The Edge of the World

Our final night on our journey was spent back in Punta Arenas, at the end of the continent and edge of the world. We arrived around noon, exhausted from the journey from Patagonia and the shock of being back in civilization.  With no set plans for the afternoon, Martin consulted the books and selected the NAO Victoria Museum as the best way to make use of our remaining time. Located just outside of town, the NAO Museum is an interactive museum that boasts four life size models of famous boats from the area. Not only were they life-size, they were accessible to climb aboard and wander through the various decks and rooms and play with the various working parts!

We walked around the life raft of James Caird that Sir Ernst Shackleton used to save his Antarctica expedition from starvation and abandonment.  His attempt to cross Antarctica was quickly stopped by the ice before even reaching the shore.  His boat was eventually crushed by the ice and he was required to sail one of the life boats with two other men in open seas to obtain help and rescue his stranded crew.

 

We wandered about the Schooner Ancud for which no history was provided yet we later learned thanks to Google was used to claim the area as part of Chile.

We stood at the helm of the HMS Beagle, the famous boat Darwin used in his expedition of the nearby islands and began writing his theory of evolution; only just then realizing how close we were to the origins of Darwinism.

The HMS Beagle overlooking the Straight of Magellan

And finally we were able to board an exact replica of the NAO Victoria, one of Magellan’s four boats that travelled the world in search of the spice route and discovering and naming in turn the Strait of Magellan.  It was upon reading his story that I fully grasped that the body of water I was looking at was in fact the infamous body of water that I had learned about during school.  To make history come even more alive, looking at a map of his 3 years of travel, I realized that I had been to at least one third of his stops:  The Azores, Rio De Janeiro, Punta Arenas, Valparaiso, Sydney, Hobart, etc. And always one to grab a challenge, I flirted with the idea of seeing the rest…the moment passed, but the desire to return to a few of the previous locations did not…specifically the Azores, the original destination of my first real international travel…note to self, convince the family that a return vacation should be planned. 

One of Magellan's four boats!

We wrapped up the day and our trip to Chile with a great meal at La Marmicita.  We said farewell the next day but not a goodbye… we will be back in six years…Chile is the best way to get to Antarctica for my 40^th birthday!