ANTarctica Fourmilab South Pole Expedition January, 2013

Punta Arenas

As the last hours of 2012 wane (note that dates and times in pictures are Universal Time, which is four hours later than that in Chile), a beautiful sunset illuminated clouds as seen from our hotel room at the Hotel Cabo de Hornos in Punta Arenas.

The Instituto Antártico Chileno is headquartered in Punta Arenas. Under the Antarctic treaty, nations have suspended their claims on territory in the Antarctic, but Chile maintains its ultimate claim on a sector of the continent.

On the sidewalk in front of the Institute, the Antarctic continent is shown, along with Chile (in blue) to the North.

This full-scale replica of Magellan's ship is a tourist attraction on the shore of the strait of Magellan. You have to see it in person to appreciate how small it was, and the courage it took to board such a fragile vessel to try to sail around the globe.

At the same site is a replica of the James Caird, the modified whaleboat which Shackleton's crew sailed from Antarctica to South Georgia island in one of the most epic feats of navigation ever accomplished. To stand beside this boat and imagine setting out to cross 800 nautical miles of the southern ocean in it is to appreciate the stuff of which explorers of the epoch were made.

In the plaza across the street from the hotel is this compass feature showing the direction to various cities. Havana, CASTRO? Perhaps this dates from the Bad Times.

Don't miss the backboard on shots at the southern end of this court!

Da briefing about da flight to Antarctica will be held at Da Hotel! (Actually, this is an abbreviation for the Diego de Almagro hotel.)

Free money! Actually, these Benjamins were tiny confetti spread by rockets celebrating the New Year.

Wi-Fi is everywhere in Punta Arenas, but there are still plenty of wires.

If you'd be needing a sheep carcass, it's available at the local supermercado!

by John Walker February 22nd, 2013

This document is in the public domain.