Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas, Chile. Viking Jupiter

Calling for rain later in the afternoon. 4 degrees Celsius.
Sunrise 5:15 AM and Sunset today will be 10:16 PM

Founded as a penal colony by Chile in 1848 Punta Arenas’ grew by virtue of its location. It is nestled amid spectacular mountain vistas on the Eastern shores of the Brunswick Peninsula. It played host to Mariners crossing the continent by ship via the Strait of Magellan. Europeans followed searching for newly discovered gold and establishing vast swaths of sheep farms locally and throughout the surrounding region of Patagonia. Over time Punta Arenas became one of Chile’s most important ports as, before the opening of the Panama Canal, it lay on the northern most transcontinental shipping route. Today this frontier city is a rich and enticing land of Croatian, German, English, Italian and other European influences imported here with 19th century immigrants. It is a city near the tip of Chile's southernmost Patagonia region

We have a form that we filled out to allow us to enter into Chile every time we leave the ship. We didn’t have to show it as we passed through security this morning, but we have to have it all the time we are on land, right up until we go to the airport.

We left the ship around 10:20 to walk to the terminal and the wind was so strong it was blowing us in all directions. We boarded our bus and headed off to an observation area called Cerro do la Cruz to see panoramic views of the city, the Strait of Magellan, the port area and the Tierra del Fuego island. The railings had personal padlocks like we have seen in many European cities, placed there by “lovers”. Don bought a Llama sweater that he took a shine to. From there we drove down to see Monumento al Overjero, (Sheepdog Monument), a memorial dedicated to the ranching wealth and rural traditions of Chile’s Magallanes region. It depicts a rural worker engaged in the harsh activities that contributed to the wealthy livestock industry of southern Chile. Designed by Chilean sculptor Gérman Montero Carvallo, it stretches for about 30 meters, at the rear of the monument is a shepherd with a horse and his faithful sheepdog. Walking in front of them is a herd of nine sheep.

From there we walked to the Pioneer Cemetery founded in 1894 by Sara
Braun, (1862 – 1955). A Chilean businesswoman born in Latvia, who became one of the principal employers in Patagonia. She emigrated, at the age of 12, with her family from Latvia (Russian Empire) to escape persecution, because of their Jewish heritage, and settled in Punta Arenas, in 1874.
Sara joined her father to help administer the naval warehouse of the Portuguese shipping magnate José Nogueira, whom she married in 1887. The two worked together to build a business empire. When Nogueira died in 1893, Sara took over his leases for land in Tierra del Fuego and took control of his commercial, industrial and shipping interests.
She along with business partners from the wealthy Menéndez family established the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego in 1893 to engage in sheep farming. She was granted pieces of land that reached one million hectares in the area of Magallanes The Society's development of the sheep industry in Patagonia displaced the original inhabitants of those lands.

The building of fences created obstacles for the nomadic life of the Selk'nam people and introduction of sheep herds displaced their main food source, the guanaco. Facing starvation, they began to steal livestock. The Exploitation Society asked and received permission from the Chilean government to remove the indigenous population from the area. They did this by killing off most of the indigenous population. When we toured the cemetery the monument to the Menéndez had been painted in blood red due to the riots in Chile over wealthy owners of businesses and land.

We then walked to the other end of the 4 Hectares cemetery land to see a tribute to the “Indio Desconocido”. Everything started in 1930 when an Indian died on the Island called Diego de Almagro. The Indian was buried in this cemetery due to a donation from the administration of the same place. After twenty years, someone discovered several candles and coins around the grave. The years passed by and around 1968 there started to be letters demonstrating gratitude for being helped by the Indian. Moreover, a woman named Magdalena Vrsalovic decided to donate money, in order to help a Chilean Institution that helps the community in case of difficulties. Magdalena and other people felt that the Indian had brought them good luck. They agreed to build a monumental grave with the figure of the Indian made by Edmundo Casanova. The theory is if you rub his foot or hand it is good luck. People drop coins in a box to keep his grave kept properly.

We saw several places where the flags were at half-mast. This was because, on December 9 2019, a Chilean Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft crashed in the Drake Passage while enroute to a Chilean military base on King George Island in Antarctica.

Our tour continued on to the centre of town to the Plaza Muñoz Gamero, Benjamín Muñoz Gamero was a Chilean naval officer, senator and governor of Punta Arenas We saw a memorial to explorer Ferdinand Magellan which commemorates the discovery of the Strait of Magellan on October 25, 1520. Magellan stands on a cannon at the top of the monument, with his hat in his right hand. On one side is a bronze sculpture of an indigenous Patagonian, and on the other side, a sculpture of a young woman with her arms raised. An urban myth from the city of Punta Arenas tells that a few years after the monument was inaugurated, a Spanish sailor approached it and, being impressed by the size of the foot of the Patagonian Indian, decides to rub it. Within a few years, the sailor returned with good fortune. From that moment, it is said that whoever passes through the Muñoz Gamero square and does not kiss the Patagonian toe, will not return with good fortune to the city of Punta Arenas. The foot is polished and very shiny from all the people rubbing and kissing it.

Our guide said that we would stop here for about a half hour to allow people to browse the souvenir stalls. We decided that we would walk back to the ship on our own. We passed many colonial mansions which are now embassies and museums. It was still very windy and cold and starting to drizzle as we walked along the pier. At the port entrance there were a number of shops, so we bought 2 bottles of wine. We decided we would not take the afternoon walking tour as it sounded like we had seen much of it already. Besides, it was really cold. We enjoyed our lunch on the pool deck which was lovely and warm because the glass roof was closed.

The ship set sail at 5:00pm. Tonight’s’ entertainer was Anne Martinez a beautiful redheaded vocalist. She had trained as an opera singer but now headlines in multiple shows in Vegas. She was a good friend of our Cruise Director Heather Clancy who was also a fabulous singer.もっと詳しく