.....and, with the flight to Antarctica postponed, we had much of the early day free and I spent it mostly walking around and exploring. At one point I hiked a long hill overlooking the city and shot some panoramic views of Punta Arenas and the Strait.
Mid afternoon we took a bus to the ship terminal for the 1 1/2 hour trip to Magdalena Island, about twenty miles northeast of Punta Arenas.
The trip to the island was smooth and the weather changed constantly from sunny to overcast but was clear and nice as we approached the island.
Magellan definitely was aware of this island when he sailed the strait in 1520--he charted its location and hence the island is today named after him.
Charles Darwin visited here during the second voyage of the HMS Beagle from 1831-1835 and did research prior to his releasing The Origin of the Species. In 1982, the Chilean government made the island a protected national preserve and it's estimated over 120,000 penguins reside here at any given time.
As we arrived, penguins were already greeting the boat.
The island is not particularly large but is restricted for tourist use with a rope-lined trail up to the lighthouse. Humans have to stay on the trail but the penguins didn't get the memo and wander anywhere they want--sometimes even underfoot.
Mid afternoon we took a bus to the ship terminal for the 1 1/2 hour trip to Magdalena Island, about twenty miles northeast of Punta Arenas.
The trip to the island was smooth and the weather changed constantly from sunny to overcast but was clear and nice as we approached the island.
Magellan definitely was aware of this island when he sailed the strait in 1520--he charted its location and hence the island is today named after him.
Charles Darwin visited here during the second voyage of the HMS Beagle from 1831-1835 and did research prior to his releasing The Origin of the Species. In 1982, the Chilean government made the island a protected national preserve and it's estimated over 120,000 penguins reside here at any given time.
As we arrived, penguins were already greeting the boat.
The island is not particularly large but is restricted for tourist use with a rope-lined trail up to the lighthouse. Humans have to stay on the trail but the penguins didn't get the memo and wander anywhere they want--sometimes even underfoot.
Once on the island, the tour was basically a self-guided hike up to the lighthouse and back to the boat at our own pace--plenty of time to photograph and observe the locals.
The lighthouse position at the top of the island gave a good panoramic view out to our ship waiting offshore.
The rest of the tour basically was checking out the locals.....
"Get off my lawn...."
A little privacy please!!!!"
"The Dean Martin of Magdalena Island....."
"You hear the one about the two nuns who walked into a bar......?"
"Does this black coat make my butt look big?"
"Penguin version of the Abbey Road cover....."
Got back to the hotel kind of late and had supper only to find out that the flight to Antarctica has been postponed yet again so we'll to the Punta Arenas Marathon Tuesday instead.....
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