Back on land in Puerto Madryn, Argentina and yesterday we had an excursion to a penguin reservation. It is a huge piece of land on the coast of Argentina that is home to 800,000-1 million Magellanic Penguins!
Unfortunately, still unable to post pictures, so I'll do my best to paint the scene.
After a 2+ hour ride through Argentina via dusty, bumpy terrain, we arrived at the penguin reserve. We were greeted in the parking lot by two spiffy fellows dressed in black and white. We were briefed on the area and the other fauna we would see: guanaco (relatives of the llama), rabbits, quail, cuis (little rodents) and some really big seagull-looking birds. We were told to stay on the path and if the penguins were nearing, wanting to cross the road, we needed to give way.
It was adorable! They would march (waddle would be a better description) single file across the path to the other side.
No ice or cold temperatures here. The weather was very warm, the terrain dry, rough and short green bushes scattered about. The Magellanic penguins (also known as 'jackass penguins' because of the loud braying sound they make), return to this region every year to mate (with the same partner), give birth and raise their families. In addition, they return to the same nest they made the previous year.
It was absolutely amazing! Everywhere you looked, there were penguins! And you could get so close to them! We were fascinated and watched them play, preen, 'sing', bathe, swim and take care of their babies.
It was really a wonderful experience and hopefully we'll be able to get the pictures and video posted soon.
Today, we are back on the ship, heading to Montevideo, Uruaguay. Time to start packing and getting organized as we disembark in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
It's been a great trip and we are looking forward to getting back to terra firma!
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