Initially, no formal visits were planned for Chile.  Instead Punta Arenas was planned as one of the coaling stops on the west coast along with Magdalena Bay.  As the southern most city in the world located in the Straits of Magellan, the climate and terrain do not make for hospitable living conditions.  

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For years it had been established as a penal colony collecting the criminals, fugitives, ranchers, and sheep herders who made their money from smuggling goods into the port for northern cities.  Nevertheless, the fleet found save harbor and dropped anchor.  The city itself must have appeared as something built on the moon out of scrap metal. 

A"Only seven-thousand-five hundred miles from home - Expect to be in New York by next October".

With little wood for construction houses and business were built from mortar and rock with corrugated iron for the roof.  This was not to say that the inhabitants were necessarily poor, on the contrary, many had made fortunes in trade importing other creature comforts and maintaining the lifestyle of Punta Arenas.  Sailors ashore found only one example of fortune where a wealth business owner had imported the necessary building materials to build a home of American wealth and style. 

A card from Russ Mahoney, USS Vermont, to his sister Sra. Margaret Manoney

Punta Arenas was also home for the spies of the world.  Because of its strategic location to shipping nations of the world maintained spies to observe the comings-and-goings of the various navies of the world.  During the fleets visit it was noted that there were four Japanese spies observing the Fleet from high positions in the hills and two Russian spies who were incensed that there were not allowed aboard the ships to examine the design.  Additionally, Britain had sent a cruiser Sappho to the harbor to observe the condition of the fleet at this point of their transit.

The Cruise of Frank B. Lesher