You can rock up to your local supermarket and literally carry out a whole skinned lamb (head included). I got quite a sight while doing the grocery shopping - Patagonians wandering through the aisles, lamb under arm, (probably) chatting about the latest innovations in grilling.
We'd ended up in Punta Arenas, the most Southern city in Chilean Patagonia. This also marks the most Southern point I've ever visited, a mere 1,400km North of Antarctica. We arrived at a hostel to find the owner barbecuing, a whole lamb obviously, and got involved in a fairly intense game of Xmas Drinking Jenga.
There are only two things to do in Punta Arenas. The first one, oddly, is to go to a strip club - they have over 100 strip clubs for a population of around 100,000 people. The second is to visit a colony of Magellanic penguins. The strippers had the Xmas period off work so we headed out to the local penguin colony instead.
The adult penguins are about 50-70cm tall and weigh about 6kg. They spend most of their time chasing fish around - 14hrs a day is spent fishing by one parent, while the other looks after the kids.
Other than that, they waddle around and chill on the beach, talking about their favourite sea tides and the local starfish population.
Another thing worth mentioning, is the local cemetery in Punta Arenas, which I stumbled across while looking for empanadas. The whole place is filled with evergreen trees shaped into large bulbous towers. A beautiful place to rest your bones indeed.
Punta Arenas marked the end of my time in Patagonia. I must say that the region is one of the most beautiful I have ever visited on my travels. I will never forget the deep blue lakes around Bariloche, the rumbling Perito Moreno glacier, or the marble caves near Puerto Rio Tranquilo.
After living the clean life for six weeks, I was in need of a good party. There are few better parties than New Years Eve in the Chilean town of Valparaiso so I jumped on a plane to Santiago. At this point, I had actually completed a big (ridiculously shaped) circle - Santiago is where I started my trip almost one year ago...
I caught up with my Chilean friends Consuelo and Carla, who I met in La Serena, and was introduced to the Terremoto, a Chilean cocktail. The name means earthquake, and consists of fermented white wine, a little fruit juice and a dollop of ice cream - it lives up to its name.
I met up with Estela, who I'd met in Panama, and we headed to Valparaiso. Apart from being a good place to party, they put on a spectacular firework display. Valpo is made for this - a town built on steep hills on the side of a huge curving bay. There was enough space for everyone to get a great view of the fireworks before rolling down the hill to party in the main square with whatever booze was left over.
Valpo is a beautiful town, with beautiful painted buildings and nice views out to sea. If you have been reading this blog from the start you will know that I've already been there, so I won't write about it again!
So, it's back to Argentina to see the North, after which I'll work my way through the South of Brazil to catch my flight home. But that's all for now, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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