Punta Arenas

It's my fourth day here in Punta Arenas and the day after Torres del Paine so I'm beat. So today I'm taking it easy and soaking up Patagonian culture here in Punta Arenas. First let's discuss booze. There's Cristal beer which I was told by a local that it's the finer beer. Then there's Austral Patagonia beer which is competition for Cristal. The Austral beer comes in different brews. I've had Austral Lager, Austral Pale Ale, and Austral Torres del Paine. The lager is crisp with a clear golden color, has a sweet finish and very low bitterness. The Ale is not too exciting and again tastes sweet with little hops in the taste. The Austral Torres del Paine on the other hand was delicious. This beer tastes like a micro brew and is bolder than the others I've had. Cristal I don't recommend and tastes like a Coors light with slightly more hops.

I've been going to this cafe in town called Chocolatta to use their Wi-Fi. This place has churros that are the shit! They are filled with dolce de leche so they're not covered in sugar but just dusted with powdered sugar and this makes them not too sweet but buttery and fucken delicious. I've had them two days in a row.

Also went back to Sabores for a late lunch. Whatever this Pilpil way of cooking is it's got me hooked like it was crack. This time had Scallops Pilpil and didn't disappoint. I was still hungry so ordered Calamares Romana and yeah delicious. Here in Chile at restaurants they serve you Perbe, which is a cross between pico de gallo and bruschetta but spicy. And Perbe is eaten with a starch usually a warm roll. There ain't no tortillas here in Chile.

My friend Judy had to relieve herself bad while walking around town today because homegirl drank a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. So we walked into this cafe in town to use the restroom. I waited outside for her and soon after I saw the worker girl dart out of the store to go across the street with a $20 bill in her hand. Apparently that girl asked Judy to pay $2 for using the toilet and Judy was not happy. Can't remember the name of the place but don't go there.

I went to a couple of musuems here in Punta Arenas and also went to an art gallery. One of the musuems is the Sara Braun mansion and well not too many rooms to see there. The view of town from this mansion was nice and the opulent furnishings, ceilings and woodwork were all original and from the 1890's. Sara Braun was a Russian that came from a wealthy family and married a Portugese. Their wealth came from sheep and were pioneers in that industry. Punta Arenas has many mansions here and symbolizes the wealth to be made at the time from sheep and agriculture.

The other musuem is another mansion and belonged to Sara Braun's brother. It's the Menendez mansion. This place was closed so I just walked around the grounds. There's a huge backyard with creepy chairs made to look like hands.

I wanted some views of town from the hills so did some walking in the rain to get a birds-eye view of the city. The homes are brightly colored and come in a rainbow of shades. From these hills you can see the Strait of Magellan. Reminds me of San Francisco in some parts. This part of town is more suburban and the homes are larger than the ones near town.

Latin Americans have an obsession with 2 things: Reggaetone and the Virgin Mary so to see a Jehovah's witness gathering place blew me away. The Mormons are everywhere!