Thursday February 19, 2015
Punta Arenas, Chile
Punta Arenas lies atop rolling hills, looking out over the Strait of Magellan.
In the days
before the Panama Canal, this was a major port as ships plied the waters of Cape
Horn.
Punta Arenas remains a prosperous town today, thanks to its rich natural
resources.
The city is also the gateway to Chilean Patagonia, a maze of fjords, rivers,
steppes, and
mountains to the north. To the south lies the great frozen mass of Antarctica.
Adventure
awaits in any direction at this port located near the end of the earth.
Across the Strait of Magellan lies Tierra del Fuego, the lonely, windswept
island
discovered by Magellan in 1520. The region was settled by Yugoslavian and
English
sheep ranchers in the 19th century.
Magdalena Island
Penguin Reserve
Click on a picture to view large
Magdalena Island, located in the Strait of Magellan, is one of Chile's
largest and most important Magellanic penguin breeding sites with over
100,000 pairs. Sometimes called the Jackass penguin due
to the braying sound they make, the Magellenic is the largest species
of warm-water penguins, sporting a white chin strap marking, a pink line at
their lower jaw and black bill. That being said,
the Magellanic penguin is actually much smaller than we expected. Even
though they are billed as the largest species of warm-water penguins, they
are only about 12 inches tall. About the same height as a seagull!
Each year from November through to January, Magellanic penguins, named after
Magellan who was the first European to see one, arrive at the Seno Otway
(Otway Sound) and on Isla Magdalena on the Chilean coast to meet and mate.
After a two-hour ferry ride,
we arrive at the penguin reserve! We were so excited to get our first
glimpse of the penguins. There were a gazillion of them on the island!
They are in the wild so we had to stay behind the ropes. The rule was
that if the penguins crossed your path, to stay very still as they passed.
If they came up to you, that was fine but you were not to approach them.
Some came very, very close.
Below are the photos we took.
Below the pictures, you'll find a video that really gives you the best idea
of what it was like. It was very cold and windy but it was worth it to
see these amazing creatures in person.
