Date: Jan 27, 2008 7:59 PM
Subject: 1/27/2008 7:59 PM
1/27/2008
Punta Arenas, Chile.
I don’t know when we docked. We were not supposed to until 7:00 AM but we had been tied up long before. Since yesterday we have been moving at only 4 to 5 knots and sometimes even slower. There are many twists and turns and they saw it is very dangerous. We have two pilots aboard. Some of the larger freighters and tankers find it easier and safer to go all the way around then to take this inside passage. The freighters and tankers do not have thrusters to make tight turns and would require a tug to accompany them.
The internet, telephone, and TV news had been out from yesterday evening until about 11:30 this morning, our time. We are two hours ahead of New York time or three hours ahead of Chicago time.
This afternoon we took a city tour at 1:30. The warmest they usually get is about 55 degrees but it got to over 60 today. That sounds warm but there was a very strong wind. We went out on our balcony and quickly decided to put on the parkas again. That
turned out to be a good idea. There was a long walk down the dock to get to the terminal building. Not only was it trying to blow us over, when it came off the cold water, it got much colder. Again, this was another cold miserable rainy place not fit to live in. The Indians had given it a name meaning the place the sun does not warm.
These buses were not supposed to be air conditioned so of course they were. That was a good thing. The sun was quite hot coming in the windows and was really cooking the inside.
There was really not much of real interest to see on a four hour tour. They made up for it with a lot of free time stops in the middle of nowhere. This was a nice clean town. The downtown buildings looked like they had come from a much earlier time but the town didn’t get started until about 1835 and the better buildings downtown were from about 1845. The people were from all over Europe. They had put a bounty on the Indians and they were quickly wiped out.
This town of 150,000 could have been in any northern area of the US were it not for all the signs in Spanish. They are one of Chile’s wealthiest cities. They have the only oil in Chile as well as copper and it is one of the best places for raising sheep that grow great wool. The people, as all over Chile, seem very pleasant.
We visited a cemetery with lots of rich folks in expensive crypts, but only the dead ones live there. Actually, they did not live there. They were just dead there. Next was a city square. All over Central and South America, the cities have at least one central square. We spent some time there getting blown around. Then we drove around seeing the different areas of the city. Last was a visit to an old ranch where the descendants of the first settlers still live and work. We were all shown through the house and grounds and by the grand daughter of the original founder. She was a very nice young girl and spoke perfect US English.
The bus had parked and let us off in a gravel lot close to the house. We all walked to the front door to enter. Across the lawn was a large dog limping badly. He was a Bearded Collie. They look almost like an Old English Sheep Dog but have long tails and a much better temperament. They are usually far more intelligent too. The whole bus load of people had walked by but the dog walked up to me. That happens often. As I mentioned when that happened before, I must have been a dog in my last life. He just wanted to be pet. There was another big dog that had very long hair. He really looked like a lion. I guess the only thing that could survive the terrible weather was a big long haired dog.
Their trees are quite different from ours and they do produce some beautiful woods as we saw in the old house. After looking all over the house and taking turns to pee in the one bathroom, they brought us to a finished and heated barn like building. Here they showed us a Rah, rah Chile video for about 15 minutes. Next it was into another room where, of course, they fed us. Again, the food was terrific. They gave us meat and cheese empanadas, cheeses that were wonderful, liver pate, tiny rolls and garlic bread and other stuff. There was plenty of hard and soft drinks also. This was all very nice.
The young lady who was the owner also showed us her grandfather’s 1938 race car. It was the only one any where in the area, so he would race himself and of course always win. It was a 1938 version of an Indy type racer with most of the parts missing.
While these towns are not a major attraction and you would never come this far just to see them, I enjoy seeing different places. How they differ from home and what the people are like. Every place in Chile, where we have been served food, the food has been great. I am sure I have seen Chile restaurants advertised in the Miami area. When we get back we have got to try one.
At about 7:00 PM we were suppose to leave the dock. The wind thought otherwise. It was blowing so hard it was holding us to the dock. I don’t know if we didn’t have enough power in the front thruster to pull away or they could not use full power or they would undermine the pilings for the dock. For the first time I have been on Radisson/Regent, they had to hire a tug to pull them off the dock.
