Exploring Punta Arenas

---

The Academy Awards were shown here last night, but they were tape-delayed by 30 minutes and dubbed in Spanish! Of course I couldn't understand what was said, but it was an interesting sight to see the celebrities on the red carpet "speaking" a foreign language. This morning I walked around downtown Punta Arenas. It was a thrill to stand on the shores of the Strait of Magellan and look over to Tierra del Fuego. (See photo with cormorants and large ship) The town square has a statue dedicated to Magellan and legend has it that rubbing the foot of the Indian brings good luck. That's why his foot is so shiny. (See photo) I visited a couple of small local museums that are probably more interesting if you are, in fact, local. After lunch I walked through the ornate tombs of the town cemetery. The wealthy families apparently vied to create the most impressive tombs they could. (See photo) Next I took a taxi out of town a little way where I visited a private museum dedicated to building full-size replicas of famous old ships. The featured ship is the Nao Victoria which was the only one of Magellan's five ships to make it all the way around the world. (See photo) They also have replicas of two other, smaller and less famous ships and they are working on a replica of HMS Beagle, the ship Charles Darwin sailed in. The last thing I did this afternoon was visit a viewpoint that overlooks the town and the strait. This evening I plan to treat myself to a nice dinner at the restaurant in the fancy hotel on the main square, then get to bed early because I have an early day tomorrow.

---