Punta Arenas, Chile

            Saturday, 30 Dec 2023 – The ship was scheduled to dock at Punta Arenas at 7:00 AM.  Punta Arenas, or Sandy Point in English, is sometimes regarded as the southernmost city on earth and has a population of 127,454 according to the 2012 census.  Located on the Brunswick Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas was originally established by the Chilean government in 1848 as a tiny penal colony to assert sovereignty over the Strait.  Punta Arenas enjoyed its first great boom during the California Gold Rush, when it served as a haven for great clipper ships.  Later, waves of European immigrants arrived, mainly from Croatia and Russia, attracted by the Chilean gold rush and sheep farming boom from the 1880s.  The geopolitical importance of Punta Arenas has remained high in the 20th and 21st centuries because of its logistic importance in accessing the Antarctic Peninsula.

For today, we had scheduled an excursion, Highlights of Punta Arenas, and were scheduled to meet on the pier at 12:55 PM.  Sally awoke very tired after our late dinner in the Polo Grill, so, after breakfast she lay down for a nap.  We had visited this port in 2011 and 2020.  In 2011, we went on an excursion to view penguins.   It was rather cold here in 2020, but Jesse had bundled up and taken a shuttle to the end of the pier.  After visiting a souvenir shop located just outside the port gate, he had one of the ship’s crew take a photo of him before heading back to the ship.  The total trip had taken him less than 30 minutes.

Jesse woke Sally from her nap, and we departed the ship for the pier at about 12:30 PM.  It was a long walk from the ship to the end of the pier.  Our tour guide was Papiola.  She was originally from Santiago and had visited Seattle, WA, when she was 14. 

While riding through the city, Papiola narrated a history of the city, including a history of the original inhabitants of the regions.  Until recently, this history was considered shameful and was not discussed.  In summary, the indigenous population was almost totally eliminated by the new settlers.  Our first stop was the Municipal Cemetery, home to stately mausoleums and cypresses, as well as the humble gravesite of the last of the local Ona Indians.  About halfway through the tour, Sally tired, and we returned to the bus.

Our next stop was open-air Museum of Memories, a research center of the University of Magallanes.   Antique trains, machines, relics, and restored homes and buildings tell the story of early life in the most southerly of world cities.  One of the exhibits was a pedal sewing machine, similar to the ones that Sally’s mother and Jesse’s grandmother used.  Our third stop was Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, founded by Salesian missionaries.  Its exhibits showcase the region’s history of flora and fauna, and indigenous peoples, including numerous stuffed animals and artifacts.  Our fourth stop was the Plaza de Armas and its Magellan monument.  Sally opted to skip this portion or the tour and stayed on the bus.  Our last stop was a lookout atop the Hill of the Cross.  The original cross was burned during a prison riot many years ago, but it was replaced, but at slightly different site.  We arrived back at the ship at about 4:40 PM, 10 minutes later than the required “all aboard” time; however, the ship had not left without us!

We still managed to make it to the Horizons for dancing to the 4 Corners Band.  At dinner, we sat with Betsy Lee.  While we were there, we introduced her to Robert and Marinella, possibly from Florida.  We had met them at the Horizons a while ago, but hadn’t gotten their names.  Robert fell a couple of weeks before the cruise started and is still nursing an injured and badly bruised arm.  Marinella is cute blonde, with a foreign accent.  Jesse danced with her once in the Horizons.