Blogs from Magallanes, Chile, South America - page 4

Day 4, 24 February, Southern Patagonia FITZ ROY EXPEDITION, Gabriel Channel - Caleta Dighton: Early in the morning we went out in the zodiacs to visit the Tucker Islands, the place of Magellanic Penguins, Skuas, Cormorants on the rocks and Imperial Cormorants, non flying Quetru ducks (Magellanic flightless steamer duck) and Kelp geese, among other birds, in addition we will observe One Hair Sea lions that use their rocks to rest. The Quetru ducks were difficult to photograph because they were so quick, zipping along the water. There were 2 small islands that acted as resting places for the sealions. They were very inquisitive of us and jumped off the rocks to see what we were. There were a number of pregnant sealions as well. It was good to observe the Magellanic Penguins because we had ... read more

Day 2, 22 February Jackson Bay - Parry Bay: In the morning we divided into 2 groups to visit the Black Eyebrow Albatross colony on a small islet and an Elephant Seal colony in Jackson Bay (alternating groups to enjoy both places). Our group visited 2 beaches to view the Elephant seals hoping we would see more mature seals compared to in the Antarctica when we only saw juvenile Elephant seals as the mature ones were out in the ocean feeding for 6-8 weeks before they come to shore to mate. The juvenile ones were going through their ‘catastrophic moulting’ stage. On the first beach we only saw a few Elephant seals but on the second beach the other side of the fjord, there 29 seals lined up along the beach. The oldest one was probably ... read more

Thursday 31 January What a day we had today! We spent from 4.30am (waking) to 9.30pm on a tour to Torres del Paine, a beautiful National Park in southern Patagonia which encompasses mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The park is located 112 km north of Puerto Natales where we stopped for morning coffee and 312 km north of Punta Arenas where our guide picked us up. Throughout the day we drove over 800kms stopping at many view pints. The scenery was spectacular, so I hope you enjoy the photos. There were 10 other tourists with us, and we were the only ones who didn’t speak Spanish. However, our guide who was born in Punta Arenas spoke very good English. We certainly needed our duck-down coats even though the sun was shining. At ... read more

On Tuesday, lunch was put on by our hotel for everyone that was going on the cruise. It was the first chance to meet some of the other passengers, which I did (dad wasn’t hungry so didn’t join us). I was also sitting near Christopher, the bird guy. He is a guide on the ship, but he is also a biologist that specialises in birds and is very knowledgeable! With lunch out of the way, we boarded our buses. Dad and I waited until last and got on a nearly empty bus because everyone had rushed to get on the first two buses for some reason. We didn’t mind as this gave us the opportunity to spread out. Along the way, our local guide, Anna, gave us some information about where we were and what we ... read more

Actually, it was not one, but two Pumas. But I get ahead of myself… I started Thursday morning feeling better after a night’s sleep, but still not hopeful for the day ahead. We had breakfast and as I was grabbing something from my bag at the entrance to the reception/restaurant building when a staff member interrupted me. I managed to overcome my foul mood and be respectful despite myself. I’m glad I did as she was to be our guide for the tour. Her name was Mayi (pronounced like “magic” but without the “c”) and it turns out she had given up her day off to run the tour. And what a difference a guide makes! Mayi made the excursion a much more enjoyable experience than our Pingo trek. In fairness to Nico, some of this ... read more