A little bit of history...

I decided to write about the Pacific Ocean since we were given a bunch of info that I found very interesting. When we were in Punta Arenas, there was a big statue of Ferdinand Magellan in the square. Yup, that’s him in the picture. Anyway, I totally forgot that he actually named the Pacific Ocean.  When Magellan and his fleet emerged from the Strait of Magellan (it took him 38 days to navigate the strait that was eventually named after him) he described a “beautiful, peaceful ocean” thus it was named the Pacific (means peaceful) Ocean.

Magellan and his crew of 270 men set sail form Spain on their around-the-world-voyage in five small vessels (no stabilizers!). They set sail on Sept. 20, 1519 from Spain. Since the King of Portugal would not support him in a post in the royal navy in his home of Portugal, he renounced his loyalty to Portugal and joined Spain in its endeavors to find a route to the Spice Islands. Magellan claimed that there was a western route to the Spice Islands through a seaway near the southern tip of South America and the King of Spain put his support and money behind Magellan.

Magellan would not have seen any cities like this, but the mountains haven't changed much.

Ferdinand Magellan

Thank you Ferdinand Megellan for finding us a nice route to go through!

Magellan would not have found this tasty brew back then.

When I saw this little sailboat rocking and rolling in the waves, I thought about Magellan and what they must have endured.

It took him nearly 4 months to get to what we now call the Philippines. Although he was killed in the Philippines and only one of his original 5 ships made it back to Spain, he is the guy we know who completed the first ever circumnavigation of the globe. His voyage has been called the greatest single human achievement on the seas. That's how the Strait of Magellan got its name too.

Lastly, the Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world’s five oceans, followed by the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Artic Oceans. It covers an area that is larger than the total land area of the world and is 15 times the size of the US.

Enjoy some of the scenery that Magellan probably saw nearly 500 years ago when to came through the Strait.