Clare writes:
Tonight we're not quite at the end of the world, but as close as either of us have been. Punta Arenas is still a few hundred km from the southernmost town in the world (Ushiaia) but we're on the banks of the Magellan Straight within sight of Tierre del Fuego... even our hostel's called El Fin del Mundo (the end of the world).
We took a flight down here - 2000km or more - to save stress and time (but, obviously not money!) but frstratingly didn't get a window seat - just tiny glimpses of volcanic peaks through clouds through a gap between the man across the aisle and the wing, until he closed the blind! Punta Arenas is much bigger than I expected - like a proper Spanish city with grand boulevards, plazas, heroic statuary etc... but in the middle of nowhere. I call it 'The Buxton Effect' - if you've ever been to Buxton you'll understand - but multiplied by about 100.
The plan now is to get to Tierra del Fuego, the famous Torres del Paine national park and the Moreno glacier.. Sheila will tell you more about this later!. Some of this will involve popping in and out of Argentina because Patagonia is split up rather messily between the two.

Sheila writes:

We flew into in Punta Arenas (the disputed most southern city in the world - it is the most southerly continental city in the world (on mainland Chile) but Argentina claims Ushaia as the most southerly city (but it is on Tierra del Fuego - an island (albeit a very large one!!)). We didn't really know what to expect - but Punta Arenas is a big thriving city - with loads of shops and nice cafes and restaurants - even a massive new multi-storied, glass structured, casino! It is the biggest port in the southern Antarctic seas (smartly uniformed naval officers everywhere...!) and it turns out that Chile has made it a Duty Free port - so it (alegedly) attracts lots of shoppers and gamblers looking for a good time - however, Las Vegas it is NOT! Its freezing, much darker at night and specialises in Menu del dias rather than buffets!