Isla Magdalena, Chile
February 22, 2007
Magellan Straight
S 53°01.513
W 070°43.233
Isla Magdalena
S 52°55.133
W 070°34.534
We arrived at Terminal Tres Puentes with plenty of time to spare before our departure on the Melinka, the ferry that would transport us to Isla Magdalena. Both of us were very excited to see penguins in the wild.
Under scattered clouds and temperatures in the mid 40’s, the Melinka dropped her landing ramp at about 3:50pm. By 4pm, 75-80 other penguin fans were on board, the ramp pulled up and we were on our way. We spent the first few minutes sitting inside the cabin of the ferry, due to the brisk winds outside, but we could see we were missing out on incredible sites as the Melinka began heading north-east across the Straight of Magellan. We put on one more layer of clothing and headed to the starboard side overlooking the beautiful Straight. The clouds parted and the intense southern sun balanced out the wind-chill on the deck.
We looked east, with the sun at our backs, and scanned the icy waters for signs of life. As we looked towards the wake of the ferry we saw dolphin like creatures intermittently jumping from the water for a breath of fresh air. They went back down as quickly as they came up, but they continued to play in the wake of the ferry which was chugging along at 8-10 knots (approx. 10 mph). The dolphins had black and white markings similar to a Killer Whale. However, we knew they were much too small to be Killer Whales, even though we were very close to their breeding grounds. We discovered the “mini-me” to the Killer Whale to be a Commerson´s Dolphin and one of their favorite activities is to play in small groups around the sides of boats. Lucky us!
As we continued north we lost sight of the dolphins, since they probably aren’t supposed to play out of their neighborhood, but quickly started seeing small pods (or flocks) of penguins—the reason for our journey today.
We could see Isla Magdalena in the distance, gradually getting closer and closer, we were anxious to get on the island to experience the penguins. As we approached within a 1000 meters we could clearly see the island’s lighthouse. Below the lighthouse were several little specs that looked like small rocks, or maybe PENGUINS.
When we unloaded from the Melinka, we were advised we had one hour to explore; an island
where humans are clearly the visitors. As we stepped off the ferry, all you could see were thousands of penguins scattered across the island and we were clearly intruding on their space. The Magellanic Penguin, also known as the jackass penguin, because of the loud guttural noise it makes; similar to a donkey’s “hee-haw.” The penguins stick their beaks straight up into the air and open their mouths wide when
making this noise. We heard the braying scream all around the island as the intruders made their way from the ferry up the path to the lighthouse.
There are over 60,000 breeding pairs occupying Isla Magdalena which is a National Park and completely dedicated to the penguins, including a lighthouse... which I´m not quite sure how they operate. Each “set” of penguins has a place they call home, a little borough. The males stand guard, very astute, in front ready to dive in if any humans come to close. It isn’t difficult to figure out who is king on this island and we did our best not to get close to the sharp beaks—neither one of us was in the mood for stitches.
On the two hour journey back to Punta Arenas we reflected on our experience. We decided it was very worthwhile and definitely a highlight of our trip. We are also pleased the Government of Chile limits the visits to the penguins to three days per week, one hour at a time. We hope the limitation keeps the penguins happy and breeding for generations to come.
On to Torres del Paine…
February 22, 2007
Magellan Straight
S 53°01.513
W 070°43.233
Isla Magdalena
S 52°55.133
W 070°34.534
We arrived at Terminal Tres Puentes with plenty of time to spare before our departure on the Melinka, the ferry that would transport us to Isla Magdalena. Both of us were very excited to see penguins in the wild.
Under scattered clouds and temperatures in the mid 40’s, the Melinka dropped her landing ramp at about 3:50pm. By 4pm, 75-80 other penguin fans were on board, the ramp pulled up and we were on our way. We spent the first few minutes sitting inside the cabin of the ferry, due to the brisk winds outside, but we could see we were missing out on incredible sites as the Melinka began heading north-east across the Straight of Magellan. We put on one more layer of clothing and headed to the starboard side overlooking the beautiful Straight. The clouds parted and the intense southern sun balanced out the wind-chill on the deck.
We looked east, with the sun at our backs, and scanned the icy waters for signs of life. As we looked towards the wake of the ferry we saw dolphin like creatures intermittently jumping from the water for a breath of fresh air. They went back down as quickly as they came up, but they continued to play in the wake of the ferry which was chugging along at 8-10 knots (approx. 10 mph). The dolphins had black and white markings similar to a Killer Whale. However, we knew they were much too small to be Killer Whales, even though we were very close to their breeding grounds. We discovered the “mini-me” to the Killer Whale to be a Commerson´s Dolphin and one of their favorite activities is to play in small groups around the sides of boats. Lucky us!
As we continued north we lost sight of the dolphins, since they probably aren’t supposed to play out of their neighborhood, but quickly started seeing small pods (or flocks) of penguins—the reason for our journey today.
We could see Isla Magdalena in the distance, gradually getting closer and closer, we were anxious to get on the island to experience the penguins. As we approached within a 1000 meters we could clearly see the island’s lighthouse. Below the lighthouse were several little specs that looked like small rocks, or maybe PENGUINS.
When we unloaded from the Melinka, we were advised we had one hour to explore; an island
where humans are clearly the visitors. As we stepped off the ferry, all you could see were thousands of penguins scattered across the island and we were clearly intruding on their space. The Magellanic Penguin, also known as the jackass penguin, because of the loud guttural noise it makes; similar to a donkey’s “hee-haw.” The penguins stick their beaks straight up into the air and open their mouths wide when
making this noise. We heard the braying scream all around the island as the intruders made their way from the ferry up the path to the lighthouse.There are over 60,000 breeding pairs occupying Isla Magdalena which is a National Park and completely dedicated to the penguins, including a lighthouse... which I´m not quite sure how they operate. Each “set” of penguins has a place they call home, a little borough. The males stand guard, very astute, in front ready to dive in if any humans come to close. It isn’t difficult to figure out who is king on this island and we did our best not to get close to the sharp beaks—neither one of us was in the mood for stitches.
On the two hour journey back to Punta Arenas we reflected on our experience. We decided it was very worthwhile and definitely a highlight of our trip. We are also pleased the Government of Chile limits the visits to the penguins to three days per week, one hour at a time. We hope the limitation keeps the penguins happy and breeding for generations to come.
On to Torres del Paine…
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