Penguins, Isla Magdalena, Chile
Magdalena Island is a two hour boat ride from Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia. The entire island is a nesting colony for Magellanic penguins. Upon arrival to the island, visitors must stick to a circular walking path through the colony so as not to disturb the penguins. The island is quite large so shy penguins have lots of territory where they can fish and carry out their lives far from the tourists. However, many penguins don’t mind the regular visitors and build their nest holes at the very edge of the path. I think they find the constant parade of people entertaining, almost like watching television. Maybe the parents feel the tourists will keep their babies amused while they go fishing.
Magellanic Penguins, Isla Magdalena, Chilean Patagonia
The penguins that nest above the path need to cross the path going to the ocean to fish and again coming back. They stop at the edge of the trail and wait for the tourists to clear a space for them and then they cross over just as if they were on a crosswalk.
One penguin just enjoyed checking out the tourists. He walked right out onto the path into the crowd of people. When people stopped for him, he began to check out everybody’s pants. He would take a few pecks at one person’s pants and then move on to the next. He pecked my pants as well so I was glad I was wearing double layers for the cold. He loved one girl’s flowered pants so much, he gave her a pretty hard peck.
These penguins have so much character, I could have stayed there all day watching them! If you get a chance to go to Patagonia, I would definitely recommend this tour. The cruise ships come into Punta Arenas so this is a possibility for people coming through on a cruise as well.
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