Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas, Chile
Chilean Patagonia’s largest and most important city, Punta Arenas is situated on the western side of the Strait of Magellan, halfway between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, at the foot of the Andes. This southernmost city of Chile was the preferred stopping ground for European explorers, entrepreneurs and adventurers for centuries before the opening of the Panama Canal: the golden era of Punta Arenas took place during these years. From English sheepherders to Portuguese sailors, Punta Arenas was the melting pot for various cultures.
As capital of Chile’s Twelfth Region, this city has served as an important regional center since 1584, when the first settlers arrived. Due to its strategic location on the northern shore of the Strait of Magellan, settlement here has always been regarded as vital, particularly in more recent years. The discovery of significant quantities of oil has added impetus to urban development. Many homes have been built, new streets paved and sett1ers have arrived in droves. The area currently supplies much of Chile’s consumption of oil, natural gas and coal.
Located 1,284 miles south of Santiago, Punta Arenas is at the very end of the Chilean mainland looking across the Straits of Magellan to Porvenir and Tierra del Fuego islands. Five native Indian tribes inhabited this area at one time, primarily the tal1 Tehuelches, the first to be seen by Charles Darwin. The Tehuelches wore virtually nothing except guanaco capes over their shoulders, and painted their faces with red and white bands and charcoal streaks. The Onas were the last of the native tribes who disappeared only a few years ago. The Haush, the Yagan and the Alacalufes were other native tribes who inhabited these areas of Chile.
Punta Arenas is located in the province of Magallanes, which includes the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego island and is correctly termed "Chilean Patagonia." The province covers 11.5% of Chile's total area, but is inhabited by less than 1% of Chile’s population.
Apart from being rich in natural resources (fuels), Punta Arenas is the center of the sheep-farming industry in this part of the world and exports wool, skins and frozen meat. Besides the export of oil and gas, there is the regular carriage of crude oil between the Strait oil terminals and the refineries in central Chile.
EXPLORING PUNTA ARENAS
Punta Arenas has been favored with a great many interesting sites that are well worth a visit. The streets are laid out in the familiar grid pattern, making it easy to find your way around.
The Plaza de Armas or Plaza Munoz Gamero, with its statue of Ferdinand Magellan (the European discoverer of the area) is a good place to start out as it is the heart of town and most of the activity in Punta Arenas is concentrated in its vicinity, with many beautiful buildings to take in, including government buildings and cathedral. For good luck, try kissing the enormous foot of the one of the stone natives sitting at Magellan's feet. Local tradition attributes wondrous powers to this act! (touching will work too)
Near the Plaza you will also find a smal1 but very interesting museum with displays of local history, animal life and natural resources: the Museo Historico de Magallanes. It is located in a mansion built by one of the early millionaires. Do not confuse this with another museum close by, which is the Municipa1 Museum.
The Casa Braun-Menendez, located on Avenida Roca, just half a block from the square was once the famous family's mansion and is now a cultural center and a regional history. The Club de la Union, also called the Sara Braun Palace, was built by a French architect (it is on the corner of Avenida Bulnes across from the Cathedral). It has been restored and part of the building is now being used as a hotel and restaurant.
There is a very modern and quite extensive museum in the Colegio Salesiano, Museo Regional Mayorino Borgatello, located at Avenida Bulnes 374. This museum is run by the Salesian Friars and contains remnants of the Indian cultures that once thrived here. It also has a magnificent collection of flora and fauna of the region. This museum’s embalmed animal collection and historical artifacts make it one of the best in the region.
The Patagonian Institute, 1890 Manuel Bulnes is also worth a visit with its museum of work tools, handicrafts, textiles, wool products and pottery typical of the Patagonian area. A small zoo housing animals native to the region is located in the Institute's courtyard. Of interest are the guanaco (wild llama), the puma, and the condor, impressive because of its size and wing span. In front of the Institute, on the lawn between it and the highway, there is an exhibit of railway locomotives and old agricultural machinery.
On the eastern side of town, about 15 minutes walk from the Plaza there is a unique graveyard: the Cementerio Municipal (Avenida Bu1nes 949), which is very impressive. The carefully tended cemetery, enclosed within high stone walls, is lined with a topiary of greenery and cypress trees that have been pruned with exemplary precision into a variety of strange shapes. The numerous house-like structures are, in fact, family mausoleums, where each member of the family is entombed in an individual sarcophagus, around which many ornaments and religious icons have been scattered. Some of theses graves possess especially uncharacteristic shapes, e.g. a tomb shaped like a ship with the "upper deck" on ground level, leading directly into the "hold" where family members are buried in the walls. This cemetery tells a great deal about the history and social structure of the region.
Cerro de la Cruz viewpoint, for a stunning panoramic view of the city, the straight of Magellan, and the island of Tierra del Fuego in the distance, climb to Mirador La Cruz Hill viewpoint (Mirador Cerro de la Cruz). This spot is just a ten minute walk from Plaza de Armas (Plaza Munoz Gamero) and is one of the most iconic places in the city, particularly beautiful at night.
