Punta Arenas

We do not board the boat until 6 and, therefore, had the day to look around Punta Arenas, which is the southern-most continental city in the world (or so they say) - a bit of a stretch as it seems to be on an island!

It is though, a peculiar mix.  Having been built up in the late 1800's on the wealth of the sheep farmers and whalers, there is a main square with colonial style houses around it and a bandstand in the square.  The families that made the city wealthy when it was a free port and part of the main trade routes (something taken away with the opening of the Panama Canal) had houses built in a grand style using the best styles of the time and importing furniture and artefacts from Europe and from further afield.  There is a complete mix of orgin of these trading families - Eastern European, French, Spanish and German are but a few. The Braun family appear to have been very important and the house of the Mr Braun is open as a museum (which we visited). Here we saw both the grandeur of the house and elements of the history of the region.

A walk toward the port area demonstrates the importance of the place as a staging post.  The first Antarctic missions were started from here; Darwin stopped by in the Beagle as did most of the great 16th and 17th century explorers. It was only the establishment of the free port, then whaling and later oil that has kept the place growing.  The displays in the museum and the cafes show the importance of trade, with brands such as HP Sauce, Colmans mustard, Plumrose tinned meat and Campbell's soup all on show.

After a drink and half a sandwich, we checked in for the boat trip and then visited the town cemetery (which clearly shows the wide spread of nations that made up the population when the place was growing).  From there to the highest point in the place to look down on the City and the sea and then back to the hotel for a bit of Internet before we board ship.

The weather has been beautiful all day - glorious sunshine which, in the lee, was very warm but, when exposed to the wind off the sea demonstrated how far south and how near ice and cold water we are!

We shall attempt to provide a bumper report on glaciers and penguins when we're are next connected to the web!