Goodbye, Punta Arenas

I leave Chile today. I'm going to miss all my friends from the Palmer, the science-ing, watching movies in the afternoon, eating greasy food (especially when we ran out of fresh fruit three weeks out), even the 25 degree rolls. Until next time!

Sagrado Corazón Cathedral

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to go to church. This sounds bizarre because most people skip church when they're on vacation, but I love seeing local customs first-hand. You can only get so deep into a culture by shopping in tourist-y stores. Chile is predominantly Catholic, so it seemed like an especially good idea to go to mass.

I stopped by the cathedral near the Plaza and took a leap of faith that a sheet of paper on the bulletin board saying "Masa Domingo 8:00, 10:00. Masa Diario 16:00" meant that I should show up at 4 PM. Much to my surprise (have I mentioned that I don't speak Spanish?), people were actually gathered for mass when I came back.

Since Catholic services follow the same order everywhere, I was able to follow along and mumble English responses. That's another beautiful thing about going to church in a foreign country, knowing that everywhere across the world people are going through the same rituals, reading the same Bible passages all in their own languages.

Once mass was over, two old men stopped to talk to me. Our conversation was basically them talking in broken English and me attempting to make Latin sound Spanish-y. It must have worked because I figured out that they were thanking me for stopping by their church and telling me "peace be with you" (one of the responses during mass). We managed to work out that I was about to meet a friend at the Plaza. They also told me, "You look, to my eyes, very good." And now I can say I've been hit on just outside church by guys three times my age.

Punta Arenas

That's pronounced "Punta Arena," by the way, because final s's are silent in the Chilean accent. My (non-existent) Spanish is ruined forever. The next time I visit Mexico I'll go around saying "Gracia" and everyone will think I can't even say "Thank you" correctly.



This is a statue of Magellan in the Plaza. Sailors are supposed to rub the big toe of the guy sitting down for good luck before a journey. I rubbed it for retroactive good luck on the Palmer.

The Plaza itself is adorable with a few stands set up selling souvenirs. Apparently Chile is famous for its wool. Guess what you'll be getting, guys back home! Because the ship sure didn't have a souvenir stand.

Pisco Calafate

The first night in port we went to a restaurant (with meat! lots of meat!) and then to a pub. It turns out sailors like to get REALLY DRUNK their first night back after a cruise with no alcohol allowed. I think this photo captures the spirit of the night. (No, parents, I didn't get drunk.)



The regional drink is Pisco Calafate, similar to Pisco Sour but with Calafate ("Magellan barberry") juice. And don't ever get Chileans started on the "Is Pisco from Peru or Chile?" debate. It turns out Pisco Calafates are really good, which is sad because they don't exist outside of Southern Chile.

Oops

When we first arrived at the port, I was astonished by the number of boats from Texas. Almost every boat had a Texan flag.



Turns out I need to study my flags.



I think the mistake was understandable.

We've Arrived

We got into Punta Arenas this morning. I woke up briefly at 6:30 AM and went up to the bridge to see the sunrise. We were hanging out in the harbor for a while since they weren't expecting us until later. I've been out to see the city, but it's not nearly as photogenic as Christchurch was. I'll try to find some good pictures to post, though (now that I have internet!).



(originally posted on Livejournal)