PUERTO WILLIAMS

On the north shore of Isla Navarino, across the Beagle Channel from Argentine Tierra del Fuego, Puerto Williams is the so-called “Capital of Antarctica” and gateway to the rugged Los Dientes backcountry circuit, a difficult five-day hike through rugged soggy terrain. Local residents look forward to establishment of a permanent ferry link to nearby Argentina, but there is much political opposition across the channel because myopic Ushuaia impresarios fear losing business to tiny Williams—however unlikely that possibility.

Founded in the 1950s, formerly known as Puerto Luisa, the town (population 1,952) has paved sidewalks but gravel streets. Most of its residents are Chilean naval personnel living in relatively stylish prefabs, but there are also some 60 remaining descendants of the Yámana, of whom only about five speak the language—now a hybrid including many Spanish and English words—among themselves.

back to top

Sights
Overlooking the harbor is the Proa del Escampavía Yelcho, the prow of the famous cutter which, at the command of Luis Pardo Villalón, rescued British Antarctic explorer Edward Shackleton’s crew from Elephant Island, on the Antarctic Peninsula, in 1916. A national monument, the bow survived collisions with icebergs to get to its destination; returning to Punta Arenas, the entire ship makes a cameo appearance in original newsreel footage in British director George Butler’s Endurance, an extraordinary documentary of the Shackleton expedition.

Very professional for a small-town museum, the Museo Martin Gusinde has small exhibits on geology, economic plants, and taxidermy, a marker for the former post office, and a sign for the coal mine at Caleta Banner, on nearby Isla Picton, which provisioned the Yelcho on its mission to rescue Shackleton’s crew. Admission costs US$1.75 pp; nearby is the Parque Botánico Omora, an organized selection of native plants.

Built in Germany for operations on the Rhine, the MV Micalvi shipped supplies between remote estancias and other settlements before sinking in Puerto Williams’s inner harbor in 1962; the upper deck and bridge remain as the yacht club’s bar/restaurant.

back to top

Practicalities
The Pingüino Pub is at the Centro Comercial.

South America’s southernmost bar/restaurant, the Club de Yates Micalvi, occupies the main deck and the bridge of the historic vessel that lies grounded in Puerto Williams’s inner harbor.

Nearly all of Puerto Williams’s services are concentrated around the Centro Comercial, a cluster of storefronts just uphill from the Muelle Guardián Brito, the main passenger pier. These include the post office, several telephone offices, Banco de Chile, the Cema-Chile crafts shop, and Manualidades, which rents mountain bikes.

DAP (tel. 061/621051), at the Centro Comercial, flies 20-seat Twin Otters to Punta Arenas (US$64) Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from April to October. The rest of the year, flights leave daily except Sunday. DAP flights are often heavily booked, so make reservations as far in advance as possible.

Regular boat connections between Puerto Williams and Ushuaia, on Argentine Tierra del Fuego, continue to be problematical, but hitching a lift across the channel with a yacht is feasible—for a price. For up-to-date information, contact the Gobernación Marítima (tel. 061/621090), the Club de Yates (tel. 061/621041, int. 4250), or Turismo Sim (tel. 061/621150).

In summer, the ferry Patagonia sails to Punta Arenas (38 hours) Friday at 7 p.m. Fares are US$150 in a bunk, US$120 for a seat.