Punta Arenas - Strait of Magellan and Penguins

-

 

After the sunshine and light breezes of Easter Island, I was headed to the southernmost point of Chile, Punta Arenas, to see PENGUINS. It involved a lot of connecting flights and waiting, and even the possibility that the weather would be so inhospitable that I wouldn't get to see them. The weather in Punta Arenas was not that cold, not like the -11 F we have today, it was in the 40s and 50s. It was the wind that was ridiculous, so strong, swirling and blowing around the Strait of Magellan. 


These particular penguins, the Magellanic Penguins live on Isla Magdelena, protected by rangers and a system that monitors visiting tour boats and how long people stay on the island. It's about an hour walking around on a path, do not wander off of the path and do not get too close to the penguins. Our little group actually had to stop and wait for a penguin to cross the little path to get to the other side. Even with these 'restrictions' I felt like we still got some good views and photos of the penguins. I would have liked to have more time to just sit and watch them, but they need to keep the flow of people moving.



There are a lot of seagulls, and I read some reviews of the experience complaining that there were more seagulls than penguins. I'm not sure how the rangers are supposed to evict hundreds or thousands of birds, but it does seem that there are a lot of thriving penguins. I don't know what it is about penguins, but they just seem magical and cute and cuddly. Watching them jump, en masse, into the water was amazing, like something you see on National Geographic specials.


After we reluctantly left the penguins, another boatful of tourists was fast approaching, we headed to Isla Marta to see seals and sea lions. For what I hope are obvious reasons, we could not get out and walk around, so we settled for photos from the deck of the boat. They were very vocal and playful, and fun to watch. 





This was such an amazing morning and experience. It's sometimes hard to express or capture the feelings of places like Isla Magdelana or Isla Marta, and there were a few moments where I really thought I was crazy for doing this, but those don't last long. I'm looking forward to my next big trip and trying to plot out the flights.Stay tuned.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Barcelona - the first two days

-
Day two of Mr. Magoo Does Europe, and it's been pretty awesome so far. But one of these days, I am going to get where I'm going on the first or second try. Maybe even the third. Honestly though, I'm so used to it, I don't even know what I would do if it happened. I walked around Barcelona yesterday, just trying to get my bearings (insert belly laugh), but I did eat some pretty amazing food, like chocolate filled churro (omg), and seafood paella, which I'm not sure how authentic it was, but I liked it; and I got in over 17,000 steps, not bad for getting here around noon and taking a siesta later in the day. Today was my big day, meaning I got up at 7:00 am to take a three country tour that lasted until 7:30 in the evening. For me the focus was getting to Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees surrounded by Spain and France, and in fact, co-ruled by the two countries. First stop was Baga, in Spain, where I had the most delicious chocolate filled pastry that was was n...
Read more

A little more of Paris Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Montparnasse Tour

-
Image
Have I mentioned it was hot in Paris? Have I mentioned, since we're friends, that I sweated in places I didn't know could sweat? I didn't know my knuckles could sweat, yet they did. Aside from the heat, which was a dry heat, so, you know, hot, but not humid, I really enjoyed my time in Paris, but I did feel rushed, my three days weren't enough. I did not consume nearly enough delicious croissants or other pastries, or crepes...oh, I could go on. My one set thing I really had to do, stop me if I told you already, but I wanted to climb to the top of Notre Dame; in fact, I trained for it. I booked a tour of Ile de Cite and Notre Dame so I could ensure getting the chance without spending hours in line. It was totally worth it; the guide for the tour was excellent, actually an Englishman, with a great background in medieval French history and iconography, and full of fabulous information about France through the centuries. We went into Notre Dame, which is magnificent, and l...
Read more

A break in Bracknell and then off to London

-
Image
I must apologize, I feel like I've been away for a while, but it's not because I've been shirking my responsibilities. I left beautiful, but windy, Scotland to head to the Thames Valley, and my friends in Bracknell. I was looking forward to some down time for this day and a half, and our traditional Indian meal. On Sunday, we went to see my friend's daughter, and my friend as well, and her family for a fish and chips dinner. We had enough chips to feed an army, or Bob's chickens. Yes, I found out my friend started keeping chickens in the back garden. I never officially met the girls. But I did hear the, quite loudly one morning. I didn't have anything planned, but my friend and I went into Windsor on Monday, and watched the guards march to the castle. We also took a brief river cruise on the Thames. That night we ate too much at our Indian dinner, but it's so hard to choose between rices and naan bread options, and then of course, you have to have a pudding....
Read more