Torres del Payne y Punta Arenas

---

It had been years since Marty had siphoned gas, but he looked pretty good as he bent down beside the BMW and drained fluid from the big tank down into his spare can for use in Ron's machine. By not refueling at our last gas station in Argentina we had cut our supplies very close. And we were off to the Torres del Payne -- an outcropping of amazing granite towers in a Park of the same name in Chile. It had been raining. The river was swollen and the bridges were flooded. We were unable to actually get into the park, but wandered around the Eastern set of mountains and towers, driving up the river to escape the crowds and absorb the wild views.

The run South to Punta Arenas was completely paved and delightful. The valley bottoms widen to a broad plain where the first European settlers to Patagonia established their sheep farms in the 19th century. Eventually we reached the Straits of Magellan. Most trekkers keep going at this point, but Marty had decided this was far enough, and he was set to turn and head North again after changing tires. Ron and I had to turn our rented bikes in, which was accomplished without any problems.

Punta Arenas is a surprisingly large town. Spread out as most frontier towns are, it has a mix of old buildings and mansions from the fortunes made in sheep farming in the late 19th and early 20th century. What you notice most in walking around is the wind coming in from the West. Public buildings are painted and in good repair, streets are clean, and the town gives a sense of ordered prosperity and growth. We found a good restaurant (with Croatian food) and went back for a second round.

---

Photos

Hanging glacier and towers.
Waiting for the clouds to clear is like waiting for glaciers to calve. It will eventually happen, but not necessarily in human time...

View from Punta Arenas, SE across the Straits of Magellan.
Photo from 8th floor window of hotel.

Strange statue commemorating first settlers in Punta Arenas in 1843
They came in a ship called the Ancud, which is the name of the statue.

Jose Menendez, civic leader of Punta Arenas, late 1800's, early 1900's.
Painting inside the Braun Menéndez mansion, now a museum.

Patagonian graffiti
First example I had seen of graffiti that featured Patagonia...

Mosaic to Delmira Agustini.
El hombre ciego ignora
que por donde pasais
una flor de luz viva
dejais.
[The blind man ignores that where ever you go, you leave a live flower of light.]
Graffiti says: "Freedom for Mentally Disturbed Prisoners" [ I think ??].

Monument to the Shepherd
Akin to the monument to the Miner and his dogs in Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon, Canada.

Comments

[Harry]

So this is it?
I thought you were going to the South Pole. From my vantage point it was worth it and it looks to me like you see it that way too. The last are some of your best pictures, but the whole trip has been fantastic. Thanks for deciding to do it and inviting us along. Harry

[mark]

Like Harry the ending comes suddenly surprising one. But the endhad to come.I was anxiously expecting a similar narrative on the next leg of the trip specially what you thought of the farm.However i will catch
will catch up news somehow. Thxs a lot