It's not the end of the world, but ...oh, wait, it IS the end of the world!

The first step in my journey will involve a series of flights starting in Bellingham, Washington and concluding in Punta Arenas, Chile. All told, I will be living in airplanes and airports for two days. I do not look forward to this part.  It will be long, uncomfortable and boring. Though I am typically an upbeat guy, I spend a fair bit of energy coaching my expectations down before departing on such marathon flight  itineraries. By the time I actually get on the first jet I am easily delighted. "My seat is also a flotation device?!! THAT is amazing!" Once in a while I am genuinely taken by surprise with something wonderful. While flying from Seattle to Amtserdam, enroute to Africa, I woke at 3:00am and looked out the window. We were over the polar ice cap.  A full moon lay soft luminance upon the whitescape below. I felt a deep sense of peace looking down on it; the kind of peace that lives next door to loneliness, and the quiet reflective reverence that haunts the basements of both.


You may have never heard of Punta Arenas, Chile. Prior to the planning of this trip I had not. But at least 130,000 other people have. They are the residents of this remarkable place which has labeled itself "The city at the end of the world."  Indeed, Punta Arenas is the World's southern most city.

The name Punta Arenas is translated as "Sandy Point." Which is not the sort of branding any department of tourism will stand for. So, in 1927, the city was officially renamed Magallanes, for the Straits of Magellan it overlooks. Signs were changed, T-shirts were printed ("My Grandmother went to Magallanes and all I got was this lousy shirt"), and a three act promotional play was sent out on the road, never to return. The net result was a complete absence of incoming mail for the next eleven years. In 1938 the name was changed back to Punta Arenas.

The earliest version of Punta Arenas was established in 1584 by the Spanish with the intent to prevent high seas crimes by english pirates. Given the unpromising name of Puerto Hambre (Port Starvation), the settlement withered away in just three years, its sole surviving member being rescued in 1587, ironically, by the notorious english pirate Thomas Cavendish. 

In the mid-19th century, Chile used Punta Arenas as a penal colony and a disciplinary posting for military personnel with "problematic" behavior (Don't ask, don't tell). Various prisoner mutinys arose as demands for aid to the godless and the sick erupted into violence, most typically resulting in the destruction of  the church and hospital. Between 1890 and 1940 this area became one of the world's most important sheep-raising regions. Prosperity arrived with the California gold rush, as Punta Arenas became an important trade center for Clipper ships sailing to and from. Today this city is the location of Chile's principal oil reserves, and a  modern methanol plant. Though sheep and cattle remain an important part of the region's agricultural production, tourism, fisheries, and Magallanes University also contribute to this diverse and vibrant economy.

 Punta Arenas is located at Latitude 53 degrees South, making it the north American equivalent of Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada (or Liverpool, UK for you Beatles fans). The seasonal temperature in Punta Arenas is greatly moderated by its proximity to the ocean, with average lows in July of 30 degrees F and highs in January of 57 F. Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of the city's climate are it's powerful summer winds, strong enough that city officials put up ropes downtown to assist those on foot.

Punta Arenas, Chile (The City at the end of the world)  has two sister cities;
Split, Croatia (The City of division)
Bellingham, Washington (The City of subdued excitement)   ...my home town.