Punta Arenas

 Cruising through the beautiful Beagle Channel Sunday afternoon was a real treat. It is called Glacier Alley for a reason. The stunning scenery kept on getting better as we traveled to Punta Arenas while relaxing by the spa windows.

Punta Arenas used to be the known as the southern most city in the world but with development changing in South America, Ushuaia has arguably taken that title. 

We booked a last-minute excursion in Punta Arenas to make Monday in port easier. We took in two museums and other notable sights in the city. The NOA Victoria was a naval and maritime museum with replica ships from Magellan, Darwin and Shackleton. On to the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, which reminded me of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC but on a much smaller scale. Then, off for Cerro la Cruz for a panoramic view of the city before disembarking at Plaza Munoz Gamero, the city’s main square. 

After the tour, Bill and I walked to the famous cemetery and browsed some shops before hopping a shuttle back to the dock. 

The present civil unrest in Chile is obvious throughout Punta Arenas. It was sad to see a plethora of spray-painted protests defacing buildings and monuments along with plenty of broken and boarded up windows. The pursuit of happiness is a bumpy road.