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Published: November 30th 2023
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Tuesday was an early day. We grabbed our bagged brunch from the hotel (what a nice thing they did!) and walked the 2 blocks to the office for our penguin tour. We were supposed to get there at 6:15, but we stood in the line to pay for the tour until at least 7. They would really benefit from a online payment system. I thought there was only the 1 tour company that went to the island but we saw a couple there. Ours was Solo Expediciones.
After a very warm bus ride to the marina, we boarded boats to head to Isla Magdalena. There are several species of penguins in the area, but the Magellan penguins are what nest on Isla Magdalena. They mate for life and come back in Sept each year to the island to nest. The males go back to the nest/hole they dug in a previous year, then the females lay eggs in Oct, and they hatch in Dec. The couple each spend about 4-5 days at a time in the burrow on the eggs or with the chicks. Apparently the island is crazy crowded with tourists when there are chicks. It was already pretty
Pinguinos
These are the Magellan penguins. They are flightless but swim back to this island every October to breed. busy, so I'm glad we went when we did. They have pretty strict rules and people watching you, so no straying off the path or handing the penguin a rock (which I read is a thing in reviews). We got relatively close, but they didn't waddle up to us, also like I read in reviews. Maybe when there are chicks and it's loaded with tourists, there's more chance that a penguin would need to cross the path in front of you.
After an hour on the island we headed toward Marta island to see seals. The wind was so intense though that they had to cancel that, so we just went back to the Marina. The wind is so intense so often, especially in the afternoons, that I'm wondering if they ever make it there. A short tour, but we accomplished what we wanted. We would've liked a smaller tour, but there weren't many options to see penguins up close and personal. We would do it again if we hadn't done it.
We grabbed our truck from the hotel and went to lunch. We were lucky to find a parking spot right outside this really good burger place.
Chilling on the beach
We learned that penguins can drink salt water. Helpful since they spend so much time at sea. They do paid parking differently here. They employ someone who seems mentally ill, or homeless, or both, to walk one stretch of street with a machine that he enters in your license plate and puts a time stamped ticket on your windshield as soon as you park. Then when you leave you find the same guy, who you've watched from the restaurant window for 45 min walking up and down the street angrily talking to himself, and give him money for the amount of time you parked. About the same rate in US - a dollar fifty for about a hour. We have no idea what happens if he has to go to the bathroom when you are trying to leave.
We tried to make a quick stop in the grocery store on our way out of town, but failed miserably. It seems like the only way to find a legit supermarket in another country is to ask someone. We ended up at 2 stupid "supermarcados", and they were anything but. One was more like a dollar store, with extremely limited options (no peanut butter, sliced cheese, sandwich meat), and the other was like another dollar store, with even
Penguin burrow
The males dig a burrow then come back to it year after year. less. We had heard they didn't have much in Puerto Natales, our next stop, so we tried to load up first with a few basics. Nope, we should have waited.
The drive to Puerto Natales was relatively easy. A single long 2-lane road through the wilderness (think rolling tundra, and rolling plains/hills). Literally nothing but sheep, horses, cows, and the occasional bus stop (?!) between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, a couple hours drive. It was insanely windy though, so we were fighting that the whole time. Patagonia is apparently known for being windy at almost all times. And that is an icy blast of chilled Antarctica air when you're outside feeling it.
Our Airbnb in Puerto Natales was super cute! There are a ton of places that seem to be made just for that. And most of them were already reserved for our dates. Ours was perfect though. We dropped our bags and headed into town for groceries, gas, and dinner. It's a relatively small town, and seems to mainly exist for people to step off for Torres del Paine hikes, which is why we were there. There are a ton of cute small hipster restaurants and
Penguin burrow
They have eggs now, so one has to stay inside on the eggs. They take turns every 4-5 days. outdoors stores. And we scored an easy place to rent hiking poles! 5,000CLP for each of us, about $5.75. In retrospect, that would have been way better to plan from the outset. We generally try not to check a bag, most importantly for tight connections, but especially for customs. Inside of all hiking poles is a pointy end, which is why Mexico City wouldn't let us go (but Seattle TSA let us go). We had read that it's dependent on who you get, and now I completely agree (the girl in MEX called another lady over, they both conferred, then called a guy over, who ultimately said no).
We had a decent pizza from La Guanaca Pizzeria (though there were other pizza joints that were likely as good) then headed to an actual grocery store. Unimarc is the brand for a real grocery store down here apparently. We picked up a few basic supplies to prep for our long hike the next day, and after a quick stop at the gas station, headed back to the Airbnb to go to bed relatively early. It stays light until about 10:30 but we were so tired after an early morning, long
drive, and packed day that we had no problems going to sleep early. Especially on the eve of what would likely be the hardest day of the trip, the long hike to Mirador Las Torres.
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