THE DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN IN 1513 PUSHED EUROPEANS TO TRY TO FIND A NAVIGABLE PASSAGE FROM THE ATLANTIC TO FULFILL COLUMBUS' OLD DREAM OF REACHING THE EAST AND TRADING. & NBSP;
THUS, JUST SEVEN YEARS LATER, THE PORTUGUESE FERNANDO DE MAGALLANES STARTED THE MOST AMBITIOUS COMPANY EVER DEVISED BY MAN UNTIL THEN: FINDING THE STRAIT THAT COMMUNICATED BOTH OCEANS AND GO AROUND THE WORLD AFTER ACQUIRING SPICES IN ASIA.
THE WONDER HAPPENED IN NOVEMBER 1520, WHEN THAT EXPEDITION SENT FROM VALLADOLID ALMOST A YEAR BEFORE BEGAN TO SAIL. WHAT IS KNOWN TODAY AS THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN, THE OPENING THAT COMMUNICATED THE WORLD WITH EACH CORNER OF ITS OWN ROUNDNESS.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN IS LOCATED THE CITY OF PUNTA ARENAS, WHOSE FOUNDATION WAS AN ACT OF DARING IMIENTO, A DECLARATION OF SOVEREIGNTY BY THE SOUTHERN GOVERNMENT. THAT SETTLEMENT MEANT: CHILE IS STILL HERE, AND TODAY TOURISTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD APPRECIATE THE WILL OF THE FIRST SETTLERS BECAUSE REACHING PUNTA ARENAS IS ONE OF THE MOST GRATIFYING EXPERIENCES IN PATAGONIA.
BEFORE THE PANAMA CANAL EXISTED, PUNTA ARENAS WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE UNION BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS, WHICH EXPLAINS THE SPLENDOR THAT THE CITY EXPERIENCED UNTIL 1914. THAT IS WHY ITS ARCHITECTURE DENOTES GLORY AND POMP THAT IS WHY THERE IS SUCH A STRONG EUROPEAN CHARACTER DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE LAST GEOGRAPHICAL CORNER OF THE PLANET.
THOSE EUROPEAN AIRS ALSO PERSIST BECAUSE PUNTA ARENAS IS THE ENTRANCE WORLDWIDE TO THE ANTARCTIC CONTINENT, A FACT THAT MAKES AT LEAST 15 COUNTRIES OCCUPY THE CITY AS A SCIENTIFIC BASE PORT ATTRACTED BY THE TWO LARGEST FRESHWATER RESERVES IN THE WORLD: ANTARCTICA AND THE SOUTHERN ICE FIELDS.
TO ENJOY PUNTA ARENAS IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW THE POSSIBILITIES THAT THE CITY OFFERS: FROM NATURAL EXPEDITIONS TO A CULTURAL LIFE IN PERMANENT MOVEMENT. HERE ARE SOME OF THE UNAVOIDABLE WALKS THAT TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE CITY OR THAT SIMPLY START THERE.
SENO OTWAY PENGUIN COLONY
THE JOURNEY BEGINS BY NAVIGATING THE WATERS OF THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN, WHERE THE FIRST DISCOVERERS WHO ACCOMPANIED THE PORTUGUESE PASSED BUT ALSO CHARACTERS AS MOMENTOUS AS CHARLES DARWIN ON HIS JOURNEY TO THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.
VISITORS MUST THEN HIKE THE PATAGONIAN STEPPE TO DISCOVER RHEAS, WILD GEESE, CONDORS, SEAGULLS, EAGLES AND FOXES BEFORE APPROACHING THE OTWAY SOUND THROUGH A COAL MINE. & NBSP;
IN THE OTWAY SOUND IS A HUGE COLONY OF PENGUINS FROM MAGELLAN Q IT ARRIVES EVERY YEAR TO REPRODUCE.
EL PARQUE ÑANDÚ
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50 KILOMETERS NORTH OF PUNTA ARENAS IS THE ÑANDÚ PARK, WHERE IT IS POSSIBLE TO FEED AND TOUCH THESE ENORMOUS FLIGHTLESS BIRDS.
< DIV STYLE = "TEXT-ALIGN: JUSTIFY;"> IN ADDITION TO PATAGONIAN RHEAS, OSTRICHES INTRODUCED FROM AFRICA AND AUSTRALIAN EMUS COEXIST. BUT CONTACT WITH ANIMALS GOES FURTHER: THERE ARE ALPACAS, GUANACOS, CACHAÑAS AND A LOT OF MIGRATORY BIRDS THAT MAKE THE EXPERIENCE AN UNFORGETTABLE CONTACT.
PUNTA ARENAS TOUR
NO AMERICAN CITY WITH MORE THAN 100,000 INHABITANTS IS AS FAR SOUTH AS PUNTA ARENAS. THAT FACT ALONE MAKES THE APPEAL IT IS A HUGE TOURIST DESTINATION, BUT THERE IS MUCH MORE TO IT. TAKING A TOUR OF THIS CITY IS KNOWING, FOR EXAMPLE, CERRO DE LA CRUZ, WHERE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY PUNTA ARENAS IS KNOWN AS "THE CITY OF RED ROOFS" AND NOTE THE CONTRAST OF CIVILIZATION WITH THE STILL UNTAMED STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.
