Magdalena Island and its penguins
After about two and a half weeks of great adventures in and around Ushuaia we travelled northwest to Punta Arenas in Chile. Even though the line-of-sight distance is only about 250 kilometres the travel time is more than 10 hours. We chose to travel the route by bus and honestly the ride was surprisingly pleasant. Because of bad weather we unfortunately ended up with a delay of about 6 hours. Making the total travel time much longer than anticipated.
Part of the journey from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas is a crossing of the Strait of Magellan with a short ferry ride. The strait is only about 5 kilometres wide at the crossing point and the sailing time is short but because of strong winds the ferry couldn’t sail. The bus drivers were unfazed, telling us to sit back and relax. This was nothing new to them. Worried about missing our hostel check-in, we scrambled to find WiFi allowing us to notify them about the delay. Their answer: “I already assumed so. The winds are strong today. Just relax”. We did our best to follow their advice and relaxed the best we could. Luckily Britt came prepared with the entire latest season of Emily in Paris. With nowhere else to go, I joined in on the dramatic love life of Emily.
The next morning we set off for one of the highlights that I’ve been eagerly looking forward to: Magdalena Island and its thousands of Magellanic penguins. The exact number of penguins on the island varies depending on the source but the number seems to be in the range 40.000-60.000. Unfortunately the number seems to be declining year by year. The cause for the decline also varies depending on who you ask but the answer always seems connected to the effects of a changing climate.
The island is designated as a natural monument and visitors are only allowed as a part of an organised tour. Not our usual style, but sometimes you have to go with the flow. Getting to the island requires a ride through the beautiful Strait of Magellan. There are multiple operators who offer this tour and we went with the local ferry company which uses one of their regular car ferries as a tour ferry in the weekend. The price is lower while sailing time is longer, compared to some of the other operators. We enjoy being on the water, so it was an easy choice. Even before we made it to the island it was an epic wildlife experience. From the deck of the ferry we saw a plethora of beautiful birds, the top fins of Sei whales, a jumping seal and dolphins playing in the waves in front of the boat.
As we landed on the beach of the island, two crew members had been tasked with the important job of nudging the curious penguins to make way for the ferry’s landing ramp. On this island, the penguins rule. If they decide to sit tight, we have to wait. After a brief wait the penguins retreated a bit, making enough room for the crew to lower the ramp. The first thing that strikes you when you land on the island is the cuteness factor of these wonderful creatures. No wonder that rule number one on the island is DO NOT TOUCH THE PENGUINS.
As a passionate photographer this is a true paradise. You rarely get to be this close to your subject while still being able to move around. As always when I’m photographing wildlife, I do my best to get to eye-level of the animal. To me, it creates the most natural and visually pleasing images. When your subject is less than half a meter tall that means lying on the ground. After a brief moment of lying on the ground photographing, one of the guides came up to me politely asking me not to lay on the ground. The penguins have lice so it’s better not to be lying down. Alright, fair enough. I’d anyway prefer skipping a case of penguin lice.
I could have spent countless hours on the island watching and photographing the penguins but unfortunately you only have one. These measures are necessary to manage the effects of the many visitors. A bit of a shame but understandable. Additionally, you also have to move along a predefined path around the island. Throughout the walk we were accompanied by three very talkative guides. The last guide had the almost impossible task of keeping the eager photographers moving. A more or less constant “please don’t forget we have only one hour to complete the circle” could be heard. Mostly directed at me or one of a few other avid photographers on the tour. For the record, we made it back to the boat fully within the designated hour.
Even though we only had one hour on the island, it was a truly incredible experience which I will think back on in the years to come. Being able to walk amongst these wonderful animals is a unique experience which I wish anyone travelling this area would allow themselves to enjoy.