Blogs from Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile, South America - page 5

My first day in the Chilean Patagonia area I checked into the beautiful hotel where we were staying in Punta Arenas, Dreams Hotel, unpacked my warmer gear for the trip to the island, and met our driver from the tour company in charge of showing us around the area (Patagonia Carioca, named that because of one of the owners being from Rio de Janeiro) in the Lobby promptly at 4:30 PM to meet the ferry. The ride to the ferry was not long, Punta Arenas is not a very large town and, guided by the advice of our knowlegeable guides, were some of the first to board and, managed to snatch a prime location table inside the ferry, next to a large window with full view of the passing scenery. The deck was open, but the ... read more

It’s snowing here in Punta Arenas right now; not a lot but it is snowing. And today in the afternoon at 16.00 hours my ship is leaving to Port Williams…. So after my last blog entry I Puerto Natales about my amazing trip into the national park I spend one more day in the town. I just walked around and reflected on the day before and where I have been. It is not every day that one sees such an amazing place and a lot of things went through my head. Not only about what I have been experiencing in Torres Del Paine, but life in general. One has these moments sometimes. The next day was travel day again; from Puerto Natales to Punta Arena. It was only a 4 hour trip bu my seat was ... read more

wieder ein tag, der gemein früh beginnt… um halb vier uhr morgens sitzen wir schon im taxi richtung inlandsflughafen, um über santiago de chile und puerto montt nach punta arenas zu fliegen. unter uns liegt das beleuchtete buenos aires, wie flüssiges gold am rande des ozeans, unter schwarzer luft. unsere ankunft in santiago bietet noch ein ähnliches bild, bevor endlich der tag einzug hält. mit der eher bescheidenen lan-fluglinie erreichen wir mitte des nachmittags den kleinen flughafen, in mitte der pampa, von punta arenas, tierra del fuego. die fahrt mit sammeltaxi ins b&b offenbart einblicke in die eher karge, wenn nicht sogar düstere umgebung. die spärlich bebaute küstenlandschaft trägt amerikanisch anmutende, flache häuser auf ihren sanften hügeln. das braune unruhige meer im hintergrund wirkt fast unheimlich unter dem wolkenverhangenen himmel. die sonne steht schon tief und ... read more

Long bus rides all worked smoothly despite the usual confused border crossings (out one, in the other, exit here, enter there, scan there, don't bother there, fill in these forms but you don't need that one, give that one there, this one here, that one's just for decoration etc etc). Evening arrival in PA leaves little chance for anything beyond a wee stroll around town before a good night's rest in a decent bed. Another sunny morning is with me as I type, the last bits being packed up, the short trip out to the airport and then three flights north, north east, north north east will land me back under the grey skies of Heathrow. Feels like a bit of a short dipping of the toe into South American trekking but it's been wonderful. The ... read more

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 ... read more