King Penguins

 

After waiting for a long time, the little tour bus finally appeared and took us to the ferry port. We needed to cross the Strait of Magellan to Povenir, a small town in an area once inhabited by a now extinct people who came here some 11 thousand years ago. Then, after lunch, we drove to the place marked by a green arrow, where the King Penguin rookery is located. The reason I also highlighted Magdalena Island is that it is another, major, penguin visiting area, with some differences. There are thousands of them, there are no restricted areas keeping you from mingling - within reason, they are the regular small and most common penguins, and they only arrive their when their location in Southern Brazil gets too warm for them and the fish they feed on. In the local summer months, still cool here, way south on the globe, they roost on this small island.

 

This ferry was huge and modern, apparently new, and fast.

 

 

The high tech bridge.

 

 

Povenir is a tiny, wind-swept town that may be a ferry port and transportation hub. There is a lot of traffic going into the interior. There is also a small and intertesting museum that shows pictures of the last of the Selk'nam indigenous population. A hardy and surprisingly tall people.

 

 

 

In the museum we were told that they were indeed walking barefoot in this rugged land.

 

The land along the Strait of Magellan and by now we were getting close to the Penguins.

 

 

 

Then, after a bit of unpaved road, we arrived at the wildlife observation station.

 

And after a brief checking-in process and a short walk, there they were, the larger of the groups, just standing there. It was almost surreal. King Penguins, btw, are the second largest penguin species at 70 - 100 cm (28 - 39 in) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg.

 

 

A little closer look. Everyone just stands there, in what sun there may be, the one lying down is awake, the ones standing are asleep, except for the adolescent, still waiting for his final coat to come in.

 

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