We drove by a few little towns spotted along the way as the guide mentioned a little of the history of the region. It was founded first by a group of settlers sent down from the island of Chiloe in Chile by Manuel Bulnes - then President of Chile. They stopped at the spot where Fort Bulnes (Fuerte Bulnes) is now, because it was an ideal place for a "lookout post". However, it was not ideal for a city. So when they actually got around to founding a city, they picked the spot for Punta Arenas because it was much flatter, so lots of room to grow.
We made one stop at a monument representing the exact middle of the Chilean lands, which stretch from the northern border with Peru down to the South Pole. You see - Chile is one of the countries that still claims land in Antarctica. The US never did, but a handful of other nations do. In fact, the Peninsula is claimed by Chile, Argentina, and Britain. But the treaty prevents any *actual* claim, just allows them to sort of keep a placeholder on the region. It's interesting, and apparently Chilean and Argentinian military will frequently stop at Palmer Station to "look around" and "inspect their territory".
From there, we made a stop at a nice bay with some old fishing boats, and then made our way to Puerto Hambre. This place was one of the first two Spanish settlements in South America. However, two years after its founding, either Francis Drake or one of his companions stumbled upon the ruins of it with not a soul in sight. Apparently they had all starved to death...so he called it Famine Port (Puerto Hambre in Spanish). Unfortunate.
After a bit more of a scenic drive over some really impressive hills, we made it to Fort Bulnes. It reminds me of Fort Marupas a little bit, but with more buildings. As I said, it was the first Chilean settlement this far south, so the country would have more of a permanent claim on the region. The buildings were made with wood and a sort of soil/grass brick, and there were barns, a church, and some cabins, as well as a watch tower. It was a neat place.
The Korean girl on the tour with me, Uno, said there were two things she disliked about South America. The first was that there's litter everywhere. The second, was that there's no recycling. Both of these are super foreign for those of us in the US, where we're going through a green movement. I'll touch on this more later, but they are somewhat true. Perhaps in Punta Arenas moreso because it's not tourist season yet...but I don't know. I'll have to see what Puerto Natales and Santiago are like. We made it back without much else excitement, and I spent a little time finishing up my souvenir shopping. Lots of people to buy for!
I finally made it to one of the museums in PA, called the Centro Cultural Museo. It's basically filled with furniture from the Braun family, a wealthy family who owned most of the city and did many things for it. The matriarch - Sara Braun - gave the money for the entrance of the cemetery to be built, for example. There was certainly some lavish furniture in the place, and a brief history of the Patagonian peoples and explorers who colonized the region. It was nice, and only cost about $2, so definitely worth it.
From there I wandered through PA a little bit more, and found the Cerveza Austral brewery. It's the southernmost brewery in the world! I tried to go on a tour, but I couldn't find the entrance / it was closed. Guess it's easier in tourist season. Plus I think they only have a museum. Oh well. I've tried a few of the brews. One, made with calafete berry (which I think is similar to a blueberry) is fantastic.
Other than that my day was not eventful. Turned out to not be a good day for food, as lunch was not what I expected. Asked again for the waiter's advice, and he brought a salmon dish, covered with cream, and served with potato chips. Not exactly what I wanted for lunch...and I couldn't finish it. Dinner was a tad better, with pumpkin soup (albeit not thick enough) and some steak again. But I guess I'm still spoiled from last night!
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