Today we were in Punta Arenas, Chile, which is right along the Strait of Magellan. It is described as "wind blown" and we experienced this immediately after we exited the ship as we were practically blown off the dock by the winds. When went met our guide he called this only a moderate wind. He explained that they sometimes put up ropes along the sidewalks to help people move forward because in a strong wind they often move 5 meters forward and then are blown back 10 meters.

It is interesting to view as it's a town about about 150,000 people full of different coloured roofs. Apparently they used to get a lot of snow and people could identify their homes from the roof colours. Today the weather is moderate all year around (cool to us but apparently not varying too much in the winter) with a very limited amount of snow in the city.

We first went by the cemetery which was named "6th most beautiful cemetery in the world". Who knew they were ranked? It is a cemetery with many mausoleums. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to spend viewing the cemetery but it did seem like some time spent there would be worthwhile. The city had a famous Latvian-born immigrant businessperson, Sara Braun, who built several buildings including the facade to the cemetery. That said, the central door could only be opened once when she died and was placed in the cemetery.

We then spent time at Museum Maggiorino Borgetello. It's a 4 story museum (somehow the 4th floor was labeled before the 3rd.....) with exhibitions on the people, animals, and businesses of the area. Its a pleasant museum for a short browse.

We walked over to a nearby church, and then strolled the business area until we reached the central square, with a large statue of Magellan as its centrepiece. We completed the

obligatory touching of the foot of the statue which ensures a repeat visit to the city.

After a long walk we reached an elevated viewing platform with a panoramic view over the city.

For all our effort we were treated to a local dessert and a Calafate Pisco (contains calafate berry juice (local native berry similar to a blueberry), Pisco, Sugar and Lemon). Very pleasant.

We were impressed with the cleanliness of the city. The sidewalks were unbroken, the planters nicely trimmed and maintained, no dangling wires and a lot of effort to continue to enhance the city were in evidence.

In summary, it's a pleasant city for a short visit. (Others took a catamaran to see Penguins. Apparently it was great viewing but the seas to and especially from the visit were horrendous).

That evening the entertainment was Salvadore Hasard. He sang and played "only" 5 instruments. Quite a fun time.