North Pole polar bears, South Pole penguins.

Early breakfast, lobby FULL with runners.  Marathon Day?  Nope, PENGUINS.  Easy half-mile walk to the Pier, tickets presented, boarded a ferry.  Open water excursion, short hour away.  Isla Magdalena.  No cancellation, no refund, no need – I kissed the BRASS 😊

Nervous excited boat chatter.  Seas rolling but not rough.  Couple sprays from a distant whale pod.  Just a distraction.  Island approach – close, close, closer, PENGUINS.

Disembark instructions: stay on trail, keep moving & don’t chase the natives.

🐧 Magellanic Penguin 🐧

South American penguin, breeding in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil where they are occasionally seen as far north as Rio de Janeiro…most numerous of the Spheniscus penguins.

Mass: 8.8 lbs  Conservation status: Near Threatened (Population decreasing)

Day’s excursion did NOT disappoint.  Literally HUNDREDS of PENGUINS.

Adults matched in size by the dull fluffy adolescent chicks they still supported, preened & fed.  Seemingly nesting EVERYWHERE.  HIGHLY recommended MUST-DO TRIP.

Sooooo much bigger than the wee blue ones seen in Oamaru (NZ/Mar 2017).  Just WOW!

Rock-rock-rocky, return ride home.  Took short breaks outside.  Let the cold Tierra del Fuego air numb the quease.  Whole lotta retching.  Yikes!  Who knew my lithe fit Asian brothers stomach’d so much bile?  Just as well today was not Antarctica Day.  Folks gonna need an extra day or two to repopulate calories.  Ick.  Just the sheer Sound, the Smell.  Sad souls.

Post-boat dinner?  Heck yeah, I’m not one to miss a meal 🍴  Italian dinner.  Long table of 8.  Julian (France).  Brad (Quebec).  Kentucky Dave.  Circle continues to grow.

Pre-Flight Briefing tomorrow.  ZERO impact (group poop 💩) discussion.

Isla Magdalena