Penguins!

I spent my last day in Chile as anyone should: gawking at an island full of penguins! From Punta Arenas, it is a two hour ferry ride through the Straight of Magellan to Isla Magdalena, a breeding ground for 75,000 pairs of penguins. That number doesn't count the babies or juveniles, by the way. Sarah had left earlier that day on a bus bound for Argentina, so I was planning on spending the penguin tour by myself, but as I was standing in line to get a ferry ticket, I heard a familiar voice and turned around to find Lukas standing several people behind me in line! It was great to see him and catch up on how his travels have been, and it was nice to have company for the four hour round trip on the ferry.

As we pulled up to the island, I was stunned by the crowd of penguins. In every direction, they were waddling around or lying on the ground. Some were even swimming next to the boat, leaping out of the water like dolphins or seals. They look so graceful in the water, compared to thier awkward movements on land. It seems exhausting to have flippers on land. They were very small and cute, and allowed us to get very close to them. We followed a trail through their habitat and watched some collect grasses for thier nests, which are underground holes. Apparently the dad arrives first and prepares the nest, and then the mom arrives and they have babies. They share hunting responsibilities, with one always remaining behind to guard the nest. Lukas saw one fall as he was waddling after a group of other penguins, and he also saw one take a shit. That man has all the luck!

I snapped these first two pictures right off the boat.

Some shots of penguins with their nests.

A cute couple.

It felt like this penguin was looking at me funny.

Massive amounts of penguins.

A nest with babies inside. Look at how cute the baby is!

This picture is pretty with the clouds and gives a good perspective of the size of the penguin population on Isla Magdalena.

Posing with the field of penguins. Those brighter white spots are seagulls. Damn seagulls!

This is how close we could get to them! Look how small they are! Also, the one directly to my right is a juvenile, you can tell because he is grey and doesn't have any stripes like the adults to his right.

The ferry ride back was endless, but Lukas and I had a good talk, and I was pretty satisfied with my day. When I arrived back at my hostel, I found that I would have to share my room for the night with an Argentine dude about my age. It turned out he was a classical musician on tour in Chile, and would be leaving for Paris on the 21st! We spent a couple hours chatting, and he was impressed with my Spanish, which always makes me feel good. He gave me travel advice since he is Argentine and I will be spending the next month in Argentina. We also had a good laugh over the incident of Bush getting shoes thrown at him. As he explained it to me: "People throw their shoes at dogs when they want them to go away. This guy threw both his shoes! That means he [Bush] is a very big dog!" Anyway, since it was my first night traveling by myself, I was really pleased to find a companion to converse with and especially someone who spoke Spanish. I am really afraid that I am going to lose my Spanish abilities on the road, since most hostels are full of gringos and most tours are given in English. I am going to ahve to be aggressive in searching out Spanish-speaking opportunites to stay in practice.

On Wednesday the 17th I headed out on a 7:30 am bus to Ushuaia, Argentina. When I realized I would be leaving Chile after nine months there, I was pretty sad and a little nervous. After becoming accustomed to life in Chile, learning the societal norms and specific vocabulary, understanding systems and expectations, I was feeling apprehensive about starting all over in a new country. However, when we passed the border into Argentina, I got a little butterfly in my tummy, so I took it as a good sign that things would be amazing, and so far, they have been! And, last night at dinner, I started the learning process, reading my guidebook for information like how to tip. I also learned how to ask for tap water, since the word is different here in than in Chile. I asked for "agua de llave" and the waitress looked at me like I was nuts!

Unfortunatley, I experienced one of the most irritating bus rides of my life, as I was stuck with a tour group of mostly Austrailians who were pretty loud and obnoxious for something like ten hours. However, the bus stopped several times for fuel, to fjord a body of water, so we could go through immigration, so I had lots of opportunities to stretch my legs. Also, Animal Sighting of the Day: we drove past several lagoons filled with the unmistakable bright pink, spindly-legged flamingos! We arrived around 7 pm and I found a huge, very impersonal hostel, which I immediately left after dropping my bags because I was starving! I found a restaurant and ordered "Trucha Fueguiana," which was trout in a tomato sauce topped with slices of tomato and mozarella cheese! I also treated myself to three glasses of white Argentine wine (sav. blanc) as a reward for restraining myself from assassinating my busmates! Today I am going to line up some things to do in Ushuaia. Ushuaia is located on the island of Tierra del Fugeo, an island bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Beagle Channel, and the Straight of Magellan. It is the southern-most city in the world, except for a few small Chilean towns. The sky doesn't get dark until around 12:30 or 1 am, and then almost immediately starts getting light again. I can't believe I am here...all the place names are straight out of the history books, places famous for ruggedness and exploration. Ushuaia is so beautiful. The city hugs the coast and jagged mountains rise directly behind it. Yesterday there was a complete rainbow over the Beagle Channel. There were also frigid air temperatures and a downpour, which I waited out with my wine! Anyway, I am pretty excited to see what this area has to offer. Pictures of Ushuaia coming soon!