Monday, March 26, 2012Punta Arenas, Chile
This was to have been the day that we took our field trip into the Patagonia countryside to see guanacos (undomesticated cousins of llamas and alpacas), rheas (South American ostrich), and a penguin rookery. However, the bad weather of the previous week had sent the penquins on their way . . . . With last minute planning by Teresa, Revell and our local guide, we managed to have a great day, nonetheless.
We started with a brief tour of the city of Punto Arenas, stopping at a viewpoint overlooking the city.
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| I loved the soft colors of the buildings and roofs. |
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| Why does laundry look more appealing when it is someone else's? |
A couple of vendors had set up some tables and several of our company bought alpaca sweaters.
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| A sweet little one wrapped snugly for the cold wind. |
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| George went for the penguin hat, which we all felt suited him well! |
We stopped for lunch at El Galpon del Estrecho (The Shed of the Stretch), a lovely, rustic farm site that served us a wonderful meal of barbecued lamb accompanied with beautiful salads and breads.
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| The fire felt wonderfully warm. |
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| The cook, cutting up the barbequed lamb. |
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| This photo, from El Galpon's website, shows a lunch buffet much like ours. Thanks for the link, Donald. |
After a leisurely lunch we crossed the pasture to the shearing shed, encountering the family pets.
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| One of our hosts, Teresa, Jme, and Betty. The ewe was obviously used to treats, as she came running. |
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| Fred, Sara, and Noreen waiting for treats? The little dog was a great herder, moving us through the gates, too. |
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| Mama and me |
In the shearing shed, we saw a demonstratration of the traditional method of sheep shearing.
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| This looked like very hard work. |
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| Raw wool, ready for cleaning |
These are guanaco skins. Our host explained that the government wanted to find out if their wool could be used commercially, but it was found to be inferior.
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| This large alpaca pulls a cart, but only for the owner. It tends to spit at anyone else to tries to harness it. |
Upon leaving the farm, we headed by bus for a 40 minute drive to Fort Bulnes. On orders of the Chilean President, Manuel Bulnes, Captain Juan Williams and his crew of 22 disembarked at Punta Santa Ana in 1843, taking possession of the territories of the Strait of Magellan, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. Fort Bulnes was active until 1850, two years after the city of Punta Arenas was built. Chile was forced to give up much of Patagonia to Argentina when it was preoccupied with taking over the productive mining areas of Bolivia.
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| There were three different styles of building construction - sod bricks, just like on the Canadian prairies. |
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| Log structures. . . Note the monkey tree. |
The Monkey-puzzle Tree or Monkey Tail Tree is an evergreen tree growing to 40 metres (130 ft) tall with a 2 metres (7 ft) trunk diameter. The tree is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina, and usually grows only at high elevations. It even tolerates snow.
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| This 3rd type of plank construction was perhaps the latest. |
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| Revell thought this cannon would fire several miles out to sea. |
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| The rocky point below Fort Bulnes. |
The fort had been restored well, and you could see why it had been regarded as such an important site, on the high ground overlooking the strait in several directions.
We then headed back towards Punta Arenas. Some lucky souls enjoyed 'deep meditation'. Since I can't sleep on a bus, I took a few more photos.
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| This water purification plant was designed to look like icebergs. |
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| Cormorants from the bus window |
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| Fishing boats awaiting the next crab season. |
But the best part of the day was yet to come . . .
*sorry for the diamonds' reappearance. They seem to occur during editing. I guess I'll have to get it right the first time!
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