With this blog I continue with my travels on the good ship Arcadia.
A very long time ago a sea captain by the name of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese working for King Charles I of Spain, was the first person to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, via South America. He is credited with discovering the Strait of Magellan, a difficult but more safe passage than via Cape Horn. Do some research and see what you can find out about all this.
In my travels we did in fact sail into the Strait of Magellan, and visited a port city which overlooks the Strait. It's name is Punta Arenas. A photo of the city, and of the cruise ship Arcadia at anchor in the Strait is below. The photo was taken from the top of a ski trail, at the very end of the Andes Mountains in Chile. How about that?
The following is a drawing of the Strait of Magellan, with the location of Punta Arenas marked for us.
A statue honouring Magellan, and the local Indians, is located in a beautiful Square in Punta Arenas. It is said to be 'good luck' to hold the foot of the Indian's statue, as shown below.
Now, do you know about Cape Horn, at the very bottom of South America? If not, do some research. It is very isolated, and can be very dangerous. In our journey to Punta Arenas, Arcadia sailed around the Cape, which is actually part of an island. A photo and map are below.
Until next time, study hard, practice your English....and see if you can tell me something about Magellan or Cape Horn that I may not know.
Alan
