Punta Arenas and Penguins!

Hello Friends! 

I am going to skip over a few port days in order to show you my Penguin and Antarctica Photos right away. This post is about Punta Arenas, the most southern city in Chile. It also happens to be the first port I was assigned to. HAL flew me down to here in April 2013 where I was awaiting to join the Veendam. Unfortunately, the ship couldn't come into port so I had to fly to Puerto Montt to embark. Anyway, needless to say, I have spent a number of days in this port and I wasn't even going to get off the ship. But I figured a walk would do me good... So I grabbed my camera and coat and boarded the tender. 

As I'm sitting in the tender it starts raining and I think to myself that I should have left the camera behind. So I stuff it in my coat and wander around the town, receiving odd looks from strangers because of my bulky jacket lol. 

I wandered down the boardwalk beside the sea and noticed there were a lot of black and white birds, PENGUINS??!! no. just Cormorants... But they did look a lot like penguins from far away.  I took a number of photos of them playing in the water and decided to walk back to the ship and take a nap. 

On the way back to the ship I ran into three of my fellow crew members and they asked me if I wanted to come with them to see the penguins. "YES!!" I immediately responded. So the four of us got in a cab and drove an hour away to a Nature Reserve. We got out of the car and were faced with the bitterest of wind chills. The walk was about half a kilometer to get to the beach where the penguins were swimming in the water. 

Penguins :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguins Drying Off :: Penta Arenas, Chile 

These penguins are called Magellanic Penguins, which is fitting, seeing as they are found in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan.

Penguin in a Log :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Some of the penguins even had their eggs here on the beach. In the photo below you can see a spotted egg which she is sitting on. I imagine the penguin in the photo above is also sitting on an egg in the log. 

Female Sitting on an Egg :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Kissing and Holding 'Hands' :: Punta Arenas, Chile 

I wasn't expecting to see penguins in this type of environment. I always thought penguins lived on icebergs and hardly ever came on land. But in fact they only hunt in the water, the rest of their lives are spent on land. Some of their burrows were quite far from the water and they have little pathways from their houses to the beach. 

 

Penguins Walking to the Beach :: Punta Arenas, Chile 

 While they are walking through the taller foliage you'll see them keep peeking their heads up to see what's around them. Every few feet they will do this. Pop up and take a glance around, then keep going.

Peeking Out :: Punta Arenas, Chile

 We never saw a penguin by himself. They always walk in pairs or groups from their burrows to the beach.

Penguins Walking to the Beach :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguin Friends :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguins :: Punta Arenas, Chile

 Oh... and we also saw FLAMINGOS at the same time?!! I thought these were tropical birds and yet here they are, in the same nature reserve as the penguins. Go figure!

What started out as a pretty sad uneventful day in Punta Arenas turned out to be the best experience so far on the cruise... that is of course because we haven't been to Antarctica yet!! Stay tuned for those pics up next!!! 

Punta Arenas, Chile - The Photos

Today I was able to walk around for a lot longer than yesterday. The sun was shining and it wasn't too cold. I was able to see a lot of the town and captured a few lovely pictures.

Punta Arenas, Chile and the Strait of Magellan 

 Something I love taking photos of in different countries are local or family crests. I usually find them at the bases of statues or on the sides of brick/stone buildings. I found this one in the square across from my hotel :)

Crest on the base of a random Statue 

 When I walked to the top of the hill in the town I found these telephone poles pointing the directions and distances to major cities across the globe. I found it interesting that all the signs were pointing in basically only two directions, NE and NW, that's how far south I was!!

Direction Signs to Major Cities in the World... and a pair of shoes

Close up of Signs

Punta Arenas and a view towards the South Pole

 Being a HUGE Banksy fan (London political graffiti artist and local hoodlum) I love to find interesting works of art in and around the cities I visit. Yes, I do believe graffiti is an art, one I happen to adore. Sometimes graffiti is just 'meaningless' scribbles on a facade, but every so often you'll find a piece of work that carries a strong message. I especially love the Guy Fawkes tribute in the bottom right corner.

Graffiti, Punta Arenas

My hotel was right downtown in Punta Arenas and happened to face a lovely square which housed this statue to Ferdinand Magellan. Punta Arenas itself is on the coast of the Strait of Magellan and you'll find many references to his name and legacy around the town.

Statue of Ferdinand Magellan

 One last pretty picture :)

Port of Punta Arenas

Well that's it! Punta Arenas was a cute, quaint town but I'm happy to now be in Puerto Montt which looks considerably bigger! Can't wait to see what the daylight brings. Good night!