Punta Arenas, Chile.
I don’t know when we docked. We were not supposed to until 7:00 AM but we had been tied up long before. Since yesterday we have been moving at only 4 to 5 knots and sometimes even slower. There are many twists and turns and they saw it is very dangerous. We have two pilots aboard. Some of the larger freighters and tankers find it easier and safer to go all the way around then to take this inside passage. The freighters and tankers do not have thrusters to make tight turns and would require a tug to accompany them.The internet, telephone, and TV news had been out from yesterday evening until about 11:30 this morning, our time. We are two hours ahead of New York time or three hours ahead of Chicago time.This afternoon we took a city tour at 1:30. The warmest they usually get is about 55 degrees but it got to over 60 today. That sounds warm but there was a very strong wind. We went out on our balcony and quickly decided to put on the parkas again. That
turned out to be a good idea. There was a long walk down the dock to get to the terminal building. Not only was it trying to blow us over, when it came off the cold water, it got much colder. Again, this was another cold miserable rainy place not fit to live in. The Indians had given it a name meaning the place the sun does not warm.These buses were not supposed to be air conditioned so of course they were. That was a good thing. The sun was quite hot coming in the windows and was really cooking the inside.
There was really not much of real interest to see on a four hour tour. They made up for it with a lot of free time stops in the middle of nowhere. This was a nice clean town. The downtown buildings looked like they had come from a much earlier time but the town didn’t get started until about 1835 and the better buildings downtown were from about 1845. The people were from all over Europe. They had put a bounty on the Indians and they were quickly wiped out.This town of 150,000 could have been in any northern area of the US were it not for all the signs in Spanish. They are one of Chile’s wealthiest cities. They have the only oil in Chile as well as copper and it is one of the best places for raising sheep that grow great wool. The people, as all over Chile, seem very pleasant.
We visited a cemetery with lots of rich folks in expensive crypts, but only the dead ones live there. Actually, they did not live there. They were just dead there. Next was a city square. All over Central and South America, the cities have at least one central square. We spent some time there getting blown around. Then we drove around seeing the different areas of the city. Last was a visit to an old ranch where the descendants of the first settlers still live and work. We were all shown through the house and grounds and by the grand daughter of the original founder. She was a very nice young girl and spoke perfect US English.The bus had parked and let us off in a gravel lot close to the house. We all walked to the front door to enter. Across the lawn was a large dog limping badly. He was a Bearded Collie. They look almost like an Old English Sheep Dog but have long tails and a much better temperament. They are usually far more intelligent too. The whole bus load of people had walked by but the dog walked up to me. That happens often. As I mentioned when that happened before, I must have been a dog in my last life. He just wanted to be pet. There was another big dog that had very long hair. He really looked like a lion. I guess the only thing that could survive the terrible weather was a big long haired dog.Their trees are quite different from ours and they do produce some beautiful woods as we saw in the old house. After looking all over the house and taking turns to pee in the one bathroom, they brought us to a finished and heated barn like building. Here they showed us a Rah, rah Chile video for about 15 minutes. Next it was into another room where, of course, they fed us. Again, the food was terrific. They gave us meat and cheese empanadas, cheeses that were wonderful, liver pate, tiny rolls and garlic bread and other stuff. There was plenty of hard and soft drinks also. This was all very nice.The young lady who was the owner also showed us her grandfather’s 1938 race car. It was the only one any where in the area, so he would race himself and of course always win. It was a 1938 version of an Indy type racer with most of the parts missing.While these towns are not a major attraction and you would never come this far just to see them, I enjoy seeing different places. How they differ from home and what the people are like. Every place in Chile, where we have been served food, the food has been great. I am sure I have seen Chile restaurants advertised in the Miami area. When we get back we have got to try one.
At about 7:00 PM we were suppose to leave the dock. The wind thought otherwise. It was blowing so hard it was holding us to the dock. I don’t know if we didn’t have enough power in the front thruster to pull away or they could not use full power or they would undermine the pilings for the dock. For the first time I have been on Radisson/Regent, they had to hire a tug to pull them off the dock.
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