Southern Chile

Satellite internet service in the southern hemisphere is iffy, at best, so we’ve fallen a bit behind in our posting.  

We sailed late from Valparaiso... we had to wait for 100 passengers to come in from Peru.

After two days at sea, we headed into the Chilean fjords and the Straits of Magellan.  We reached Punta Arenas, Chile on the 8^th.  We were greeted at the pier by a large whale’s tail and Antarctica sign.  

Punta Arenas (“Sandy Point”) is the largest southernmost city on the South American continent, and is capital of the Magellanic Province. 

We took a city tour and visited the local cemetery, 

the mansion of one of the richest families, 

and the town square with its statue of Magellan. 

Local legend has it that if you touch the toe of the statue, you will someday return.  We chose not to touch it.  

Scott watched one  Asian lady lean in to kiss the toe,  and he almost shouted “Norovirus!” (There had been news reports the day before of 2 Princess ships in Fort Lauderdale reporting cases of Noro… we’ve heard of a few people aboard confined to their rooms, but it seems to be from motion sickness from some rough seas and not from the dreaded virus.)

I took a tour to a penguin colony here, and saw Magellanic penguins... they burrow into the sandy soils around the beach.  It was interesting to see penguins standing in a field.