Today we picked up the car. We caught a taxi out to the airport and took possession of a Toyota HiLux. Grim experience has taught us that when you go to Chile, Peru or Argentina, you can't save pennies on personal transport. The biggest 4X4 is a must to tackle the rough roads. They're not cheap so we delay as long as possible needing to hire one. (We hired a terrano last year without 4WD and ended up digging the car out of a sand road a long way from town.)

We drove back through Punta Arenas and then headed down the Ruta 9 - this route is the southern most Ruta National on the American continent. It finishes at Faro san Isidro, a lighthouse, a few miles short of Cabo Froward or Cape Froward, which is the southernmost point on the American mainland. Originally we thought we might drive all the way down, but wimped out when the road became flooded and narrow. Unlike Clarkson and Co. we don't have a huge back up team to help us out.

We traced our way back to San Juan where we found a monument to Captain Pringle Stokes, the Captain of HMS Beagle before Robert Fitzroy. His grave was nestled alongside other English graves on the hillside. A brave and intrepid sailor, the difficult conditions in the Magellan Straits made him depressed. He put a bullet in to his head but it didn't kill him. Fully lucid, he died about a week late of gangrene.

Further on was another monument to Captain Philip Parker King who sailed alongside the Beagle on the HMS Adventure, mapping the Straits.

Back along the road we visited Fuerte (Fort) Bulnes one of two early settlements by non-indigenous people. An early prison colony, founded by Captain John Williams in 1843, it was meant to be a settlement to protect the Straits. But life was hard there and eventually it was abandoned in favour of Sandy Point (Punta Arenas) some 50 km to the north.

The buildings have been restored (reconstructed). The barns were frames of timber with sods of turf for walls. Seemingly the rats ate everything, make life intolerable. The main tower was originally home for 7 men and 2 women. It must have been snug!

There was a small chapel and a few other functional buildings including an even snugger gaol and an ammo bunker, which had three locks with three keys held by three different people. Even today, the beginning of summer there was a strong breeze. Despite this we had coffee and cake outside.

Next we headed to Port Famine. Originally settled in 1584 by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, it was originally christened The City of King Phillip. The original settlers were stranded there when bad weather blew the rest of the fleet out to sea. Despite efforts to go back, the folk were left there unable to cultivate the land and two years later at that point only 18 survived. By chance, the English Pirate, Thomas Cavendish, sailed by ( a relative of the current Duke of Devonshire). The setters were so distrustful of his offer of help only one took it whilst the others stayed ashore and starved to death. Hence it became known as Port Famine or Puerto Hambre. All there is left to see today is a few stones of the church and a concrete alter with the sign: This was Spain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_del _Hambre

Back along the coast road there was a fine display of wild lupins, in full flower. Towards Punta Arenas there were several beached or wrecked ship on the coastline. It is sad to see such noble things, rotting away.