Day 8

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As hinted at, Anna has a penguin obsession, one that unsurprisingly I’d never known about. After all how often do penguins come up in day to day life in London. However, even before we left London for this trip she was already checking out various places where we might be able to see penguins. After I said that her first option was too far out of our way she settled on seeing them in Ushuaia.

How much does anyone really know another person? I am now married to this beautiful woman (who is currently sitting across the table from me, it is actually the 10th of Feb today and we‘re in Los Antiguos, but more on that later) and I had no idea about her penguin obsession. And it is wonderful. Who wants to know everything about anybody? I know that I love this woman with ever ounce of my being. I know she is a truly wonderful person with the biggest heart. And everyday that we live together and travel together I discover something new and adorable and wonderful about her. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. And the great thing about being a man and having a terrible memory, once I know it all, if that ever happens, I’ll just forget about it and start again, and I’ll rediscover Anna once more. And maybe a different Anna to the one I know, or think I know, because we are people and we grow and we change, and what she chooses today may be different to what she chooses tomorrow and that is just as exciting.

It was one of the most difficult things I had to deal with at school. Children were, still are most likely, placed into categories, by adults and their peers, and once you’re categorised it is very hard to break free. Yet we all have the option to change and to be a different person, and I hope that I never categorise Anna. She is my wife, I love her and she loves me. That is all of the categorising that needs to be done, the rest is up to her.

So back to the penguins, after much research Anna discovered that there was one company that allowed you to walk with the penguins. After that discovery there was no more discussion, we were going to walk with the penguins. So after a couple of hours in a bus and a short boat ride we discovered ourselves on a tiny island in the Beagle Channel.

The whole tour is well done, the island is a natural reserve and you’re only allowed to walk on a specific path, and of course you’re not allowed to touch the penguins, but you do get extremely close. The island is constantly windswept, the biting artic wind cut through the layers we were wearing. The ground we walked on was almost spongy in its softness. One of the reason the penguins had chosen this island was because of the soft ground. Male penguins build their homes in the ground and the females choose the home they prefer, not the male. Scrubs were scattered across the grassy slopes. The beaches were rocky and penguins were waddling across the rocky beaches to and from the ocean.

Back at the café awaiting our bus back to Ushuaia we were able to view some of the oldest buildings in the area.

During the bus ride we stopped to admire some of the trees that have been shaped by the strong winds that batter Tierra del Fuego.

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Photos

Penguins
Penguins and us

Comments

[Adam]

Penguins!
I'm with Anna - penguins are fantastic :-) Really enjoying your blog too, keep it up!