We Visit Punta Arenas, Chile

We are in Punta Arenas, Punta Arenas (sandy point), Chile is considered the largest southernmost city of South American mainland. It has amazing history and is located in one of the wildest, most remote regions of the earth. The weather here is normally very cold and very windy and I was not looking forward to the tender ride. Again our luck was unbelievable. The sun was shining and the sea was dead calm. We could just step aboard the tenders. We had a city tour here, it was through Princess .Unfortunately it began at eight and we had to be in line to catch the tender at 7:30. We seriously considered cancelling it because we didn’t want an early morning. But we didn’t. The local currency is the Chilean Peso and the exchange rate is 480 pesos equal one dollar. So a thousand peso price tag means a cost of 2 dollars. I wished I had my debit card with me because there is a Scotiabank here and getting thousands of pesos with my card would have been fun. The guide was a very knowledgeable young lady. She guided us through the city and the first stop was the Pioneer cemetery. There were amazing mausoleums. It is hard to believe these structures are for the dead. The tall cypress trees are ornately pruned and the elaborate mausoleums amaze. Next we proceeded to La Cruz Hill where we get a wonderful panoramic view of the city and the harbor. There are crafters here and I bought an Alpaca scarf. Then we head to the city center and the central plaza, called Plaza Munoz Gamero. The plaza is dominated by a huge statue of Ferdinand Magellan. At the base of the statue is a figure of an Indian and the legend is that if you kiss the toe of the Indian you will return to the area. The lineup was amazing and the toe is worn shinny from all of the kissing. We decided to pass and we only took a picture of the monument. Here is a city square and there are many many crafters selling their wares. Amazing skills are displayed here. I now have a pair of wonderful silver earrings ….penguin earrings. The last stop is the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum. This is a 19th century mansion. The elaborate furnishings are a feast for the eyes, but soon it is time to get back to the bus. We return to the ship and have time to explore the cruise ship center. Then we catch the tender back to the ship. Another adventure ends.

Where Am I Now???

Where Am I Now?? The minimum wage is$380.00 a month Average apartment rental is$400.00 a month. A modest sub standard home will cost about $120,000.00 Public school is below standard Private school cost $400.00 a month Public health care is not good. There is a new hospital but no doctors or nurses to work there If the temperature should reach 20 degrees C people think they are having a heat wave. The wind is often blowing at 100kl per hour, there are ropes at some intersections so people can hang on to prevent them being blown off of their feet Trades men of all types are in very short supply which makes any work needing to be done very expensive. Air fare to other places is very expensive. Heating cost is outrageous. BUT The people are very friendly There is little crime. Woolen goods are reasonably priced and well made.

A Melting Glacier

This was not the Day we planned!!

We had a tour on a catamaran to travel around the southern most lighthouse and all of that changed with an early morning announcement from the captain. The Argentinean government decided to deny the Star Princess clearance to dock. It seems as if all of this saber rattling between The United Kingdom and Argentina caught us in the fall out. It could have been worse. If something had kept us out of Stanley and I was not able to see the penguins you would have heard the crying and gnashing of teeth all of the way to Abbotsford.:-) We were disappointed for ourselves but it is so sad because this is the last ship of the season and I am certain that the local merchants of Ushuaia were counting on the income the passengers of the Star would have generated. Everyone I spoke to planned to shop there and instead they will shop in Punta Arenas, Chile tomorrow. The plan was to quickly sail through Glacier Alley tonight and instead we had a wonderful leisurely sail by.The weather was grand,it was sunny and the glaciers just shone in the sun and the sea was so very calm. It looked very much like Alaska. We saw a melting glacier and got some of the most amazing photographs. We had a wonderful relaxing day and tomorrow we have a Princess tour and we will have lots of time to shop and se the area after our tour ends. This is a tender port so I hope the sea is as calm as it was in Stanley.

We are Horners!!

The day was gray and overcast but the sea was almost flat and we had no problem rounding the Horn. In fact the captain took the ship around twice. It was great. But it was very cool. In fact I went out to one of the boutiques this evening and I bought another fleece because I darn near froze out on the deck this afternoon. I will try to post a picture but I have been having a lot of trouble posting pictures. It takes so long because of having a low ceiling and only satellite connections. There were several land sculptures caused by erosion which makes it very distinctive. We also saw two more light houses. :-) We can now put our elbows on the table legally because we have been around the Horn.

Where am I

Where am I? This place has a zero crime rate. It has Zero unemployment. Health care is free. All education including University is free. While at University students receive an allowance to pay for all expenses and give them spending money. Students who don’t want to go to university can be placed in a trade apprentice program. There are no sales taxes here. A four bedroom home will cost about 150,000.dollars. Each home is on a ¼ acre lot. The language is English. The government is a democratic Monarchy. There is an airport and a very efficient postal system. There is no pollution. There is radio, television, internet and cell phones. There are hundreds of penguins. BUT It is windy here and there are no trees.

Volunteer Point

Wow!! Where do I start? I guess I will start at the beginning. We had the wakeup call arranged for 6:15 and room service scheduled to bring breakfast at 6:30. The cruise critic group had arranged for a special tender just for the group that was going on the tour with Patrick Watts. As a result we did not have to wait at all and we were lead to the tender in a group. We were so pleased to see the sun rise and to see that the sea was calm. The big concern was that we would have too much wind so the ship would not be able to tender. The gods smiled on us and it was calm seas. In fact it was the calmest we have ever experienced. We were able to step from the ship to the tender with ease. The distance was about 2.5 miles and it took about 10 minutes. As soon as we disembarked we found our guide/driver. We were paired up with Howard and Janeen from Anacodes Washington. The drive to Volunteer Point started off tame enough. Soon the road ended and we were on what was essentially a moto cross route across fields and peat bogs. There was no way of knowing if you were going in the correct direction because there were no signs. In fact there were times when all we could see ahead of us is a grassy field with lots of bumps and humps and holes. Sometimes it was so bad I just had to close my eyes and hang on for dear life. The trip was 2 hours long and there were 10 miles of this terrain as well as about 10 miles of gravel road. Soon after being shaken beyond belief we arrived at Volunteer Point. To my delight there were penguins everywhere, hundreds of them running and marching and sitting and sleeping and squawking and even checking us out. We took so many pictures. At one point I was sitting taking what was to be the perfect photo, when out of nowhere came a whirling twirling dust devil. Unfortunately I didn’t see it coming and my camera was open. The camera is toast. The lens cover will not open and the photo department is not equipped to repair it. I had to buy a new camera. I was not a happy camper. BUT it could be worse; I did not lose any of my pictures. We arrived back at Stanley around three and we shopped a little. I got a few stamps and sent a couple of post cards. Then we boarded the tender and returned to the ship. What a wonderful adventure this was!! One more thing off of the bucket list