This incredible area, with its majestic beauty, is located near the southernmost tip of Chile. Impenetrable forests, impassable mountains, and endless fields of ice define this region of Patagonia. It went largely unexplored until the beginning of the 20th century, thus maintaining its pristine beauty. Although the area remains sparsely inhabited, Punta Arenas is a colorful provincial town which looked like it was about to be swept away into the Strait of Magellan.
Most buildings in this town were constructed between 1880-1905. Although there were earlier people who tried to settle here, they ran out of food and were forced to move elsewhere. Once the permanent settlers arrived, commerce expanded quickly because this waterway was the only passage between the oceans to the east and west. However, once the Panama Canal was completed the local economy was forced to find other means to support itself since ships no longer needed to make the long trip to the south. Currently, people in this area depend on exports such as fish and meat for their livelihood. Unfortunately, due to the harsh weather most fruits and vegetables do not grow here.
We boarded our bus and headed to the Otway Sound Penguin Rookery Reserve. We were quite fortunate to arrive on a picture perfect day. There were a few light, fluffy clouds surrounded by light blue sky. Mountains could be seen in the distance with snow covered caps. Our guide informed us that it rains at least 150 days a year in this area so we felt quite blessed.
The drive out to the reserve was quite interesting. We passed through terrain that resembled greatly the landscape we have seen in Alaska. The ground was covered with a type of unruly grass, some errant wheat (not the type harvested for food), small dead trees, a few green trees, and occasional burst of color from small, bright yellow flowers.
The penguin reserve was established in 1991 in an attempt to preserve the Magellan penguin population. Last year the reserve suffered a tragedy when a pack of wild dogs entered and killed a majority of the penguins. It was a huge loss and will take a long time for the penguin population to recover. Until recent years thousands of penguins could be seen in this area. However, due to the decrease in the amount of fish along the local shores and the increased number of predators, most of the penguins have relocated to a nearby island, where fish are more plentiful, they don't have to swim as far to hunt, and they enjoy a safer environment.
Fortunately for us, there were about 100 penguins playing along the shore and waddling through the pampas grass. We were able to observe them playing on the wet sand as the waves splashed around their feet, their flippers flapped, and they wobbled and bobbled on the beach. It was such a privilege to enjoy these delightful little creatures in their natural habitat. Their typical lifespan is 25-30 years and they choose one mate for life. Once the female lays the egg the couple takes turns in 12-15 hour shifts, taking care and keeping it warm. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at this reserve and having the opportunity to learn a little more about these adorable little birds.
As we drove back to the pier we passed a flock of Rhea birds, which are similar to the ostrich or emu. They have long necks and legs and large feathered wings which serve as sails when they run. Our guide told us that the rheas live in harems and are quite aggressive. One of their eggs in about the size of 1,000 chicken eggs - ouch!!! If the mother senses a danger to her egg from a person/animal, she will stomp on the egg to avoid someone else stealing it - talk about being overly protective!!!! Finally, we passed a herd of llamas grazing in the fields. So peculiar to look around and see creatures in the wild that we would never see at home. Again, so very blessed to have the opportunity to make this trip.
We returned to the ship and had some time to relax before dinner and the BIG GAME!!!! Yes, we are in Chile but it's SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!! MUST---FIND---GAME!!! We were hoping the ship would air it on the big screen but they were unwilling to pay the $25,000 that ESPN was charging so we had to find a place in town where we could watch it. The Cruise Director called some local bars/pubs and found one that could accommodate us and was willing to allow us to watch the game. Of course, since we're in Chile, the time is much later here so the game didn't start until 8:30 p.m. Still, we decided we couldn't miss it so Bob and I bundled up and headed out to walk to town (no taxis were available at this hour). We found the pub, which turned out to be in the basement of a charming old historic building, without difficulty. About 30-40 people from the ship, both passengers and crew, showed up to share in the party!! We had a GREAT time, well, at least until the last few seconds of the game when the Seahawks coaches made the infamous brain-dead call and lost the game.
We did have a slight disturbance at the pub. Shortly after we arrived a humongous Aussie showed up, already drunker than a skunk. He was about 6'6" and probably about 320 pounds. We think he was a crew member on a working ship on its way to the Antarctic. He was certainly ready for a fight!!!! He definitely wanted to be the center of attention and periodically would stand directly in front of the T.V., blocking the view and dancing - badly. In addition, he was sick and sneezing all over the place (not covering his slobbery mouth). Some of our passengers were really uncomfortable around him and tried moving to another room but the guy just kept moving around making a nuisance of himself. Unfortunately, the bartenders just kept serving him more beer!! You wouldn't see that in the U.S. these days!!!! He would sit down periodically and nod off (thankfully), but would soon wake up, down his beer, then stand up and stumble around causing more trouble until he got another beer. at one point he was asleep and spilled his beer and the bartenders immediately brought him another one!!! Really pathetic and annoying. FINALLY, he put his empty glass down next to me, stumbled out the door and left. YAY YAY YAY!!!!
Everything was wonderful for the next little while...until the last few minutes of the game. Oh well, it was an exciting game. There's always next year!!! Once the game was over we had to find our way through town back to the ship at 1:00 a.m. The streets were completely empty so we had to walk back. Since we had no idea how safe this area was at night we decided to walk together in small groups. Luckily we returned without incident and were ready for a hot shower and a comfortable bed. Goodnight all. Tomorrow we will continue sailing south to Ushuaia, Argentina. I'm already humming "Don't cry for me Argentina..." Can't wait for our future adventures.
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