Punta Arenas, Day 101

Our accommodation in Punta Arenas is a sort of granny annex tucked away in Emma’s backyard – behind the laundry drying on the line and beside the woodpile. The frill fetish aside, the room has a massive bed, cable TV, and plenty of hot water. The only disconcerting aspect is the print of the Arabian princess on the wall above the bed. Her dark, smoldering eyes follow you around the room – but in a creepy way. Christi and I eat breakfast (home-made cake, toast and preserve, juice and tea) in Emma’s living room under her watchful gaze, before heading out to run some errands.

First we find a laundry on O’Higgins Street. Unfortunately, our usual US$10 laundry bill is now US$20. From there we go to the offices of Crucero Australis to receive the latest update on our impending cruise. Christi and I don’t normally consider ourselves to be cruise people, but put the word Adventure in front of it and we suddenly sit up and take notice. After the Galapagos Islands and Noel Kempf Mercado National Park, this is the last of our three big ticket items for South America. In a few days, if the weather cooperates (which is highly unlikely), Christi and I will be standing on the most southerly landfall in the Americas: Cape Horn. And Crucero Australis are the only company that explores this mythic Land of Fire and Ice – Tierra del Fuego. The weather is projected to be fair – for now.

The main square in Punta Arenas is Plaza de Armas, which features an imposing statue of that great Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The iconic explorer stands proudly above a rather grumpy-looking indigenous Ono Indian. According to tradition, kissing the Ono’s toe brings good luck. And who am I to disagree with tradition.

While Christi reluctantly uploads photos to Picasa I find a barber who gives me my first haircut since Peru and my first shave in a month. Christi is sad to see the end of my rugged, mountain-man look, but I wanted a more suave and sophisticated look for the upcoming luxury cruise.