Punta Arenas, Chile

Have you ever heard of Punta Arenas? The name means "Sandy Point." It's in Chile, at the bottom of South America, near Tierra del Fuego. There's a inland waterway - the Strait of Magellan - you can sail through to get to the other coast, so you don't have to brave the nasty waters between the tip and Antarctica, and in the middle is a city of 150,000 people! There is a large percentage of residents with Spanish or Croat ancestry.

Here's the Google Map
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=punta+arenas,+chile&sll=-28.207609,-53.569336&sspn=13.898988,19.753418&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Punta+Arenas,+Chile&ll=-53.159947,-70.905762&spn=9.482212,19.753418&z=6

There a great panoramic photo in Wikipedia that shows the red roofs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punta_Arenas

It is a frequent staging point for expeditions to Antarctica, which is less than 1,500 miles away.

Punta Arenas has a semi-arid, ocean-moderated climate. The seasonal temperature averages lows in July near −1 °C (30.2 °F) and highs in January of 14 °C (57 °F). Among Chileans the city is also known for its strong winds (up to 130 km/hour). In the summer city officials put up ropes in the downtown area to assist with unique wind currents created by the buildings. Since 1986, Punta Arenas has been the first significantly populated city in the world to be directly affected by the hole in the ozone layer, exposing its residents to potentially damaging levels of ultraviolet radiation.

There is some talk on the tourist sites about lots of penguins!