Nov 3, 2009 - Onwards and downwards

Another long trip today, but nice opportunity to rest my knee and catch up on sleep after Torres del Paine. We arrived in Punta Arenas about 5pmish and wished we´d stayed in the hostel in Torres del Paine. ... Even the lonely Planet guide was struggling to be kind about this place.Another long trip today, but nice opportunity to rest my knee and catch up on sleep after Torres del Paine. We arrived in Punta Arenas about 5pmish and wished we´d stayed in the hostel in Torres del Paine. ... Even the lonely Planet guide was struggling to be kind about this place....

Feb 27, 2009 - Punta Arenas

We caught the bus from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas a couple of days ago. ... The bus to Punta Arenas took about 3 hours and was pretty uneventful. ... Punta Arenas is a much larger town (population around 150,000 I believe) and is more a working town (the main industry is oil and petroleum) so not as touristy as other towns we have been to. ... It sailed us up the Straits of Magellan where we had great views of Punta Arenas and Tierra de Fuego hills. ...

Jan 29, 2009 - Penguins, penguins and more penguins!

Punta Arenas I must say that Punta Aernas bore a great resemblance to the Falkland Islands and Ushuaia. ... Punta Arenas was not a particularly thrilling port and I could have done without it but it was nice to see the penguins up close. ... Not much to report.Punta Arenas I must say that Punta Aernas bore a great resemblance to the Falkland Islands and Ushuaia. ... Punta Arenas was not a particularly thrilling port and I could have done without it but it was nice to see the penguins up close. ... Not much to report....

Jan 21, 2009 - heading South!

So here I go flying to Punta Arenas to check in at this fantastic eco-camp. ... php?IDP=37&ID=40&OP=1 I bet you are drooling by now!!! The trip starts in Punta Arenas city during the morning either at your hotel or at the airport. ... From Punta Arenas we drive to Cascada EcoCamp located in world famous Torres del Paine National Park. ...

Jan 12, 2009 - Punta Arenas

Well, we finally made it to land. We are in Punta Arenas, our last stop in Chile. ... We walked to town and into the main square which had a huge statue of Magellan in the middle of it.Well, we finally made it to land. We are in Punta Arenas, our last stop in Chile. ... We walked to town and into the main square which had a huge statue of Magellan in the middle of it....

Jun 29, 2008 - Punta Arenas - A long way south!

Being a long way down in Southern Chile, ironically we had to go 3 hours further south than Puerto Natales to a place called Punta Arenas. ... We caught a bus directly to the airport in Punta Arenas to take a flight north. ... Unless we take on any expedition to Antartica in the future, Punta Arenas will probably be ...

Mar 20, 2008 - Last Minute plans to Punta Arenas

Wednesday 19th March 2008 Having recovered from our trekking exploits we set about trying to book some accommodation in a small picturesque town a couple of hundred km North of El Calafate called El Chalten, where we hoped to catch up with Eric & Kristin (an American couple we had met at Torres Del Paine). We decided that the easiest option would be to head further South to a larger town called Punta Arenas (3 hours by coach), which is located at the Eastern shore of the Strait of Magellan, which along with Ushuaia, (are the two most Southern towns in the world) and act as natural access to the Antarctic. ... We booked a small hostel which had a large number of great reviews, only to arrive in Punta Arenas to spend 30 mins hiking away from the town centre around a large graveyard which could have easily have been the set to Michael Jackson's Thriller video, to find a 'tin-pot' bungalow in a tired neighbourhood, a good 15 mins walk from the centre. ... Remaining positive and thinking that 57 people can't be wrong, we rang the doorbell to Chile's own equivalent to Bate's motel, to find an elderley woman answer the door, who proceeded to stare at us like we had just killed her cat, skinned it, and were now trying to sell her a high quality cat skin hat whilst she had been watching her favourite Chilean soap!!! When we spoke and told her that we had made a reservation, she remained silent and stoney faced before shepherding us in with a unwelcoming wave into her humble hovel. Wednesday 19th March 2008 Having recovered from our trekking exploits we set about trying to book some accommodation in a small picturesque town a couple of hundred km North of El Calafate called El Chalten, where we hoped to catch up with Eric & Kristin (an American couple we had met at Torres Del Paine). We decided that the easiest option would be to head further South to a larger town called Punta Arenas (3 hours by coach), which is located at the Eastern shore of the Strait of Magellan, which along with Ushuaia, (are the two most Southern towns in the world) and act as natural access to the Antarctic. ... We booked a small hostel which had a large number of great reviews, only to arrive in Punta Arenas to spend 30 mins hiking away from the town centre around a large graveyard which could have easily have been the set to Michael Jackson's Thriller video, to find a 'tin-pot' bungalow in a tired neighbourhood, a good 15 mins walk from the centre. ... Remaining positive and thinking that 57 people can't be wrong, we rang the doorbell to Chile's own equivalent to Bate's motel, to find an elderley woman answer the door, who proceeded to stare at us like we had just killed her cat, skinned it, and were now trying to sell her a high quality cat skin hat whilst she had been watching her favourite Chilean soap!!! When we spoke and told her that we had made a reservation, she remained silent and stoney faced before shepherding us in with a unwelcoming wave into her humble hovel....

