Punta Arenas, Chile

It's a little over 2000 miles from Santiago to Punta Arenas, Chile.  About 3 hours and 25 minutes by plane.  The flight was uneventful with a few interesting images of the Andes which separate Chile from Argentina.

 Old inactive volcano in the Andes.

We arrived safely in Punta Arenas, a city on the southern tip of Chile. To the south is the Strait of Magellan, the only natural connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  The city was originally founded as a penal colony for the Spanish, but now is a bustling tourist stop in the summer as it is the stepping stone to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica. Took a walk along the harbor.

These are Cormorants resting on an old broken down pier.


We had a nice dinner, sampled the local brew named for Ernest Shackelton, whose ill fated expedition trapped in the ice and was stranded on Antarctica in 1914-15 , He eventually rescued his entire crew.

Took a few shots of the center of town, the architecture and a statue to Magellan.

Orientation day tomorrow with the expedition, then off to Antarctica!