So I left Patagonia and headed for Tierre del Fuego, which, as you all know, is actually an island at the bottom of South America.  However, Punta Arenas in Chile is the southern most city on the continent itself.

As for Patagonia, at least the part I saw (only part of the very southern part), what would one say if asked to describe?  Like any place, quite varied.  But I would say rugged, dry, stark, sometimes breathtaking and sometimes boring, vast and wild, mostly uninhabited- the most I have everr seen.  But the overall impression I had was one that it seemed as if the land had only recently emerged from the ice age.  That is, glaciation sits heavy on the land- in its many glacial streams and huge lakes (all so strikingly tourquoise), and in its valleys

and sharp and distinct mountains.  pics are from Torre del Paine