Day 19 - Punta Arena

When we fell aslepp last night we were in the Western most end of the Beagle Channel. When we woke today we were approaching Punta Arena - so I don't know exactly what path we took to the Straits of Magellan.

We were docked with a tall ship, a superyacht and numerous large fishing boats.

By the time we'd finished breakfast we were moored and able to walk around the town. It was very cold and very windy, in the way I'd expected Patagonia to be. Probably 4-5 degrees. Punta Arena is a bit strange; it is neatly laid out, with some wide, tree-lined boulevards and a number of stylish old buildings. But it is quite run down and there is grafitti everywhere. The graffiti may be partly a result of the recent protests, as at least some of it seems political. We walked into the Plaza de Armas and took some photos (while avoiding the dog packs that seem to roam the town and live a parallel life to the humans). Then we walked down another avenue to the sea, where there was a monument and back along the windy waterfront. There are statues and monuments everywhere.

Then at 11am we were off to Magdalena Island. To reach it we bussed east for 30 minutes then got onto a boat. It was enclosed and high powered, both of which were required for the rough crossing to the island, which took 50 minutes. It is a wildlife preserve in the middle of the Strait, and is starkly beautiful in a barren and windswept way.

We saw many Magellanic penguins, lots of kelp gulls, some skuas, black-faced ibis, oyster catchers and flightless Patagonian steamer ducks. There are not photos of all of them and you'll have to trust me that I have spared you the majority of the wildlife photos.

 Our boat.

 Magellanic penguins

 Steamer ducks in the distance

 It was really cold

Kelp gull 

 Photo Sphere (hopefull works if you click into it).

By the time we came back the weather had picked up and it was even rougher. But we survived and are now recovering on the ship after a cracking day out.