On 18th October we left Ushuaia and headed to Punta Arenas in Chile. The 10 hour road trip involved crossing the Magellan Straits by ferry.

We arrived in the late afternoon for a one night stopover before heading north the following day. We stayed at the Hotel Savoy which didn’t quite live up to the standards of its London namesake.

Punta Arenas is Chile’s southern most city and was originally founded as a small penal colony in 1848. It grew in importance as the maritime traffic through the Magellan Straits increased and then boomed in the early part of the 20th century with the introduction of sheep farming. Many of the buildings from that time still remain. Most were designed in Europe and shipped out partially complete.

The main square has a statue of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who discovered, and named, the Magellan straits in 1520.

It is considered lucky to touch the toe of the one of indigenous people that adorn the bottom level of the statue.

We had a great meal at La Luna restaurant (www.laluna.cl/)