In addition to the aforementioned momentous occasion, today was our visit to Magdalena (penguin) Island and then disembarkment in Punta Arenas. First, the early morning zodiac ride to the island:
Then, penguins everywhere the eye could see:
And the holes where males would dig to attract mates. A couple peers out:
And general carrying on everywhere:
Back on the zodiac to the boat and a farewell from the gulls:
Then it’s breakfast and then we were off the boat and through customs by 11ish and our ride to Paragonia Camp, near the border to the national park, wasn’t until 3 pm in a hotel that had no interest in holding luggage for us. So we wandered around the streets, checking out what’s up, and enjoyed a walk through a beautiful city park with a large sculpture of Hernando Magellan in the center, where we bumped into one of the guides from the ship. We requested a recommendation on a place to eat, and proceeded there directly for a nice, leisurely lunch. Tacos for me:
Sated, we make our way back to the hotel on the waterfront – modern, ugly, and Casino included – and wait. and wait. And wait. At some point, a lovely English gentleman comes out to ask if we’re waiting for our ride to Patagonia camp. We try to Skype to find out what’s up, but 40 minutes late, they finally show up. More passengers at the airport, then we’re on our way. A 20 minute stop at a cafe (evidently it’s against the law for them to fill the van with gas with passengers inside – do we believe that one?) and we finally arrive at about 7 or so.
The resort is in the middle of the wild (more so than suwarrow even!) and we fill out the usual papers, then are shown to our yurt, which has a lovely view over the lake.
We settle in a bit, then head up for dinner. We’ve signed up for the Peninsula hike tomorrow (13 km), so a good night’s sleep is in order!