Late evening in Patagonia... I got my plane ready, and took off at dusk, heading south (186). My stay in Argentina was rather brief, and now I am going back to Chile. I had to zig-zag a bit to get to Punta Arenas in Chile (and eventually to Rio Grande, Argentina), as the direct route from Valdivia was a bit too long for a single step. It might have been doable, but I did not want to get into the lower 1/4 of my gas tanks if I really did not have to (there are few parts of this adventure when I will probably have to do that though). Interestingly, during the take off from the airport, it was rather dark, as the night was falling and the sky was overcast, but as I started flying south, and got above clouds, it became somewhat lighter. At this time of the year, the further south you go (providing that you are south of the equator), the longer the days are. Suggested altitude for this trip was 6,500 ft. but I chose to fly at 9,500 ft. instead. I found that to be the sweet spot that would get me there the quickest with the least amount of fuel. So at 00:50 local time I have arrived to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city on the planet Earth. It is located at the Strait of Magellan at, what used to be, one of the busiest shipping routes (that is until the Panama Canal was made). The weather was OK, and the landing not too bad.

Leaving Comodoro Rivadavia airport Coast of Argentina Above clouds Final approach to Punta Arenas

List of countries: Argentina Chile

Flight log: