A softness in people’s eyes and a gentleness of gesture. This was my travel brief, along with a bit of adventure. I didn’t mind the details, but I was craving warmth of spirit above all else, something in direct contrast to the clamor of my orbit in Manhattan.

Head northwest from Santiago for 73 miles -- practically cross-country in the world's narrowest nation -- and arrive in this port city, best described by its famous former resident, the Nobel prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda: "Valparaíso, how absurd you are . . .

The cargo ship La Evangelista embarks weekly from Puerto Montt, charting a 1,400-mile course through the fjords and coastal channels of southern Chile, past archipelagos of uninhabited islands to Puerto Natales, a town tucked in the foothills of the famed Torres del Paine National Park.

If you’ve ever flown in or out of Kennedy Airport, you’ve probably seen the Trans World Airlines Terminal, or the TWA Flight Center as it was called. Built in 1962, the shapely building was designed by the legendary architect Eero Saarinen to usher in the Jet Age, but has been unused since 2001, when the airline went bankrupt.

Sure, people normally traipse off to tropical paradises in the dead of winter, when the dry, hot days and brilliant beaches are most appreciated. But in Central America, nature and the travel industry offer some compelling reasons to visit the area in the off-season.

Laura Hagerman, who just graduated from Bridgehampton High School, and Anais Kuss, who just graduated from Pierson High School, both said they wanted to give back to their community and continue the tradition of service to the Bridgehampton Fire Department in their families.

East Hampton Village Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., who has held the office since 1992, said last week that he would resign as of Dec. 31, more than six months before his term is up. He planned to make an official announcement at the village board’s organizational meeting on Wednesday.

Near dawn on Saturday, a 21-year-old man westbound in a pickup truck on Montauk Highway went off the highway across from Brent’s Deli in Amagansett, severed a utility pole by the American Legion Hall — ending up, improbably, with the pole, severed from its base, in the bed of the truck — and finally hit a tree.

The United States Supreme Court delivered a setback to the Trump administration last Thursday when it rejected the administration’s contention that adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 census was solely intended to help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

An Uber driver whose license had been suspended or revoked 45 times was arrested while driving in Montauk .

A 19-year-old East Hampton man was charged last week with two counts of statutory rape involving a 13-year-old girl.

A Texas woman, Allison O’Neill of Houston, called police to her Main Street residence Sunday at about 11:25 p.m. to report an intruder. Officers found a woman, highly intoxicated, sitting on a bench in the mudroom.

At the Beach

The Jewish Center of the Hamptons will host Shabbat on the Beach tomorrow at 6 p.m., with music, a bonfire, s’mores, and more. Shabbat on the Beach will take place at 6 each Friday for the rest of the summer.

Barbara Borsack, a member of the East Hampton Village Board who is running for village mayor in 2020, held a kickoff party for her campaign on Sunday at the home of Ina Garten, the celebrity chef and cookbook author.

A coalition of elected officials, civic organizations, and neighbors opposing the expansion of mining at Sand Land in Noyac celebrated another victory when the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court on Friday put a hold on the mine’s ability to dig deeper.

Pulling up family and profession­al roots in upstate New York to live closer to the ocean in 1999, Richard and Rosanne Barons settled into a three-bedroom house in Springs that had been built as a small summer cottage. Over time they transformed it into a serene oasis filled with carefully chosen treasures, each with a story of its own.

Pulling up family and profession­al roots in upstate New York to live closer to the ocean in 1999, Richard and Rosanne Barons settled into a three-bedroom house in Springs that had been built as a small summer cottage. Over time they transformed it into a serene oasis filled with carefully chosen treasures, each with a story of its own.

Work to prepare for the demolition of East Hampton’s former Town Hall, which has stood empty for years, is expected to be completed in the next three weeks.

East Hampton Town's emergency generators will be used to offset high demand for electricity on the South Fork. Officials agreed to a deal with PSEG-Long Island on Tuesday.

Brian Grinnel to be remembered Saturday and Sunday in Montauk