Bidding farewell to the deep south!

Punta Arenas

18.04.2011 - 21.04.2011 10 °C

I only spent a couple of days in Punta Arenas and I hadn’t actually planned to stop there at all, but in the end it was a nice finish to my time in Patagonia.

The centre piece of the Plaza Munoz Gamero in the centre of town is a statue dedicated to Ferdinand Magallen himself. He is being supported by a Siren and two indigenous fuegans. You can even kiss the foot of one of them for good luck!

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Magallan was a Portuguese explorer, representing the Spanish kingdom, and he found the smooth passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. This is known as the Magallan Straight. Prior to this ship had been negotiating the Oceans around Cape Horn, or not..which was the case for many.

The Magellan Straight was the main shipping path around the South of the continent prior to the Panama Canal being built. With this a major city was established and the Chilean government encouraged migration from various countries under the condition that they focused on founding and growing this area. Wool export being one of the major industries.

As a result of this Punta Arenas was once a grand old city.

It is full of neoclassical mansions and it is evident that it was once a very rich city. Sara Braun Hamburger and Jose Menendez were two of the most influential people in town.

Casa Sara Braun

Casa Jose Menendez

Of course after the Panama Canal opened, the economic situation of Punta Arenas changed significantly.

Away from the centre of town there are colourful wooden houses lining the streets. This is the real Punta Arenas. Colectivos are a key form of public transport for poeple living in town. The y arn;t buses, as the name would suggest, but taxi like cars, all back, with signs on the roof displaying route numbers. You pay a fixed fee and jump in the car and every os often another stranger jumps in a squeezes up next to you! Bit strange for the uninitiated..but really practical.

Cemeteries are a great place to get a bit of an idea about the history of a city and the cemetery Sara established is full of magnificent tombs.

Before she died she bad the Punta Arena Cemetery built, later donating it to the township, under one condition…The main doors to the cemetery only open once, when she is passed through them on route to her tomb.

Chile is incredibly diverse through its history and it was evident at the cemetery that a strong eastern European community exists down south. Croatians being one of the greatest migrations groups.

The cemetery also holds sectors reserved for other nationalities, like the British and German for example.

I was a bit confronted to stumble across a tomb dedicated to a German First World War hero that was covered in missiles! Admiral Graf Spee, who successfully led a number of battles against the Allies in WW1, died in battle against the British at the Falkland Islands in 1914.

It was out of place amongst all the angels and certainly not something I imagine would be accepted even in Germany. But Chile, is far away...

There was also a monument to the Selk'nam that had been wiped out during the wool trading boom. The locals believe e is blessed and leave messages for him in return for a miracle.

For now, I started learning more and more about the history of the country. After all, with names like Darwin, Cook, and a whole lot more popping up during my travel down south, reading about the indigenous history of the continent, and becoming increasingly aware of the history between Argentina and Chile and Englands involvement with them, I couldn’t help but become increasingly curious.

So by this stage I was really taking note of the Chilean culture and influences over the generations and made a mental note to learn more about it once I head further north. I figured I’d gain a greater appreciation once I head to Santiago or Buenos Aires. For now I had to decide, where to next…

I kept hearing about an Island in Chile called Chiloe…famous for its food…Mmm…how could that not attract me.
It seems a lot of the people of Chiloe moved to Punta Arenas in search of work.

I wasn’t quite sure how to fit this in with Buenos Aires and the caves and fortified forests I had in mind…but for now travelling north was good and I knew the bus companies were shutting down for winter…

So on the 21st April I jumped in a bus, bid farewell to Punta Arenas and set out on my 36 hour….yes…36 hour bus ride to Chiloe!
I bid farewell to Punta Arenas and the south in the early hours of the morning.

The Patagonian landscape spread out before me for miles.

I find it so peaceful to pass through and it was a nice way to register I was leaving one of the most magnificent places on Earth as the landscape changed before me.

I was the only gringa on the bus as it turned out and with next to no Spanish. The man sitting next to me look mortified that he might have to speak with me. Mind you, I probably looked the same! After I got excited at a sighting of a flock of Nandus, he starting poking me and pointing out every other one! A bit much hours into the trip but it broke the ice. I guess my helpless expression when ever a message was announced on board helped too. Everyone started helping me understand. It was fun in a "Charades" kind of way.