MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

High season in Punta Arenas

High season in Punta Arenas, and besides the cruise vessels an estimated 600/700 travellers are arriving daily to the local airport.

Lan Chile's regional manager Paola Contardo said that the number was normal for this time of the year, and has been increasing since last October when the first visitors began arriving to Chilean Patagonia.

The regular air link to Santiago from Punta Arenas includes four daily flights with additional two flights during October, another two in November and December, until the end of the season in March.

"This means that one day a week we have seven flights, four days six flights and on another five", said Ms. Contardo who nevertheless pointed out that the number of passengers arriving in Punta Arenas actually depends on how many landings and on the type of aircraft.

Lan regularly flies with Boeing 737 that can carry 120 passengers, but other flights include Airbus 320 and 767, with capacity for 156 and 210 travellers. Check-in time at the airport also varies between one and two hours depending on the aircraft.

However and in spite of the encouraging influx of tourists, it's also vacation time for Punta Arenas residents and many locals are taking advantage of the very accessible prices just over the border.

According to reports in the local press released by the Carabineros (Chilean police) an estimated 300 to 400 vehicles are crossing daily to Argentina heading for mountain, lake and sea resorts in Bariloche, Trelew and Puerto Madryn.

Exactly the opposite from a year ago and previously, when the Argentines with a strong currency pegged at par with the US dollar would literally flood Chilean Patagonia.

British support for scientific research

With the support from the British Embassy in Santiago a scientist who has worked for the British Antarctic Survey will be lecturing Chilean and foreign botanists interested in lichen and moss in the Cape Horn area.

Professor Shawn Russell is already in Puerto Williams and will be working closely with Ricardo Rozzi from the Omora Foundation who is conducting the research.

The purpose of the of the program is to collect sufficient data on different species of lichen and moss in Tierra del Fuego, many of them still unregistered, and eventually publish a biodiversity book.

According to Punta Arenas press, Shawn Russell has done extensive research on this type of vegetation in some extreme south islands belonging to South Africa, an area that is considered to have similar environment conditions to those in Magallanes and Tierra del Fuego.

Apparently the British Embassy in Santiago said they were interested in financing the project particularly when scientific research can lead to the economic advancement and development of certain areas.

The abundance of different types of lichen and moss in Tierra del Fuego every year attracts a growing number of scientists and visitors, amazed at the diversity of the local flora.

Professor Russell also specializes in working with local communities helping them with the management of conservation and development initiatives.