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| 12/03/2001 |
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| Punta
Arenas - CHILE |
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53°09 W 70°54 |
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91 |
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After
some warm milk, a tasty omelet and some basic
but essential stretching movements, we are at
last ready to attempt a last trek across the
Park Torres del Paine. The locals tells us how
lucky we are with the weather: three
consecutive days of beautiful sunshine.
Did
you see yesterday's video on the parc ? Well
today, we spent most of the day on the road.
Nicole and Theo chose to take a comfortable
bus and the rest of us drove by car, packed
liked sardines... final destination: Punta
Arenas.
The
countryside starts to change around Villa
Tehuelches: never-ending tundra, deep-blue
lakes on the horizon and no trees... just
thousands of herds of cattle and sheep from
the estancias and a handful of caballeros on
horseback far away on the distant hills.
Meanwhile strong winds play hide and seek with
bunches of prickly bushes.
On
the bus, Theo talks to some Chileans.
When asked where he comes from, he
answers that he was from Rome in a past
life and that he feels Chilean now and wants
to leave for Madagascar tomorrow.
Several
days ago, we flew down to Argentina's
land's End: Ushuaia. Now we're driving
down to Chile's most southern area... what
better ending could one ask for ?
We
are back on the Beagle channel but this time
through Chile in the city of Punta Arena.
Check
out the video... 360° of pure
sensations.
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Before
the construction of the Panama
Canal, all the boats in transit
between the Pacific and the
Atlantic Oceans had to pass
through Punta Arenas.
Today,
the harbor's life hasn't changed a
lot. Sailors from all over the
world still come here, filling the
pubs downtown.
The
ships used to carry goods but also
many artists. Indeed, the city has
a big theater, where Enrico Caruso
sang.
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Close
to that place, we meet a young and
elegant 80 years old man, who owns
a few rooms for the travelers. He
invites us in to drink a bottle
of cool white Chilean wine.
At
his place, he introduces to us his
wife, Ada, and his dog, Donna. He
shows us his great flat, full of
old furniture, with pictures of
Ada when she was elected Beauty
Queen of the place, and also a
collection of plants...of
which half are in plastic !
We
spend the night in one of his
rooms.
Click
on the picture to enter with us in
this unusual place.
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Walking
on the port, Nicole says:
"Home for me is where ever
there's a sea harbor."
Aleko
wakes up, spaced out :
"Tonight,
I opened my eyes and I couldn't
remember in which country we were
in, which city it was, what time
it could be..."
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With
more than 100.000 inhabitants,
Punta Arenas competes with Ushuaia
for the title of the most southern
city in the world.
But
if you take a closer look at
a map, there is also Puerto
Williams, a military zone, more
and more considered as a city.
In
conclusion, neither Punta Arenas
nor Ushuaia are the most southern
cities in the world but Puerto
Williams, in Chile.
Virtual,
now you know, would you like us to
go there ?
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We'll
act like crazy in the city... Don't
miss out ! Kisses The
Team
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| Guide our next
steps, insert contacts & info on |
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