Punta Arenas is a large grey commercial port with very little to do. It regularly gets influxes of tourists from the cruise ships which stop here before heading further south.
The reason we decide to stay here is because of the penguins. Coming this close to the Antarctic we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to get up close and personal with them. There are trips on offer to visit the larger King Penguin colonies but with limited time and money we opted to go visit the Magdalena Penguins. Their name is taken from the island where they live, a two hour ferry ride from Punta Arenas.
I had never really considered myself an ‘animal person’, however having the opportunity to see so many wonderful and diverse animals in their natural habitat has made me appreciate the wonders of wildlife so much more. My change in attitude became obvious when stepping off the boat to be greeted by hundreds of these adorable black and white creatures.
Watching them as they waddled along I was overcome with joy.
I mean look at them!
Happy Feet!
It was amazing being able to get so close to them.
The young ones clearly weren’t phased by us.
I could have stayed and watched them for ages but we only had an hour before the ferry left and it was beginning to get a bit chilly.
Once again, we were privileged to see some amazing wildlife and it seems this time my heart has been well and truly melted.
