Punta Arenas, Chile, on Magellan Strait- Feb. 7
Land of Magellan and Magellanic Penguin Colony on Magdalena Island.
Punta Arenas, Chile, is the southernmost city with a population of over 100,000 in the ENTIRE world. Punta Arenas (Sandy Point) is the 4th most windy city in the world, because of the converging of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
The narrow sea passage or Strait that Punta Arenas borders is named after Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer, who first discovered it and first circumnavigated the globe in 1519.
We toured the Nao Victoria Museum, which contains life size replicas of ships including Magellan's ship, the Victoria. This ship held 48 men, and all survived the expedition. The outdoor museum also had a life size replica of the MS Beagle, sailed by Charles Darwin. Also on display is a lifeboat in which 7 men lived and survived on the legendary island, Tierra del Fuego, land of fire, for 2 years before being rescued.
In addition to Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas is also gateway to the Los Pinguinos National Monument and the many tiny islands, home to over 120,000 nesting penguins. Magdalena Island has the world's major colony of Magellanic penguins.
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