Blue skies once again. Our tour director says this is unusual for this part of the country, even in the summer. We insisted we brought him good luck. It is a VERY leisurely morning. We do not need to have baggage out until 11AM; we leave for Puerto Montt airport at noon with stops at the market and a seafood stew lunch before flying to Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is 1350 miles further south.

Geography lesson for the day: Chile is very long and very skinny. From North to South it is 2653 miles, yet on average it is only about 110 miles wide, hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean on the West and the Andes mountains is on the East. End of lesson.

I walked into town for one final look, stopping at a local coffee shop for an Americano and another piece of apple strudel!

We left the hotel early at noon headed to the fish market in Puerto Montt for sightseeing and lunch before flying to Punta Arenas late this afternoon.

Puerto Montt is a larger industrial city with a population of about 240,000 people. The main Industry is salmon farming and timber. Eucalyptus trees grow rapidly in this climate and it is a major export to the Far East for paper. It is also in great demand as firewood for local homes that rely on wood as their heat source.

The Angelmo fish market is not very large but has an amazing selection of fresh and smoked fish and shellfish. Many stands over cocktail cup serving of ceviche made with caring seafood. Smoked salmon is huge and is a bargain. A big slab might cost around $8. Produce is also readily available in the market.

There was a Chilean band playing music out on the waterfront and we listened to a few tunes before heading to the small restaurant located on the second floor of the market.As you expect the specialty of the restaurant is seafood. We had a choice of a seafood stew, fresh hake with sides or chicken for those who did not like fish. As has become the custom we started the meal with a small pisco sour. The meal came with a glass of wine. Even though Chile makes some world class wines Chileans prefer beer. If you order wine in a restaurant you are offered either “tinto”(red) or “blanco”(White). Grape varietals are generally not recognized by most restaurants!  Surprisingly the wines offered have been quite good.

We were given a short while to shop in the local markets. It seems as though every shop sells the same products, focusing on wool sweaters, ponchos, hats, etc. I did not find any treasure that I needed to have, for which Yvonne will be grateful!

On the way to the airport Wladimir gave us a written detailed itinerary for the next few days( nice touch) as well as the weather forecast. We are headed south to the 53 degree latitude where the weather will be cooler, windier and likely more rain. The days will be longer also. Wladimir strongly suggested we dress in layers as you never know what to expect.

We bade our driver and local guide farewell at the airport and only had about a 1.5 hour wait until our flight departed. It is certainly nice having a local guide to help maneuver our way through the airport process and deal with any issues that might arise. Our plane was full with locals and others like us who are touring the area.

We arrived in Punta Arenas at 7:30. Punta Arenas means “Sandy Point”, the name given to it by early explorers. Magellan sailed near here in 1520 and the Strait of Magellan got its name because of his explorations.  In 2012 the population was 128,000. Now it is closer to 170,000.  It was originally established as a penal colony in 1848 but immigrants from Croatia and Germany changed its character in the late 1800s because of the gold rush, farming and fishing.  Sheep farming is the major industry today.

By the time we got to the hotel and our rooms it was 8:30 PM and most of us simply grabbed a quick sandwich in the bar area before retiring.

Tomorrow we will have a morning tour of the city and an optional tour  of their colorful museum and replica boats used by early settlers.