Day 3: The Patagonia Adventure - Life Without Cell Data
Day 3 - Playing around in Punta Arenas - Saturday, 2/25/23
Kristi and Tom Reimers after a successful visit to the local police station.
Lock em up!
(just kidding)
After a bit of searching while getting their morning steps in, Kristi and Tom found the Punta Arenas police station. This visit was a necessary step to secure the required immigration papers they would need to leave the country. Somehow this was missed by the Customs officer when they entered South America. The remedy was a trip to the local police who could validate the forms.
Resolving the first obstacle of locating the police station, the next barrier was language. The police officer at the front desk did not speak English. With his phone translation app and Kristi and Tom’s good use of American sign language (pointing to papers), they were able to communicate and successfully check the box for obtaining these forms.
As they headed back to the hotel, Kristi and I exchanged texts and calls on the paperwork status. This is when we noticed that although our phones were working for calls and texts, nothing else was coming through. We had no data. Without data, there were no maps, Google, emails, etc…
Although the map app would have been nice, it was a bit of a treasure hunt to find the restaurants and museums we were seeking. It also allowed us to look around and find little local hidden treasures rather than glued to our phone maps.
Lunch was at a little cafe where we enjoyed a variety of beef, salad, and salmon. The cappuccinos were delightful and Kristi found her Coke Light. All were happy.
At this same cafe, once again, I ran into some bathroom confusion. Coming back from using the restroom, I told the group about a nude photo on the wall above the sink. It had a man and a woman on a bicycle completely nude.
“Oh my gosh, you have to check it out, Kristi!”
She discreetly took her turn in the restroom and came back with a case of giggles. She found the women’s bathroom but instead of a nude photo, there was a cute heart wall hanging. Nothing else was visibly hanging. Out of curiosity, Kristi peeked into the men’s bathroom to confirm my error. I used the wrong bathroom. I guess the conversation piece was just meant for only the guys.
Our next stop was walking the waterfront, taking in the history of the Strait of Magellan. Although very windy by the water, the sun was shining and the temp was comfortable.
Really wanting to visit a museum, we found that the main museums were not open on the weekends. We did find an old Catholic high school that was converted to a museum that featured taxidermy of local wildlife and the history of the church and the indigenous people. It was interesting. I was taken back in time to walking the hallways of my own childhood Catholic schoolhouses.
Walking out of the museum we noticed a large open area that served as a hangout for teenagers. They were all milling around and chatting with each other. Lots of conversations were happening. I had just commented on how people walking through the downtown area of Punta Arenas seemed so happy, with a positive vibe flexing through the city.
We then noticed what was missing. No one was staring at their phones. Literally no one. People were actually talking, interacting, and enjoying the day. They were either looking up or at each other. With no data, a phone is much less interesting.
Continuing down to the market square, we shopped the local vendors. Kristi and I later found several of our unique market purchases in a large souvenir shop down the street. Obviously not the handmade treasures we thought, but it made for a good story to laugh about later.
Punta Arenas was having its annual end-of-summer street party in the Downtown city park. All kinds of events were going on with people laughing and physically participating in the fun. Again, barely a cell phone was in sight. Kristi and I joined the Latin dancing group for a bit and we all enjoyed the many dogs running loose around town. Even the dogs seemed happy!
Logging in seven miles of walking, we felt we did a nice job of educating ourselves on the city's history and culture. Who needs museums open on weekends? We found a little pizza shop and enjoyed an array of stone-fired pizzas with beer. The beer of choice in Chile is Cerveza Austral. We all liked it and indulged throughout our trip. The pizza was interesting. The BBQ chicken came with added shrimp and one pizza was sliced meat with onions. We enjoyed the variety of new flavors.
After a day of being cultured, we were reminded of the joy in finding the small life wonders before cell phone distractions.
Calling it a day, we were ready for our Day #4 excursion. Next up was a visit to the penguins on Magdalena Island.
Life Without Cell Data (Example #1) - Can you spot anyone staring at their phones in this video?
The end of the summer festival was going on in Punta Arenas town center.
Life Without Cell Data (Example #2) - How about this one? Anyone with their head in their phone?
The kids participated in a basketball tournament as part of the summer festival.
Lunch in a cute cafe with discussion photos in the (wrong) bathroom.
Seaside exploring the history behind the Strait of Magellan.
Exploring the downtown and markets.
