Puerto del Ambre (Hunger Port)

Puerto del Ambre is a small bay in Chile, located near the city of Punta Arenas near the Strait of Magellan. This place with a sad history and unique flora will interest both a novice tourist and an experienced traveler.

In Spanish, Puerto-del-Hambre means port of hunger. And this name is not accidental. On a plaque by the road near the bay you can read: Here in 1587, the English captain Thomas Cavendish took on board Tome Hernandez - the only survivor of the three hundred colonists of the settlements "The Name of Jesus" and "King Philip", founded in 1584 by the Spanish navigator Sarmiento de Gamboa. Left to fend for themselves, they all died of starvation, for which the bay was called the "Port of Hunger".

But these events should not scare visitors to this cozy bay. Colonies are no longer here, and ships are not wrecked in the winding Strait of Magellan.

Near Puerto del Ambre, in the vicinity, you can find unusual mushrooms growing bright orange clusters on the trunks of Antarctic beech. These mushrooms are from the same family as European truffles. They are called “Indian bread” because of their nutritional value.