where am I now?

Quite a bit has happened in the past couple weeks since my last post. I am not going to tell everything about it, but in short, I went to a bbq or two where I ate enormous slabs of meat, drank wine with old Chilean men, and had an adventure with some teaching friends in the Cajon de Maipo on an unsuccessful attempt at hiking to a glacier. Bottom line: public transportation to outdoor activities is extremely limited in Chile in the off season.

Anyway, a couple days ago I decided to purchase a ticket, kind of on a whim to Punta Arenas. It was well under the normal price, and I said why not. So here I am, by myself at the end of the world. I arrived at the airport this afternoon as the sun was setting over the windswept plains. It reminded me of Barrow when I got out. Fairly barren, less tress than I expected. And no airport transfer or taxis to greet me. In fact, there was a for sale sign in the transfer van window. I guess the driver just gave up. There was pretty much no one at the airport either, so asking someone was out of the question. After a long confused wait, a taxi finally showed up to drop someone off, and I quickly snagged it, leaving other confused passengers in the dust. Punta Arenas reminds me of the US--kind of like Alaska, or maybe Aberdeen, WA. Very weathered, and very American looking. Feels kind of like home--ish. My hostel is nice and centrally located. I think I am going on a tour to some town tomorrow and will see the strait of Magellan and things like that. I have to figure out the rest of my time here--considering going to Ushuaia, but the bus times are tricky. Hopefully I cna figure this out tomorrow. I am playing it by ear!