Mar 1, 2008 - Day 20 - Punta Arenas & Magdelena Island

Punta Arenas, Chile is the biggest settlement on the Strait of Magellan. ... With a population of about 120,000 inhabitants, Punta Arenas claims to be the world's southernmost city. ... Ushuaia, Argentina, also makes the same claim and is further south, but only has about half the population of Punta Arenas. ... Like Port Stanley, Punta Arenas was a tendered port. ... We would have liked to have had some time to explore Punta Arenas, but we were fortunate enough to have snagged reservations on the ferry to Magdelena Island, a Chilean National Park and home to over 80,000 breeding pairs of Magellanic penguins. ...

Feb 23, 2008 - fly to Punta Arenas & Penguins

Flew to Punta Arenas, on the Magellan straits. ... Not an amazing place but interesting to be so far south.Flew to Punta Arenas, on the Magellan straits. ... Not an amazing place but interesting to be so far south....

Feb 6, 2008 - Punta Arenas

Gisterennamiddag met de bus na een 3 uur durende rit in Punta Arenas aangekomen. ... Punta Arenas is een vrij grote stad met haven en meer dan 100000 inwoners en het weer is nog altijd goed, een 13 gr en licht bewolkt met natuurlijk de onvermijdelijke wind die bij momenten stevig tekeer gaat. ... Ga vandaag een beetje van de stad verkennen en in de namiddag een kolonie met magelaan pinguins bezoeken.Gisterennamiddag met de bus na een 3 uur durende rit in Punta Arenas aangekomen. ... Punta Arenas is een vrij grote stad met haven en meer dan 100000 inwoners en het weer is nog altijd goed, een 13 gr en licht bewolkt met natuurlijk de onvermijdelijke wind die bij momenten stevig tekeer gaat. ... Ga vandaag een beetje van de stad verkennen en in de namiddag een kolonie met magelaan pinguins bezoeken....

Jan 23, 2008 - Punta Arenas, Puerto Natalies, Torres Del Paine National Park and El Calafate

Anyways, we left Ushuaia on January 9th by bus and headed to Punta Arenas Chile. ... Pretty cool! There wasn't much to see in Punta Arenas but we were told by many people in Ushuaia that gear was cheap there due to a duty free zone near the Straights of Magellan so we stopped there in order to stock up for a planned extended stay in the Torres del Paine National Park. ... Punta Arenas is the southern most city in Chile and ofcourse, they too claim to have the worlds most southernly city. ... Put it this way, Puerto Williams, Chile is a settlement in the Antarctica Province of Chile (very small and hard to get to); Argentinian Ushuaia is larger than Puerto Williams, it has a huge tourism industry partly because it's truley the gateway to Antarctica, and Punta Arenas is literally a fairly large city located to the north of both. ... In truth, Punta Arenas could technically say that it's the largest southernly city but that's really it. ...

Jan 12, 2008 - Peddalling in Patagonia part 1

Hi there, We have seen and done such a lot since flying in to Santiago 2 months ago (yes, it`s that long since we wrote an update, sorry!!).Hi there, We have seen and done such a lot since flying in to Santiago 2 months ago (yes, it`s that long since we wrote an update, sorry!!)....