Day 174: February 5, 2008 Punta Arenas

  Punta Arenas, Chile
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Day 174: February 5, 2008 Punta Arenas

I awoke to a strong wind rattling my windows and blowing the curtains through cracks in the sill and wall. The sky was clear and the temperature was cool, probably around 14°C. I got out of bed, dressed, and went into the warm dining room, where I was joined by two young Israeli military officers on vacation, Alon and Eyal. A young French couple, from the Basque region in southern France, rounded out the table about 15 minutes later. Most of our conversation revolved around our recent travels, wind power, and the Super Tuesday primaries for which the polls were just opening. The Israelis had been traveling in Argentina and Chile since November and are headed for Ushuaia tomorrow. According to the French, buses to Ushuaia are hard to get, being booked for several days in advance, so Alon and Eyal headed out to the bus office to see if they could get tickets.

I wrote in my blog and watched some CNN coverage of the primaries before going down to the Plaza Central to find out about the boat excursion to Cabo Froward, the southernmost point on the continent. The wind was howling and threw me off balance several times but at least the sidewalks are even in Chile. I saw a restaurant on the way to the square and stopped for a spaghetti lunch. Alon and Eyal entered to do the same about 15 minutes later. They were happy to have gotten the last two seats on the bus. We decided to get together for dinner at Sotito's in the evening.

I went to the windy Plaza Central and took a foto of the Magellan statue. Then, I found the information office but they didn't have anything about the excursion I was looking for. The woman

Magellan Statue

suggested I try a travel agency on the corner. The agency didn't work with the Froward excursion but they knew who did and gave me the address. I walked over to the Vientos Sur office but they were closed for siesta. Frustrated, I went to Gary's Ciberpool and did my internet routine for a couple of hours. It dawned on me that Liz leaves tomorrow to start her trip down to here. When I finished, I returned to the Vientos Sur travel agency and sat there for 15 minutes until the agent was free. She described the excursion, which sounded okay, but not okay enough to justify the $235 price. I'll save my money and take the boat from here to Ushuaia, the next time I come, which costs $150.

I returned to the hotel to take a short nap and watch the primaries. At around 8:30, the Israelis and I caught a cab down to Sotito's rather than contend with the pounding wind. We had a great meal and a

Alon and Eyal

great time. I would really like to visit Israel after hearing about the places they described around the Dead Sea and in the southern part of the country. We also talked about family histories. It turns out that all three of us have at least one German grandparent. Alon has family in Buenos Aires and both have relatives in the US. After dinner, we were happy to see that the wind had calmed. A taxi spotted us from a block away and backed up 100 m to ask if we needed his service. We climbed I and were soon back at the hotel. They needed to be out of the hotel early so we bid adieu, hoping to meet again in Ushuaia. I watched the primary returns until 1:00 and then went to sleep.