Austral Brewery: This is the southernmost brewery in Chile, where you can learn about the production process of the the traditional Austral beer (the most popular beer in this part of the country) and enjoy a beer tasting session. Address: 508 Patagona St.
Museo Nao Victoria, an interactive museum, allowing visitors to relive the history of the great navigators and explorer of this region (Magallanes, Williams and Shackleton). Their reconstructed ships feature accurate sailing equipment, mannequins, clothing and weapons from their age. Address: 7.5km north of town on Y565 route to Rio seco (best take a taxi), open daily from 9am to 6pm.
City Map:
FERDINAND MAGELLAN
This navigator was the first European to sail across the Pacific Ocean and the first to discover a route by which ships could completely encircle the world. The Strait of Magellan, located at the southern tip of South America, proved to be the longsought connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Sailing for the Spanish King Charles I (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), Magellan proved in his explorations that the Earth is round. He also established a new route to the riches of the East, by sailing to the West.
Fernao de Magalhaes (the Portuguese spelling of his name) was born around 1480, probably in Oporto, Portugal. The son of a Portuguese nobleman, he served with distinction in the West Indies and Morocco during his youth. He felt that he was not sufficiently rewarded for these services, and the Portuguese king advised him to offer his services elsewhere. He therefore gave up his nationality and offered his services to the ruler of Spain in 1517.
At that time, the Portuguese claimed that all the islands of the Far East lay in the portion of the Earth assigned to Portugal by Pope Alexander VI. In opposition to this claim, Magellan asserted that many of them, including the rich Spice Islands, actually lay in Spain's territory. He declared that the Portuguese maps had been falsified to conceal this fact. Magellan offered to use his knowledge of Portuguese secrets to prove his claim. He planned to reach the Spice Islands by sailing westward through a strait that he hoped to discover at the southern tip of America. The Spanish King finally accepted Magellan's proposal.
On Aug.10, 1519 Magellan set sail from Seville in command of five small vessels. He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and down the coast of South America until cold weather and winter storms forced him to seek winters quarters. A mutiny was put down by force. Sailing again in September of 1520 (spring in the Southern Hemisphere), Magellan’s fleet rounded a promontory, and on October 21 he sighted what he guessed to be the long-sought strait. Two ships went ahead and reported that the strait led to an ocean beyond. The fleet proceeded. What they had thought to be the ocean, however, proved to be only a largo bay in the strait. After he held council with his navigators Magellan continue on.
For more than a month he battled his way through the stormy 360mile passage that now bears his name. One vessel was wrecked, and another sailed back to Spain. Nevertheless, Magellan insisted on going ahead. On November 28, 1520 he reached the ocean that Vasco de Balboa had discovered seven years before. Because the ocean looked so calm, Magellan named it the Pacific. At first the voyage on the Pacific went well. After a month of sailing, however, terrible hardships struck the fleet. The food ran low, and the sailors were reduced to eating the leather fittings of the ship. There was a scarcity of drinking water, and many of the crew died of scurvy. The fleet sailed about 100 days before arriving at the islands that are now called the Philippines.
At Massava Magellan negotiated Spain's first alliance in the Pacific. At Cebu he converted the king and his chief followers to Christianity. Magellan sailed from Cebu to the neighboring island of` Mactan. There, he and his men became involved in a fight with the natives, and Magellan was killed on April 27, 1521.
Under the leadership of Juan Sebastian del Cano, the sailors burned one of the three remaining vessels and sailed to the Spice Islands. Another ship started lo leak and had to be abandoned. The last remaining vessel, the Victoria, commanded by Del Cano, set out for home. Leaky but laden with spices, the Victoria rounded the Cape of Good Hope and dropped anchor in the harbor of Seville on Sept. 9, 1522. After a voyage of slightly more than three years, Magellan’s crew had circled the globe.
Contrary to popular belief, Magellan succeeded in sailing around the world before his death. He did not encompass the globe on a single voyage, however. On a previous voyage to the East Indies, he had gone beyond the longitude of the Philippines. Thus, at the time he was killed, he had already overlapped his earlier course,
In the history of discovery no name ranks higher than that of Magellan. He opened the Pacific Ocean to new exploration and trade. The American historian John Fiske describes his achievement: "The voyage thus ended was doubtless the greatest feat of navigation that has ever been performed, and nothing can be imagined that would surpass it except a journey to some other planet.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Magellan was orphaned at age 10 or 12.
Because Magellan had been further east on previous voyages, his 1521 arrival in the Philippines technically made him the first man to circumnavigate the earth.
Magellan's expedition proved definitively that the earth is a sphere, and that all of its oceans are connected.
Patagonia derives its name from patagão (Portuguese for "big feet"), the name given by Magellan to the foot coverings worn by the local people.
Magellan's body was never found nor seen again by Europeans.
Magellan’s widow and only son died during the time of his voyage. His heirs were never paid the salary due him from the King.
During the voyage across the Pacific, food supplies ran so low that the men ate boiled leather, sawdust, and rats to survive.
Comments
Post a Comment