After 5 days decorating the dusty pavements of Santiago with my little puddles of gringo sweat, it was time for some fresh air, peace and quiet and hopefully prettier landscapes at the end of the world.
It was only when I arrived in Punta Arenas that I realised most people spend months carefully planning their dream adventures in this inhospitably cold, yet breathtakingly stunning corner of the planet.
I, on the other hand, looked at a map of South America a few months ago, picked out one of the most southernly towns in Chile, packed a pair of warm socks and a wooly hat and hoped for the best.
Punta Arenas
Sundays in a lot of South American small towns can be a fairly quiet affair. Arriving in Punta Arenas on a Sunday afternoon, however, was probably the closest thing I’ve come to experiencing a ghost town.
Just 881 miles from the coast of Antarctica, with a population of 127,000 (who were all hiding when I arrived), Punta Arenas is the capital of the southernmost region of Chile – Magallenas and Antarctica.
This is a place which tourists can only comfortably visit in the summer window, as the region takes a serious beating from the elements during the rest of the year.
The occasional ropes tied between lamp posts to stop people blowing over in the wind funnels is evidence enough. Add to that the metal panels bolted to the sides of the houses and you soon understand just how wild it can get.
If it was this cold, and unpredictably windy and rainy from one minute to the next in the middle of the summer, I’d need an extra pair of warm socks if I came in the winter.
Things to do in Punta Arenas
It’s tempting to think that there isn’t a lot to do in such an isolated town in the middle on nowhere, but a bit of last minute research and a chat with some of the very friendly locals turned up one or two interesting suggestions.
Here are my favorite 4, in reverse order, since the best was so good, it’s definitely worth saving until last.
4. Eat lamb
Now, I wouldn’t say that Punta Arenas is a center of culinary excellence, and neither is it cheap. However, the speciality of the region – lamb – is deliciously tender.
And it was while having dinner on the first night that I started to feel excited about where I was. As I sat enjoying a particularly succulent piece of lamb, I realised there were several well-kitted out groups of Americans dotted around the restaurant, all with heavy jackets, expensive boots and body shapes that had seen some serious time in the gym.
Listening in on the various conversations soon told me there was an Antarctic expedition, a group scaling an icy mountain face in Torres Del Paine national park, and various other plans drifting alongside the strong smells of meat and chips.
I have to admit I felt somewhat inadequate with my expedition planned only as far as feeding penguins, and my equipment consisting of woolly socks and a compass Laura gave me.
But resisting smiling to myself as the contagious sense of adventure overcame me was almost as hard as saying no to the dessert menu.
3. Visit the cemetery
CNN ranked the Punta Arenas cemetery as the 6th most beautiful in the world, which is an unusual claim to fame considering where it is.
However, I can see why as I was spellbound wandering around the delicately maintained avenues and peering inside decaying and mysterious mausoleums, staring into the gloom of the many staircases descending into the underworld.
Of particular note is the legendary Indio Desconocido (unknown Indian). The statue is surrounded by hundreds of notes and gifts from locals, thanking him for answering their prayers.
I asked an elderly lady quietly tending some flowers, who explained nobody knows exactly where he came from, but people believe he works miracles.
So I duly asked the Indian to bless me with better photography skills and took a few to see if the legend was true.
What do you think?
2. Stare out at the straight of Magellan
If you wrap up warm and stroll along the water front you’ll be richly rewarded by the ever shifting skies and ever enchanting waters of the straight of Magellan.
And hanging out on the narrow beach and beaten old pontoons are hundreds of unmistakably black and white penguins. At least that’s what I thought until one started flying.
The birds turned out to be cormorants, and despite my initial disappointment at the false alarm of an evolutionary leap, they were still entertaining to watch.
What made the views here even more majestic was the fact that it was still light at 11 o’clock at night.
And while that made working out when to go to bed slightly confusing, it encouraged me to spend many an evening staring out into the great nothingness, feeling more at peace than I had done in a very long time.
1. Visit Isla Magdalena to see a lot of penguins
I like penguins. Everyone likes penguins. So the opportunity to see more than 60,000 Magellan penguins in their natural habitat was one that appealed massively.
Getting to the island is in itself an adventure worth embarking on – if you have the stomach for it.
Punta Arenas is one of those towns that’s inundated with tour agencies, offering everything from horse riding to extortionate Antarctic trips to a 30 hour ferry ride to a tiny village you’ll never escape from.
On the advice of my local landlord though, I avoided the smaller boat rides offered by the tour agencies and bought a return ticket at the ferry terminal, where the only large boat goes from.
If you ever visit the island yourself, I have just one piece of advice: it’s a 2 hour ride each way across the infamously wild straight of Magellan, so you either need strong sea legs or strong sea sickness tablets.
The ride there wasn’t too bad, just a little cramped. As usual in Patagonia though, the weather doesn’t stay the same for long, and on the way back the internal seating area stunk of vomit and despair. It was a rough ride back.
Anyway, back to the penguins!
The island is a protected national park, so when you arrive you have just one brief hour to slowly shuffle with your group along a single pathway to the lighthouse and back to the boat again.
It’s windy, noisy, covered in poo and surprisingly bloody – with dead penguins, dead seagulls and seagulls ruthlessly picking out the eye balls of other seagulls.
If you think the geography channel is brutal, an hour on this island teaches you that although penguins are cute, penguin colonies are harsh places.
Yet without doubt is was also one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had so far in South America. Simply amazing.
Here are some photos and videos:
A short video of the penguin shuffle
Torres Del Paine
I was tempted to put Torres Del Paine in at number 1 on the list, but that wouldn’t really be fair since it’s 350km away and there’s another town in between.
Having said that, I did travel there and back from Punta Arenas, as many people do. And even though the whole trip only took two and a half days, it definitely warrants its own blog article.
So stay tuned to find out about my ridiculously epic 1900km road trip to the 8th wonder of the world.
Jellyfish Rock 