THE PLAZA DE ARMAS AND THE COLONIAL BUILDINGS THAT SURROUND IT ALSO STAND OUT. NEARBY IS ALSO THE MONUMENT TO FERNANDO DE MAGALLANES AND A LITTLE BEYOND THE SALESIAN MUSEUM, WHERE THE PATAGONIAN TRIBES THAT POPULATED THE REGION SINCE LONG BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEAN MAN ARE EXPOSED. & NBSP;
IN PUNTA ARENAS THERE IS ALSO A PLAZA HONORING CROATIAN MIGRANTS AND ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK THE LITTLE PRINCE.
VISIT THE GLACIERS IN ALBERTO DE AGOSTINI NATIONAL PARK
THE SEAWAY IS THE BEST WAY TO GET TO THE WONDERS OF ALBERTO DE AGOSTINI PARK THERE, VISITORS WILL ENJOY THE DARWIN MOUNTAIN RANGE, THE BACKBONE OF THE 35-KILOMETER-LONG NATURAL COMPLEX WHOSE HIGHEST POINT IS A MOUNTAIN OF 2,488 METERS.
THERE IS ALSO MOUNT SARMIENTO, WHOSE BEAUTY WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY JULIO VERNE IN "TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES FROM AN UNDERWATER JOURNEY", AND THE FRENCH PEAK, FROM WHERE THE RONCALI AND ITALY GLACIERS EMERGE.
OTHER GLACIERS THAT CAN BE SEEN IN THE PARK ARE PÍA, GARIBALDI, GÜNTER PLUSHOW, ÁGUILA, BROOKER AND THE GIGANTIC MARINELLI, WHICH IS THE MOST EXTENSIVE OF THE WHOLE PLACE AND WHOSE MAIN FEATURE IS ITS IMPOSING WALLS OF HI ELO.
VISIT THE MAGALLANES REGIONAL MUSEUM
FOUNDED IN 1903, THIS MUSEUM CURRENTLY OFFERS THREE EXHIBITIONS: PERIOD, HISTORY AND PLINTH. THE FIRST ALLOWS YOU TO SEE HOW THE EUROPEANIZED INHABITANTS OF PUNTA LIVED ARENAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THE SECOND SPEAKS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE REGION AND THE CITY, AND THE THIRD OF THE SOCIAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE OLD PALACE THAT HOUSES THE MUSEUM.
BUT THERE IS ALSO A BASEMENT WHERE THERE ARE TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
ENJOY AN EXTREME EXPERIENCE AT THE ANDEAN CLUB
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IN PUNTA ARENAS THERE IS SKIING AND OTHER SNOW SPORTS DURING THE WINTER, BUT THE EXTREME EXPERIENCE IT DOES NOT END WITH THE ARRIVAL OF SUMMER, BECAUSE THEN THE TREKKING, THE CANOPY, THE MOUNTAIN BIKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL CHAIR LIFT VIEWS ARE WORTH IT.
A TWO-HOUR FLIGHT FROM PUNTA ARENAS TAKES PEOPLE TO THE LAST PLACE THEY WOULD HAVE IMAGINED VISITING IN ALL OF THEIR LIFE: ANTARCTICA IT IS 1,250 KILOMETERS TO REACH A MILITARY TRACK AND START AN INHOSPITABLE AND ORIGINAL ADVENTURE THAT VERY FEW HAVE DONE IN THE WORLD. & NBSP;
THE MAIN ARRIVAL POINT IS VILLA LAS ESTRELLAS, WHERE THERE IS A HOSTEL WITH A CAPACITY FOR 80 PEOPLE, INCLUDING SCIENTISTS, THE MILITARY AND TOURISTS. BUT YOU CAN ALSO GET TO PUERTO WILLIAMS (AFTER 28 HOURS BY BOAT), WHERE THERE ARE MORE OPTIONS AND AMENITIES BEING A SETTLEMENT OF 1600 PEOPLE.
IN THE CHILEAN ANTARCTIC YOU CAN VISIT THE RUSSIAN BASE BELLINGSHAUSEN TO LEARN ABOUT THE VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC STUDIES RELATED TO THE POLAR AURORAS AND GLACIOLOGY. YOU CAN ALSO ENJOY THE TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK WITH ITS PECULIAR FAUNA, AND THE GASTRONOMY BASED ON SPIDER CRAB, PRAWN BROTH AND VARIOUS TYPES OF CEVICHES.
IN ANY CASE, IT MUST BE SAID THAT PUNTA ARENAS IS MUCH MORE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ADDING UP WHILE GETTING TO KNOW A CITY IN DEPTH WHERE EACH CORNER HAS SOMETHING TO TELL AND WHERE EACH PROPERTY IS A MUSEUM, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. & NBSP;