Day 31 2/14 Punta Arenas, Chili 7-4:00 Highlights of Punta Arenas (PUQ-001)
February 14, 2023 Port: Punta Arenas Tour Length: Half-Day (Approximately 3 hours)
Punta Arenas is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south. It is the most populous southernmost city in Chile. Punta Arenas is the coldest coastal city in Latin America. It is one of the most southerly ports in the world, serving as an Antarctic gateway city.
Many European immigrants, mainly from Croatia and Russia, came for the gold rush and sheep farming. The largest sheep company, controlling 10,000 square kilometers in Chile and Argentina, was based in Punta Arenas, and its owners lived there.
Punta Arenas has a sub-polar, oceanic climate, bordering on a tundra climate. The seasonal temperature in Punta Arenas is greatly moderated by its proximity to the ocean, with average lows in July near 30 degrees and highs in January of 57 degrees. It is known for stable constant temperatures, which vary only slightly with the seasons. Rainfall is highest in April and May, and the snowy season runs all through the Chilean winter (June until September). The average annual precipitation is quite low, only about 15 in. because of a rain shadow created by the Andes. The average temperature does not go below 34 degrees The city is also known for its strong winds 81 mph, which are strongest during the summer. City officials have put up ropes between buildings in the downtown area to help pedestrians manage the strong downdrafts.
The economy includes oil, low-grade coal, sheep, cattle, and tourism. The cathedral, other churches, Magellan's statue, and city cemetery
is a point of interest for tourists. The Maggiorino Borgatello Museum was founded by Salesian missionaries. This museum gives an insight to the life and history of the indigenous people.
Punta Arenas is the southern most city. The city began as a penal colony and was originally located 60 km south. It was moved north in 1843 due to a lack of water and no farm land. The current population is 125,000. Antarctica is included in this region although due to an international agreement, no one “owns” Antarctica.
The average summer temperature is 55 degrees. Winter temp is about 15 degrees lower. It will rain 23 out of 30 days per month on average. It is always windy.
There was a person in Chile who saw an advantage to claiming the Strait of Magellan for Chile. This brought a lot of prosperity to the area until the Panama Canal opened. Punta Arenas was the first South American city with electricity and telephones. We visited the Plaza de Armas and saw the Magellan monument.
We walked around the Main Square/Plaza de Armas. We saw many attractive buildings. Today, one building has a private bank on the first floor, a restaurant on the second floor and dance lessons, etc on the third floor. The second and third floor are about maintaining a strong Spanish heritage. The bank next door is a state bank and offers better rates. The Bank of London used to be located in a building that belonged to a wealthy family at an earlier time. Another family home has been converted to a place of study about Antarctica. The Menendez house has become the Officer’s Club. Menendez built a tower and it was manned 24 hours a day/ seven days a week. If a ship sent a distress signal, Menendez was often the first to respond because he would get to claim the cargo.
The University was founded in 1962 and offers undergraduate, 8 graduate programs and two PHD programs. Study relating to Antarctica is most popular.
Maggiorino Borgatello is a museum created by Salesian missionaries. I learned about the Native People, Canoes, Shackleford, Penguins and the Pope’s visit to resolve a problem between Chile and Argentina.
Sarah Braun was a member of the first rich family in Puerto Arenas. She was not very nice, but she did donate to charities. She donated the portal to the cemetery with the condition that upon her death, no one else was to use that entry. Now a chapel has been built there. The cemetery is home to 70,000 souls. The mausoleums were beautiful and we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Native. In this cemetery, twenty years after a burial, the coffins can be exhumed, the bones put together and reinterred. This will create new spots for future burials.
Memorial for Firemen - they are all volunteers.
Magellan statue which is the center of the town square.
People begin work between 8:30-10:00. They go home for lunch and pick up their children from school between 12:30-1:00. Lunch is a family time. The people and children return to work or school at 3:00 and stay until 7:00. This is unique to this area.
The Los Minas river was quite shallow. The town leaders decided to stop spending so much money cleaning the river. After two years of no cleaning, the downtown area was flooded. Now the city is cleaning the river yearly.
We ended our tour in the open air museum put together by the college that showcases artifacts from early European settlers. The open air museum had a lot of farm and construction equipment, a garage with old cars and two ambulances, a dentist office, pharmacy, furnished household, film cameras, etc.
Tour Description
Experience a relaxed introduction to Punta Arenas, a place of grandly adventurous history.
- See the Plaza de Armas and its Magellan monument and survey the city’s remarkable setting from a lookout atop the Hill of the Cross.
- Visit one museum devoted to the region’s natural history and ethnography, another in the open air that showcases artifacts from early European settlers.
- Pass by the city cemetery, home to stately mausoleums and cypresses as well as the humble gravesite of the last of the local Ona Indians.
Enjoy a scenic and informative introductory spin around Punta Arenas, with visits to key locales and several museums. While known for being the gateway to the end of the earth, life in this city on the Strait of Magellan is surprisingly civilized. That said, the spirit and history of adventure are never far from the fore here. To get a true sense of the local geography, a stop at Cerro la Cruz lookout is just the thing. Expect spectacular photo opportunities of the city, the Strait, the port and legendary Tierra del Fuego. Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, founded by Salesian missionaries, offers a more sociological viewpoint – its exhibits showcasing the region’s history, flora and fauna, and indigenous peoples. The world of the European pioneers who first settled in this remote region is explored at the open-air Museum of Memories, a research center of the University of Magallanes. Antique trains, machines and relics tell the story of early life in this most southerly of world cities. In another way, this same story is engraved in the markers of the Municipal Cemetery you’ll pass by; it’s lined with avenues of tall cypress and seriously splendid mausoleums.
HELPFUL HINTS
- Wear weather-appropriate clothing.
- Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
- Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.
PLEASE NOTE
This tour includes walking over uneven surfaces and a long flight of stairs must be climbed to reach some of the displays at the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, where most explanatory signage is in Spanish only.
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