The Waterstraut Waterspout: Explorers Week: Chile

It's been awhile since we've done a South American country, and based on percentages we probably had the most of them left. Our last two countries for Explorers week are both from South America and both come from guys who circumnavigated the globe.

Chile's explorer was obvious: Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan had the itch for exploration. He spent his early adulthood traveling around Africa and to and from the Spice Islands. It was his dream to find a shorter way to get there, but he couldn't get anyone in his home country of Portugal to fund him.

So, he left for Spain to try his luck. There he met the Barbosa's who introduced him to the King of Spain. The King of Spain agreed to find his mission in part thanks to 1494’s Treaty of Tordesillas, a decree from Pope Alexander VI that had essentially divided the world in half between the Spanish and the Portuguese. This agreement placed the more practical eastern route to the Spice Islands under Portuguese control, forcing the Spanish to find a new passage by sailing west around South America.The Spanish had been desperate to discover an alternate path, so Magellan was their guy.

Obviously the king of Portugal wasn't happy with this- and he sent his men after Magellan. It never worked out for them despite how hard they tried. Instead Magellan got away and made his way across the Atlantic, or 'the Ocean Sea' as it was known, with his five ships: the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria, and the Santiago. Fun fact: he left on my birthday in 1519, just a mere 462 years before I was born.

Anyway, after their trip across the Atlantic they resupplied in Brazil and headed down the coast of South America. As Magellan's ships sailed south the weather turned bad and cold. On top of that, they had not brought enough food. The fleet stopped at Port San Julian in (southern) Argentina for the winter, and established a small settlement.

There they found some giants (sort of), and three of the five ships captains decided to mutiny. Reportedly those killed were drawn and quartered and impaled on the coast; years later, their bones were found by Sir Francis Drake. Most of the men aboard the ships were needed, so they were forgiven. The help of Duarte Barbosa was crucial to Magellan, so he appointed him as the new captain of the Victoria.

They left their settlement when they felt the weather had improved, but the Santigo was shipwrecked during a storm. Magellan was down to four ships. Those four made it down to the straits at the bottom of South America (which would later be given the name the Magellan Strait- and be our landmark for this project), but rough weather forced the captain of the San Antonio to turn back. Magellan was down to three ships.

After they made it through the straits they came out to the Pacific Ocean. Magellan actually named it that (meaning peaceful) because it looked peaceful and calm compared to the straits he had just sailed through. He thought it would be quick trip to the Spice Islands from here, but he had vastly underestimated the size of the Pacific.

The sailors ran out of food. They ate rats, leather strap and sawdust to survive. Without the benefit of vitamin C in fresh fruits and vegetables, scurvy became an issue. It took three months before they found land, and even then it wasn't the Spice Islands- but the island of Guam. At least they were able to restock their supplies there and move on.

In April of 1521, Magellan landed in the Philippines. He made friends with the locals and spread Christianity along the way. But Magellan’s religious enthusiasm would be his downfall. He threatened to kill those chieftains that resisted converting to Christianity. When a king named Lapu-Lapu refused to convert, Magellan’s men burned his village on the island of Mactan.

A battle later ensued. Magellan assumed he would command a swift victory with his superior European weapons, and against the advice of his men, Magellan himself led the attack.

But it wasn't as easy as Magellan thought it would be. Around 40 of his men, including Barboas were killed, and Magellan was shot with a poison arrow. He died on April 27, 1521.

He only became the first person to circumnavigate the globe on a technicality. He had been to the Spice Islands by way of traveling around Africa before. So he did make it all the way, just not in one trip.

(In the Philippines, where Magellan is remembered as a tyrant rather than a hero, the Battle of Mactan is reenacted every April 27, with a well-known Filipino actor playing the role of Lapu-Lapu)

The mission continued without Magellan, but there wasn't enough men to man all the ships, so they burned the worm-infested Conception and continued on their way. Eventually the Trinidad was wrecked in a storm.

The Victoria became the only ship to make it all the way around the world, with only 18 remaining sailors. One of the survivors was a sailor and scholar named Antonio Pigafetta. He wrote detailed journals throughout the voyage recording all that happened. Much of what we know about Magellan's travels comes from his journals.

He told of the exotic animals and fish they saw Magellan's crew observed several animals that were entirely new to European science, including a "camel without humps", which was probably a llama or alpaca, and a black "goose" that had to be skinned instead of plucked was a penguin (the Magellanic penguin is named after Magellan, as he was the first European to note it). Pigafetta also described the terrible conditions they endured.

Although the trip westward from Europe to the east via the Strait of Magellan had been discovered and mapped, the journey was too long and dangerous to become a practical route to the Spice Islands. But, Magellan’s voyage around the world did provide the Europeans with more than just spices.

The geographic knowledge gained by the voyage changed the world.

Magellan discovered the world was much larger than anyone had thought, and he had found a massive ocean previously unknown to Europeans.

The boys made their facebook pages.

And we moved on to Chile, where our landmark just so happened to be the Strait of Magellan. Even today it's a tough route to travel because of the unpredictable winds and currents, and how narrow the passage is.

The boys couldn't believe I didn't pick Easter Island and the 887 Moai statues (you know, the Giant heads), but we had already covered that during the Fenderson's project. It's also 2,200 miles off the coast of mainland Chile, so it hardly feels part of the country.

Easter Island isn't the only famous island belonging to Chile. In 2005, 600 barrels of Spanish gold was found (by a mini-robot!) off Robinson Crusoe Island. Experts believe the money had been buried since 1715. It was worth an estimated $10 billion.

Chile is the narrowest country in the world. It's only 217 miles wide, but over 12 times that in length (at 2,700 miles long).

The giant country is also home to some interesting geography. From the beaches to the Andes there's plenty to see.

The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place in the world. It's said some parts of the desert haven't seen rain in 400 years. As a result of the dry air, the skies here are incredibly clear which makes a great place for the ALMA telescope that has provided astronomers with tons of information.

The grasslands of Patagonia are home to the 'Horns of South America', some interesting rock formations that nobody is quite sure where they came from.

There's plenty to see in the cities too. Santiago is considered one of South America's most modern cities, and in San Alfanso del Mar you can swim in the world's largest pool (it's like 20 Olympic sized pools put together).

The boys made their Chile postcards.

Calib's featured the coastline and the Andes mountains.

Peyton noted Easter Island off the coast.

And Hayden included the beach, the coastline, the Andes and Easter Island.

We had Chile for lunch, and had Chicken and Red Pepper Salad Sandwiches, Chilean Salsa and grapes. Since the sandwiches were basically chicken salad, they were covered in mayo- something Peyton would never eat, so he got an empanada instead.