Make Way for Penguins

Beautiful sunrise for our trip to Punta Tomba, Argentina. This is Puerto Madryn, Argentina,

  our port of call to see one of the largest colonies of Magellenic penguins in the world.

 

 Before I left for this trip when I generally thought of penguins dancing on ice in Antarctica. I was sorely wrong. The Magellenic penguins raise their young in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands from September into March. There is very little dancing on ice during this time. The area we visited at Punta Tomba looks a lot more like the American Southwest -- if there was an ocean in close proximity and there were thousands of penguins. I have to confess I didn't do my homework before I left for Argentina because this came as a surprise to me. The temperature in Punta Tomba was in the 80's and I wore a t-shirt and a sun hat. No parkas were in sight.    

 

Penguins have the right of way in Punta Tombo

 

Yes, I was very close to the penguins, who are about two feet tall. No, they aren't scared of people, except if a thoughtless tourist puts a camera lens two inches from their faces. Then they get agitated. There are signs everywhere about giving penguins right of away and not getting too close to them, but sadly, a few people disregarded these instructions. 

The penguins kept cool -- they're all "dressed" in feathers -- by swimming.

 

Penguin Beach Party

A penguin nest or burrow. 

Penguins return to the same mate each year. They recognize them by their "voice."

 This may be my last "Antarctica" post. I could probably do a hundred more posts -- and may do one or two more -- but it's time to move on. There are books to write about and photographs to share from New York life. In April I will be joining the A to Z daily blogging and before that begins there is one more trip. Planned before Antarctica, it's somewhere I have also long looked forward to.  And there will be pictures to share.

As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a great week.