penguins | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 82 (1 OF 1) – PENGUINS AGAIN, ISLA MAGDALENA, PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE

Before our evening flight to Santiago, we took an 8am ferry to Isla Magdalena in Magellan Strait to see the Magellanic penguins. Isla Magdalena is a much bigger island compared to Isla Martillo where we first saw the penguins near Ushuaia. According to the guidebook, the Monumento Natural los Pinguinos on Isla Magdalena has approximately 60,000 pairs of breeding pairs. The ferry ride took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. During the ride, we could see sea birds, a sea lion, and many groups of penguins in the water. As the ferry docked at the beach of Magdalena, groups of curious penguins were only metres away. We got roughly an hour on the island. Everyone had to stay within a marked path leading to a lighthouse at the highest point of the island. Perhaps there were too many tourists on Magdalena and too much camera clicking sounds, this penguin encounter didn’t feel as intimate as last time on Isla Martillo. Though this time we were lucky enough to see dolphins from the island.
On our return, the sea was calm with shades of blue and grey, like a watercolour painting. We stood on the lower deck and quietly watched the sea and thick clouds moving over the horizon. At 1pm we arrived back to the mainland.That’s it for us from Patagonia. We have so much fond memories of Patagonia in the last few weeks. We will certainly miss this beautiful land. We know we will come back one day.

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Next Destinations – Santiago & Valparaiso
Continuing on our journey from post Day 83.1

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South America 2013 – Our Destinations
Buenos Aires (Argentina), Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Pantanal (Brazil), Brasilia (Brazil), Belo Horizonte & Inhotim (Brazil), Ouro Preto (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Paraty (Brazil), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Samaipata & Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Sucre (Bolivia), Potosi (Bolivia), Southwest Circuit (Bolivia), Tilcara, Purmamarca, Salta (Argentina), Cafayate (Argentina), San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Antofagasta & Paranal Observatory (Chile), Chiloe (Chile), Puerto Varas (Chile), Torres del Paine (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina), El Chalten (Argentina), El Calafate (Argentina), Isla Magdalena (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Valparaiso (Chile), Afterthought

January 1, 2014 | Categories: Chile, Day 81 to 90, Patagonia | Tags: Chile, destination, Isla Magdalena, island, journal, ocean, penguins, photo, Punta Arenas, South America, things-to-do, Travel, wildlife | Leave a comment

DAY 71 (3 OF 5) – PENGUINS, MARTILLO ISLAND, TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ARGENTINA

Seeing Magellan Penguins marching on the stony beaches of Martillo Island is perhaps the biggest highlight of many people’s visit to Ushuaia. Until their contract expires, Pira Tours is the only company granted permission to land visitors on the island. It was a 15-minute boat ride to reach Martillo Island from Harberton. As the boat landed on the beach, the curious Magellanic Penguins were already in sight. The guide led us to sit down on the beach. We stayed low for about 5 minutes until the penguins got used to our presence. Then we were able to crawl closer to admire these wonderfully human-like creatures. They walked like humans, argued like humans, and showed curiosity to us (and our cameras) when we got close to them. On the beach, we could find mostly “single” penguins that were either too young or too old to raise a family. On the hilltop where the soil is suitable for digging underground nests, we were able to find penguin couples, and at this time of the year, their babies as well. Not only did we see Magellanic Penguins, but also a small colony of Gentoo penguin and surprisingly a single King penguin. No one knows exactly why there is a pair of King penguins on Martillo Island. Some scientists suggest that these King penguins are visitors or perhaps even pioneers looking for new places to build a colony after plate tectonic movement have affected the region in recent years. We spent roughly an hour on the island, walking on a designated path from the beach up the nesting hill and then back to the beach.