Pingüinos

¡Hola Amigos!

Today is Saturday, the 2nd of December, and Jeff and I just returned from the southernmost tip of the world: Tierra del Fuego. We did a 4 day trek through "La Isla Navarino" and it was absolutely fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that I'm not going to write a blog about it now. To do the thing justice I am going to wait until I return to the states to post the blog. Because I know you're all hungry for more entries (hah) here's a little one to tide you over.

I arrived in Punta Arenas the night of the 25th, and checked into the "Hostal Independencia" which had been recommended to my by some friends who came down several weeks ago. It is by far the best hostal in which I have stayed in all my time in South America. The owner, Eduardo, is a riot. He's easy to understand, friendly, hospitable, and a wealth of information. I basically spent the first 24 hours picking his brain and pelting him with questions, yet he never got tired of me. On his advice, we took a short tour Sunday evening to a penguin colony about an hour away. By "we", I mean Jeff, Adam and myself. Adam arrived the same day as Jeff and me by coincidence...he had plans to take buses from Punta Arenas to Valparaíso. As usual, the photos tell the best story.

This penguin in particular was very curious; he got close enough at one point that I could have reached out and smacked him upside the head. I didn't of course, but it gives a good idea of the proximity. I sat down to take a better photo, and between the sound of the camera and the "seated" position this guy had to come see what was up. No one else got as close to a penguin while standing, so I think sitting was the ticket.

Penguin assassin--in this pic it looks like he's plotting to "beak-stab" me.

Here's the main colony. We were not allowed to walk through here, there was only a viewpoint.

Please don't eat the wildlife.

ya me voy,

Andrius

P.S. You can always click on the photos to make them bigger...Hope all is well at home.