Here we are again — An Elegant Sufficiency

We arrived in Punta Arenas late yesterday afternoon; our third time here.

I didn’t recall seeing these small platforms as we entered the Magellan Stait however and learned later that there’s a thriving oil and gas extraction industry down here.

As we reached our destination in Punta Arenas late yesteday afternoon, I looked out and tried to recall what was where. We hadn’t planned to go out as soon as we arrived, but to spend the evening on board ship and to take a tour on our second day here. But as we docked, I had second thoughts. Did we want to retrace our steps and visit the same places as we’d been previously, or might we simply go ashore independently and focus on the important things? We agreed that the latter would probably suit us best and handed in our tour tickets so that someone else might have the chance to enjoy discovering this interesting place.

I was looking out over the small boat alongside us, admiring the flags flying so nicely from its mast. I recognised Chile, assumed the blue and yellow to be that of the Magellanes province and guessed the third to be that of the Chilean navy.

We had a great evening on board. Trivia was fun and we came in third, so brought home points again. There followed a “deck BBQ” which was more of an indoor event, but with the same sumpuous buffet of (almost) everything imaginable: sushi, sashimi, fresh seafood in abundance and many other options I didn’t explore. We returned to our suite about 10.15pm when it was still quite light.

It doesn’t really get properly dark here at all right now as we’re still pretty close to midsummer.

This morning, we woke to find that the small ship with the flags had gone and her place was to be taken by something a little larger.

We didn’t hurry to go out, but in anticipation of the number of people about to be arriving, felt renewed motivation to get our act together and go.

I know nothing about the green clock at the dock gateway but thought it was somewhat of a landmark.

And that Tsunami sign is always a chilling reminder of the dangers people living here need to bear in mind. Well, not only those who live here of course - I’m sure a tsunami doesn’t wait for all the visitors to go home before it strikes,

It was an easy walk into town from here. We’d recalled a longer journey on a previous visit, perhaps needing a bus. But this time, Splendor was berthed right downtown and no shuttle bus was needed at all - just Shanks’ Pony.

Punta Arenas was surprisingly quiet this Saturday morning. I’d thought there might be a market taking place in the Square, but no. Nothing at all.

That didn’t matter of course. In fact, it was all the better for being quiet and we appreciated having the place to ourselves.

I was surprised how accurate the picture in my mind’s eye was. How lovely to see the little kiosk still there, for example.

And sure enough, there was “the toe” sticking out and shining like a sore thumb!

This was what we’d come for. Yes, we held the statue’s toe in the hope that we’d come back to Punta Arenas again - a fourth time.

But really, we were here to remember

We stood a while, thankfully with no-one else nearby, and remembered my lovely parents, Edna and Gordon, with whom we’d come here that first time. After a minute or two, we dried our eyes and smiled, for after all, whilst most people have a special place where they go to pay their respects like this, I don’t think there can be many where that place is half a world away?!

Five minutes and we had pulled ourselves together and were ready to move on. How pleased both of them would have been to know that we were here again twenty odd years later!

So off we went to the other side of the square, passing by Sara Braun’s house as we did. Isn’t it funny how some places just resonate?

The house on the corner of the square looked just as elegant as we’d remembered too.

We chatted as we wandered up the street alongside her house, recalling that first time here when we’d had coffee and bought chocolate in a small shop somewhere along here…might it even have been in this particular shop? We thought it might indeed have been this one, so stepped inside to see that it’s still offering free wifi (which had brought us in that first time) Whilst there, we couldn’t resist buying some Alfajores for our Trivia team friends and loved chatting to Connie, the young woman behind the counter. She had just completed her English Teacher’s exams and was as glad to chat about her travels in England as we were to share our joy at being here in Chile again.

Once out onto the street, I spotted something else I’d remembered. Surely not…

Might this really have been the remains of that yarn-bombing that was here on our previous visit, ten years ago? If it was acrylic yarn then it might well be, for we all know how long such things take to decompose…

It was time to return to the ship, though, and taking a slightly different route back, I spotted these figures outside a gift shop.

Ulen and Kotaik, characters from the culture of the indiginous Selk’nam people of Patagonia. Hmmm….I’d not come across them previously but I added to my list of things to “find out more about”.

That list was growning longer by the minute, for as we reached the dockyard gates, I stopped to read an information board. Antarctic Explorers in the Magellan Straits? I’d heard of those whose names are recorded on maps here and there, but what about these? Emil Racovita? Adrien Gerlache? Henryk Arctowski? Roald Amundsen (well, at least I’d heard of one!) and Frederick Albert Cook.

It’s a lovely bonus of travelling; finding out more about those who’ve been there, done that so long ago and in such very different conditions than those we are enjoying today.