Penguin Tour/ Museo Nao Victoria- Ecosystem/ History

Once we were done with the tour we decided to get some lunch at Café Tapiz, a nearby cafe. The food there was great and we decided we’d be going back soon. After lunch we decided we needed something else to do. Joey found us a nearby museum called Museo Nao Victoria, a museum about the great navigators of the past. They built a full size replica of the HMS beagle which was one of the most impressive things we’d ever seen. We got to go up on the ship and look around. Next we went to the Nao Victoria, a Magellan ship. It is amazing to think that these life size replicas were built so quickly. Compared to building a ship in the age of exploration, the replicas must’ve seemed swift.

Once we landed on the island we started on the blocked off trail and the guide took us to a common penguin burrowing spot. Our guide explained the blocking off of the trail. Apparently, baby penguins, also known as chicks, when handled too much develop a stress response detrimental to their health. We were told by our guide that the only type of penguins on the island were Magellanic penguins. We meandered along the trail sighting thousands of happy penguins. At only a little over two feet tall at a maximum they were adorable (though loud) and had small little dens dug into the ground for shelter and mating. The penguins covered the island- you could hardly fine a spot without them! Our tour guide led us up to island and we got great views of the penguin covered shore. We continued on with one penguins squawking loudly at Russell, maybe desiring him as a mate. Our tour guide informed us of the penguins diets consisting of mostly cuttlefish, squid, and krill. Suddenly, as if on cue, a penguin waddled by with a fish in his beak. We arrived at the top of the island where we entered an old lighthouse. The lighthouse had exhibits about the island and its ecosystem. We were given coffee and biscuits at the lighthouse before we ventured down to leave. As we neared the end of our tour Joey snapped a photo of a nearby Sea lion that we learned, sadly, sometimes eat the penguin chicks. After the Sea lion encounter, our little group then returned to the boat to sail back to the minivan. At the minivan, we would then be dropped off at Plaza Muñoz Gamero.

We had scheduled a penguin tour on the island of Isla Magdalena and were ready to go bright and early that morning. We called a cab and got to the meeting place for our tour where we would be picked up by an included van. We shortly arrived at the meeting place and climbed into a minivan with a few other people, Matt receiving the undesirable middle seat, and started After a short 15 minute drive with an guide telling us what to expect we arrived at the pier. We boarded the small powerboat and started off. It was a little rainy, but that didn't deter us. On the boat we were told all about the wildlife and history in the Strait of Magellan. We learned that, since 1982, Los Pinguinos Natural Park has been a breeding spot for the native penguin breed. The boat ride was long but we were fascinated by the picturesque views around us as we rode towards the island.

At the island, we explored the Museo Nao Victoria, which contains life-size replicas of the ships that Magellan sail with to circumnavigate the world. The ships were not as big as we thought they would appear. The ships were pretty large compared to the small building nest to it, but they didn't even come close to the ships of today. In movies and television shows, the ships were always towering above people, and always looked gigantic. We went up to the small building and, because the closing time of seven o'clock was nearing, the kind worker allowed us to have a quick glance at the ship for free, considering we would only have about fifteen minutes and people normally stayed for about an hour. As we climbed up the ladder and into the ship, there were many questions going back and forth between each of us about how it would have felt to actually embark on a trip around the world, which at the time would take upwards of three years. We couldn't imagine three years until seeing home again. The ship's compartments were not giant because most of the ship's space was dedicated to storage. Inside the ship was pretty dark. We made our way around the ship, walking around each room. The crew's quarters was pretty cool, there were lots of hammocks all around the room. After walking around the rest of the lower decks, we proceeded up to see the deck. It was mostly what we expected it to be, the masts, stairs leading to the helm, and a room for the captain at the very back. It wasn't very decorated. The ship was simple in design, unlike the ships in moves that have wood engravings everywhere and fancy decor. Joey checked his phone, and it was seven fifteen! We ran back down the steps, almost slipping due to the rain earlier, and found the same worker as before. She was still waiting for us to leave, and we felt guilty that we were late. She assured us that it was fine, but we still didn't feel right about it. In order to make up for the time we kept the nice lady waiting, we gave her fifteen American dollars. The museum was cool but we decided that we better start heading back to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at Mesita Grande, a pizza restaurant for a quick bite to eat. We split a pepperoni pizza which we wolfed down quickly then started walking back. At the hotel we pulled out UNO again for a couple of rematches. It was fun, but UNO became boring pretty quickly. After about thirty minutes, we decided to postpone our games and hit the sack.