Greetings from beautiful (and, where we are, warm) Chile!
We continued our investigation into the culture of Chile today by touring the town of Punta Arenas at the southern tip of the world. How far south are we? This city is the launching point for expeditions to Antarctica. (Let's go! Who's with me? Some day!)
After a lovely breakfast, we all sadly said goodbye to our nice hotel. Today our guide Francisco and our trusted driver Pato brought us around the city of Punta Arenas to see the sights and to stimulate the local economy. We began by driving to a lookout that offered a wide view of the city and of the Strait of Magellan (which, for a century or so, made Punta Arenas one of the shipping and trade capitals of the world; that ended with the opening of the Panama Canal):
From this vantage point, the city seemed quite colorful, with many different shades of tile roofs and a lot of bright paint. We have noticed that most cities in Chile have resident dogs; they are not strays, but are registered with the city, have names, and are well cared for as they live on the street. The students are always drawn to dogs whenever we travel, because the students (and the dogs) have such good hearts!
Our next stop was the famous Cemetery of Punta Arenas. We learned of the history and culture surrounding this historic spot, and viewed many ornately decorated memorials:
The history of Punta Arenas (and much of Chile) is written across this graveyard. The tomb below, for example, is the target of protest because that family is blamed for a genocide of indigenous people:
Others are decorated with flowers and carefully tended:
It was interesting to see how many families decorated windowed crypts with photos and mementos of the deceased. It gave you much more of a sense of who they were in life compared to a typical headstone:
We left the cemetery and walked through the city to the central square, which feature a statue of Magellan:
The locals us told us that if you rub a foot on the statue, you will return to Patagonia some day:
As we walked around the city, we saw a lot of graffiti related to the current political unrest in Chile:
Our guide explained his view of the political situation. We are sure to see more of it when we head to Santiago.
We continued our tour by visiting a variety of shops to buy chocolate, locally made crafts, etc.
By popular demand, our last stop in Punta Arenas was one of this area's famous sandwich shops:
The sandwiches were meaty and filling and a perfect coda to our time in southern Chile.
We headed to the airport for our 2:45PM domestic flight from Punta Arenas to Santiago:
It is always a challenge and a chore to shepherd to many people through an airport. But, luckily, everyone in our group is patient and kind to a fault.
We landed in Santiago and were immediately struck by the heat. Several students came prepared with summer wear. We found our new driver and tour guide Terry (not his real name, but the name he uses with Americans):
As we drove through the city, Terry explained the political situation and assured us that we were always going to be in safe areas at safe times. While on the bus, we also called ahead to arrange dinner. When Terry announced to everyone that we were NOT having fish that night, a loud and enthusiastic cheer went up!
We arrived at our rather nice hotel by 7:30PM or so:
Some students quickly ran to the pool (which is fairly small and a bit cold, but quite refreshing). We gathered for our nightly 8:30PM dinner, which this evening featured a Caesar salad (the first salad we had eaten in Chile), beef and vegetables with rice, and ice cream (flavors: caramel and raspberry) for dessert:
The conversations over dinner were loud and animated, as stories were repeated and jokes repeated themselves. It was a wonderful gathering of a group that started as individuals but have fused into a cohesive travel unit.
We all went our separate ways for the night with our plans in place for our last day in Chile tomorrow. I will do my best to update the blog before we leave the country, but once we board the flight (at 11PM local time), I will not be able to update anything until we are on the bus on our way to New Hampshire. Rest assured that everyone continues to be happy and healthy and fully embracing the spirit of this adventure.
Thank you for reading, as always! And best wishes from Santiago,
Prof. Eric Simon
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