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When I heard about a place called Puerto Cristal, an abandoned mining town located in Chile's Patagonia. Although difficult to access, I did not hesitate to pack my bag and head out to explore it. I first flew from Santiago to Balmaceda where the tour guide Luis Casanova picked me up and drove us to Puerto Tranquilo. The weather was quite moody when we arrived. The wind was trying to blow away the rain. It was a battle that the rain was winning and the navy closed the pier. It took me four hours to get into the boat and officially start my journey to the end of the world. Upon sailing across South America's second largest lake, General Carrera and stopping by the Marble Cathedral - one of the most beautiful caves in the world – Luis and I finally arrived at an empty town. At least that's what I thought. It was midday so Luis dropped me off at the "Guest House" while he started to prepare lunch for us. Out of the blue, a young miner came up to me and offered to show me around. At first, I was doubtful but then I accepted. While walking, the miner looked me in the eye and said, “you're bound to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience”. It turns out that I was chosen to immerse myself in how 'Cristalinos' used to live so I could come back to today with one mission: To raise public awareness of Puerto Cristal's cultural value heritage. This place, unlike others, has not tapped into the potential of mining tourism. All of sudden Puerto Cristal was so vivid and unexpectedly I was back in 1950! We walked straight ahead to the mine. The miner showed me the process of exploiting zinc and lead and explained to me every detail of the mining process. He also introduced me to his friends and told me about their lives. He mentioned the miners were upset for the soon to be football match between the managers and the workers. The boss, as usual, gave the "star" of the team a shift at the mine so he could no longer play. This low tactic to make the managers’ team win the match reminded me of the class struggle that remains even today. I could hear from the mine the sound of bells. I looked ahead, and I saw a bunch of children playing in the field, I had found a school! Once there, to my surprise, there were three fully equipped classrooms. The miner introduced me to his wife, one of the representatives of the Mothers’ Center and invited me to join the after-school activities such as music and English classes. So, I accepted it! After that rewarding experience, the miner and I went for a quick lunch at the casino. The tour continued since there was so much more to see. Yet, I started to wonder why this place was not well-known back in the future, not promoted by DMO's nor tour operators. At that moment I realized why the settlers wanted me so badly to come back and spread the word. We bumped into the priest, I happened to be there during one of his monthly visits. I participated at weddings, baptisms and, unfortunately, one funeral. They had to make the most out of the priest while in town! I also met the radio announcer, the man from the grocery store and a new family coming from Argentina. Sadly, the tour came to an end and I promised my “old” friend that once back in the future I would do my best to share all the stories and adventures to safeguard this place. Puerto Cristal was the third most populated town in Patagonia and had it all; it boasted a small hospital, labs, a cemetery, and even a church! There were dentists, firefighters, cops and more. Not many people know Puerto Cristal. It was once a bustling mining center with a population of 1,500 at its peak that, like most boomtowns, eventually went bust. The population dwindled until the 1970s when the last residents finally shipped out.