freely. They eat from dumpsters, sleep in flower pots, and dangle from rooftops trying to jump to the ground. They don't necessarily look like strays or street dogs and most of them are friendly, but its just odd. They have owners, according to various locals that we asked, but we never saw them. Dogs just run around freely - in traffic and everything. 

2. There is garbage everywhere. The wind blows it around in the streets. Garbage is trapped against fences, it flies in and out of traffic, it lines the gutters and shorelines… it is everywhere. 

3. There is ugly graffiti (most of it political in nature) everywhere. Don't get us wrong - Nathan and I enjoy most graffiti and street 'art' if its done cleverly or beautifully, but what we saw mostly in Punta Arenas was just ugly, dirty language - scrawled haphazardly on most buildings. 

4. There is a feeling in the town that visitors are not necessarily welcomed - people stare. 

5. There are dead birds all along the polluted coastline of the downtown waterfront. It was a very sad sight. 

6. Things are neglected and not kept up. There is a feeling of depression in the city. Its a little overwhelming. All I kept thinking of was that this place needs help. 

We headed back to the ship after only a couple of hours - wondering along the way why this was even a port worth stopping in at all. I guess Punta Arenas has seen better days. 

Good news: The second part of our day in Punta Arenas was much better than our terrible initial impression. Nathan and I decided to go on a shore excursion that we booked through the cruise ship called "Trekking in the Andean Club."  We met our local guide and a group of about a dozen other trekkers back at the ship, and drove a few miles to the Ski Club Andino - at the top of the highest hill in Punta Arenas. The ski club is nestled into the southern Andes amid lush Lenga Tree forests. Once there, we ascended a rickety yellow ski lift to the summit,  and enjoyed a beautiful view of the Straight of Magellan, Tierra Del Fuego in the distance, and the colorful houses of the city below us. Then we spent a couple of hours trekking down through the beautiful Lenga Forrest back to the ski lodge, where we were rewarded with some excellent hot chocolate and a strawberry biscuit. It was a very nice little hike through the southern Andes. 

The trek was great. The city was forgettable. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, I would suggest sticking to nature. Its the best part.

Pictures will be posted once we reach Valparaiso and can get a better internet connection. Sorry for the delay.