Punta Arenas was quite a distance south from Puerto Varas—so far that the flight was over 2 hours long.  We were in the back of the plane with some empty seats, so the guy in the window seat in my row insisted I move over from the aisle, so I could see the beautiful views of the snow-capped Andes.  Meanwhile, he opted for the row behind us, which was really nice!  The window was quite scratched and cloudy, but I managed to get this shot out the window:

(For all photos, especially panoramas, click on the image for a full screen view.)

We were so fortunate to have relaxing and uneventful flights on this tour, and this one was no different.  It was smooth sailing through Puerto Montt airport before departure and an easy arrival at Punta Arenas.

Located in Chile’s southernmost Magallanes region, Punta Arenas, one of the world’s most southerly ports, is the capital city with a population of 143,000.  There are only 184,000 people living in the entire region, because it is very remote, windy, and cold most of the time— except this day, when Bruce and I got quite warm walking around in the late afternoon sunshine!

Following our arrival, we stopped at the Museo Nao Victoria to see replicas of the fleet of ships commanded by Ferdinand Magellan that contributed to the “discovery” of the area.  (I put “discovery” in quotes, because all of these “discoverers,” including Christopher Columbus, landed in places that were long inhabited by natives.)

It was fun to explore these replicas to see how they were built and to get birds-eye views of the Straight of Magellan.  I had never been that far south, so I wanted to dip my hand into what proved to be VERY cold water!  Our group did, too:

Upon our arrival in town, we took a bus and walking tour before arriving at our beautiful hotel located on the main square.  The Hotel Jose Nogueira, declared a National Monument, was the most beautiful building in this European-inspired city.  The rooms were quite unique, too.  I had never seen an octagon-shaped shower before (with two shower heads and a rain shower head above)!  It was so large, much of our group could have fit in!

The remainder of the afternoon was free, and it was gorgeous outside, so Bruce and I headed to the waterfront to see painted murals that Andrea had told us about.  What we didn’t know we would also be seeing was this massive quantity of cormorants hanging out on the pier and beach!  I’m always excited just to see one of these beautiful birds but look at this!  They seemed to be enjoying the sun as much as we were on this uncharacteristically warm and calm day.

Our group reconvened in the evening for a customary Pisco Sour, which I previously failed to explain other than it is the favorite cocktail of South America.  Pisco is a wine distilled into a high-proof spirit.  It is then mixed with a sour mix and tastes quite good!

A delicious salmon dinner in the hotel’s beautiful restaurant followed—a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Coming up next: ARGENTINA & CHILE #13: TREKKING IN TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK