Penguinos!

This morning at 7am we caught a tour (the only way out) to Isla Magdalena -- an island in the Strait of Magellan with a huge flock of penguins. 62,000 pairs of magellanic penguins live on this little island alone. On an island nearby lives a colony of huge sea lions that think the penguins are the perfect tasty treat. The island itself was barely visible from land -- that's how wide the Strait is at this point.

(this is not the boat we took, but Rebecca couldn't stop taking pictures of it...)

(From this dock we boarded an extra large enclosed zodiac. If you have really good eyes, you can see the island as a small blip at the exact center of the horizon.)

(The early morning ride was beautiful and not very choppy. As the island got closer we could begin to see the historic lighthouse at the top.)

(Rebecca was enjoying the ride out. Not so much on the way back. The tour leaves so early because the Strait gets downright nastly as the morning progresses.)

(Penguins!!!!! We also saw sea lions lurking nearby in the water..)

(Our boat at the dock on Isla Magdalena.)

(Basically our hour on the island was spent snapping as many photos as we possibly could. Penguins look totally adorable no matter what they are doing. Here Elizabeth and Blake are taking videos of penguins crossing the road.)

(It was cold!)

(Baby penguins. We also saw penguins making babies!)

The boat ride back was NOT smooth sailing. But Elizabeth, Marty, me, and our new German friend sat in the very front and rode the roller coaster -- you had to brace yourself against the ceiling and the floor when the huge swells hit! It was the first time in my life that I have not gotten seasick. yay! But poor Rebecca was crouched on the back of the boat for fresh air in her rain gear getting soaked by the ocean spray. She fortunately managed to avoid getting actually seasick. yay!

Short video of Boat Ride and Penguins (2min 38 sec)

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