We woke up this morning and were docked outside of Punta Arenas Chile. This is our last city in Chile. Next we stop in Argentina and then no stops for the next few days while is Antarctica. Our tour today includes a small private collection of replicas of ship that are important to the Chilean people. The Nao Victoria (the ship Magellan journeyed in, the HMS Beagle ( Charles Darwin’s ship) , The JamesCaird ( a life boat of the Endurance,Shackelton’s ship for Antarctica exploration, and the Chilean schooner Ancud ( used to claim the straits on behalf of Chile) 
the entrance
looking from the entrance across the museum
The Nao Victoria. Below are pictures from inside. I can’t imagine these ships full of 42 seamen and successfully circumnavigate the world. The fleet started with five ships and this one was the only one to actually make the complete journey. She was given to Magellan by King Charles of Spain. The expedition started in 1519. In looking inside this ship, I can’t imagine being aboard it during the cold months of summer here and absolutely would not have been one of the seaman!
Looking towards the HMS Beagle 
the Beagle is a smaller ship
Al at the helm taking the wheel
This ship even has a privy!
Darwin’s cabin
On board 
Looking at the Straights of MagellanI just realized when editing pictures that I have no picture of the outside of the the Acuna. Here are the insides…again, it had a compliment of 23 seamen plus officers and not more than 18 inches of space!
The lifeboat from the Endeavor
The lifeboat from the EndeavorThe day was sunny but bitter wind made us very cold. 45 minutes was long enough to browse the ships and read any notes. The bus was a welcome relief! Next we headed to a newly remodeled museum of the Seisan Catholic priests. This order of priests were the first to try to convert the local indigenous families. The museum had a very good collection of native species (in taxidermy of course) and a full history of the order’s presence in Punta Arenas. 
Museum. It looks inside like an old school
Chairs made from whale vertebrae. Dont imagine they are comfortable but someone thought it was a good idea
Stuffed penguins and a beautiful design on the leather back of an animal skin.
Museum. It looks inside like an old school
Chairs made from whale vertebrae. Dont imagine they are comfortable but someone thought it was a good idea
Next we head through the city and up the hills to a viewing spot where we will be able to see the vastness of the Straights of Magellan
Views of the city with the straights in the background 
Views of the city with the straights in the background 
Various views of the buildings around the city main square.
In the main square is a large statue of Ferdinand Magellan , a globe and diary representing his voyage. The bottom of the statue has indigenous peoples surrounding on each side. The saying goes that if you kiss the foot of the man, you will someday return to the city.
Me kissing the foot
Al rubbing the foot. He’s not to into kissing bronze on a cold day.(think he remembers sticking his tongue to metal) 
Spring blossoms
Dandelions!
Sculptures along side the road representing indigenous masks
Traffic is dangerous. This is a roadside memorial . The flags represent one loss… quite a few here! While in town, we saw a car flying through the streets so I imagine there will be a new red flag there soon!We returned to our ship after a nice tour and were happy to take it easy the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a busy day with a zodiac glacier landing, meaning we actually will step on land, and Albert is scheduled to go into the deep in the yellow submarine!
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