Patagonian Expedition Race
Punta Arenas - Location Guide
Will Gray (PER) / 13.02.2012
While we eagerly wait for the team to set off from Punta Arenas, find out more about Chile’s southernmost city...
Home of race organisers NIGSA and the start line for this year’s mammoth 600km adventure, [Punta Arenas has a true wild frontier town feel.
Translated as ‘Sandy Point’, Punta Arenas is the first port on the Pacific side of the American Continent after rounding Cape Horn – and in the days when that was the only route through, it became a vital transport hub.
It’s now a world of old and new – steeped with legends of past explorers and filled with modern adventurers starting out on their own great explorations.
Stepping off the plane in this remote Chilean destination, you know you’ve arrived when you get your first hit of the ferocious Patagonian wind – so strong it will literally blow you off your feet.
In season, hotels and backpacker hostels fill to the brim with travellers – and this week the teams added to that tally, dotted all around the town waiting for the race to begin.
And while the wind may blow dust balls, this is far from a sleepy town.
Despite its remote location, it is home to the five-star Dreams casino - with a stunning outlook over the Magellan Strait – and there are plenty of fine food restaurants to try out the traditional Patagonian asado barbecue too.
For the racers, though, it will be the last home comfort for days...
[Click here to read more about Punta Arenas.]
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