Travelers often overlook Puerto San Julián in their mad dash down Ruta Nacional 3. But this city on a bay that Charles Darwin called “beautiful and spacious” is worthy of a stay, to explore its rich natural and human history. The city is set on a small, boot-shaped peninsula.

In the original downtown, between Avenida Piedra Buena and the sea, are many old buildings which exhibit an English-influenced architecture thanks to immigrants from the Malvinas. The main boulevard, Avenida San Martín, ends at a life-size replica of Magellan’s ship, the Nao Victoria.

The centerpiece of the village, Plaza San Martín, is a few blocks away. In the center is an old-fashioned carousel. You can ride the painted horses on weekends and holidays (on Zeballos and Colón. Entry: free). At the south side of the peninsula is a fascinating accident of geology. At low tide, a waterfall is exposed about 400 meters (1312 ft) from the bay, leaving behind lagoons frequented by flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis), black-necked swans (Cygnus melancoryphus) and other birds.

Puerto San Julián’s motto is "Orígen del Mito Patagónico," Origen of the Patagonian Myth. During his exploration for a western route to the Spice Islands, Ferdinand Magellan and his crew spent four months here. On March 31, 1520, they anchored. Their presence marked many firsts for Argentina and the Patagonia. The first mass celebrated in Argentine Patagonia was on April 1, 1520. From the monument marking the spot are great views of the bay, islands, and shipping port (on Avenida Costanera and Elcano).

The next day a mutiny arose, with the rebels taking three of the five ships. Magellan recaptured the Nao Victoria and eventually the mutineers surrendered. Quezada was beheaded, and Cartegena and Father Sánchez de la Reina were banished. Forty others, including Elcano, were sentenced to death, an order never carried out. Juan Sebastián Elcano would be one of the eighteen men of the original 265 who would survive this circumnavegation of the earth, captaining the Nao Victoria into her home port.

In June a group of Aónikenk Tehuelche arrived. Ship logger Antonio Pigafetta called these great statured Patagones for the large-looking feet covered with guanaco fur moccasins—and thus the land Patagonia. Some of the indigenous were baptized in the first such ceremony in Argentina. Later, however, a confrontation erupted between the Spaniards and indigenous, which can be called the first inter-ethnic conflict in the Argentine Patagonia.

There must be something in the air of San Julián. On June 15, 1578, Sir Francis Drake anchored here. He discovered Magellan’s gallows still standing. During the two-months overwintering, his crew mutinied as well. Thomas Doughty was beheaded for treason.

Things were a bit calmer for Robert Fitz Roy, captain of HMS The Beagle, in his two visits here, though in his 1828 expedition, Officer Robert H. Sholl died. His grave is about 6 kilometers (3.6 mi) north on the Circuito Costero. The Beagle’s second mission, which included naturalist Charles Darwin, spent January 1834 in Bahía San Julián. The fossils around Bahía San Julián fascinated Darwin.

The unrelenting Patagonian landscape made the survival of permanent settlements here difficult, though the major European powers of the time felt they needed to establish them to control the Magellan Strait. In the face of growing British interest in the South Atlantic coast, Spanish king Carlos III felt compelled to send colonizers here.

But this monarch had a radical idea for them. The majority of these communites’ inhabitants would be farmers and artisans, and the family would be the pillar of society. The new towns would work peaceably with the local indigenous. Four such colonies were founded between 1779 and 1780: Carmen de Patagones on the Río Negro, San José (Península Valdés), Todos los Santos y San Carlos (near modern-day Puerto Deseado) and Floridablanca (near modern-day Puerto San Julián). The only one to survive was Carmen de Patagones. Floridablanca, which had an initial population of 150, was abandoned in 1784. Its ruins are located on private land about 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the port (off Ruta 25, 5 km / 3 mi towards Gobernador Gregores).

At the end of the 19th century, sheep estancias were founded throughout the Patagonia. To handle the export of their products, this port grew into a sizeable village. During the 1920-22 worker strikes, Puerto San Julián was one of the hotspots. The Secretary General of this Sociedad Obrera branch was Albino Argüelles, who was captured and killed “while trying to escape.” A monument honors him (on Ameghino and Vieyes).

When the soldiers of Regimento 2 de Infantería showed up at the bordello in town after the massacres, five prostitutes refused to attend to them, stating “We don’t lay murderers.” This act of defiance is known as the Rebelión de la Catalanas. The former brothel is on Colón street.

Europeans weren’t the only ones to leave traces of their presence. Humans have lived for over 13,000 years. The ancestors of the Aóniokenk left many pinturas rupestres in caves located on Estancia La María. Some consider this to be Santa Cruz Province’s second most important archaeological site, after Cueva de las Manos near Perito Moreno.

The natural history of Puerto San Julián is just as breathtaking. In the bay are two large islands, Isla de los Pájaros and Isla de los Pingüinos. Both isles have significant bird populations. As its name suggests, Isla de los Pingüinos is a major breeding ground for those stately Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus). Commerson's Dolphins (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) are frequently seen in the bay.

North on the coast is the Circuito Costero which goes to a series of beaches known for its resident sea lions (Otera flavescens), fossils and fishing. Anglers can look forward to spending a meditative afternoon trying to hook róbalo (sea bass), pejerrey (silverside), pintarroja (dogfish), pez elefante (elephant fish) and tiburón gatopardo (sevengill shark). On the other side of Bahía San Julián is Reserva Provincial Peninsula San Julian.