COOL THINGS IN JAPAN YOU MUST SEE
Punta Arenas, in southern Chile, is an unlikely mixture of faded European gilded-age splendor, wild-western U.S. frontier town, immigrant melting pot, and modern-day adventure expedition kick-off point.
The town was once a mandatory stop-off point for ships traveling to and from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Ships docked to load and unload cargo and passengers, and the town prospered.
The local cemetery is an especially interesting repository of Punta Arena history. It has been ranked as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world, certainly among the most dramatic cemeteries in Latin America.
The official name of the local cemetery is the Cementerio Municipal de Punta Arenas Sara Braun. Sara Braun, who donated the land for the cemetery, was a Latvian immigrant who traveled to Punta Arenas in the early 1900s.
Many travelers come to Punta Arenas to board a Strait of Magellan cruise. The ships also traverse the turbulent waters of the Beagle Channel and other waterways of Tierra del Fuego.
It was in this little town of eclectic architecture and improbable legends that we boarded the Ventus Australius for a 4-night Strait of Magellan cruise.