February 1st 2016

I’ve been in Ushuaia a while by now and they’ll definitely be a post just about wandering around this beautiful town, but I’d been taking a few days to chill out and organize a trip to Antarctica which I have managed to do and will depart on February 6th on The Spirit of Sydney, a sailing vessel with 7 passengers and 2 crew for a roughly month long Odyssey in the great white south and I’m endlessly excited about it, but i’m also a little nervous to be on a sailboat which is how the adventure in this blog entry comes about.

On a nice afternoon in Ushuaia I find myself walking down by the waterfront and decide that If I can spend what I did on Antarctica (We’ll get into that in another entry)  Then I can certainly afford to do a day tour to see some penguins here, especially when recently a few king penguins have been spotted amongst the Gentoo’s and Magellenic penguins on Isla Martillo a few hours ride from Ushuaia’s harbour.  The waterfront has tons of small little booths selling various trips and tours right near the cruise ship port so I wander through a few of those and end up called into a small one in the back corner, drawn by pictures of a sailboat that looks to be roughly the same size as the spirit of sydney.

After inquiring I find out that the tour runs twice a day, last about 6 hours and costs 1300 pesos  (120 CAD) which is expensive but so is just about everything in Argentinean Patagonia.  I end up opting for this option and don’t regret it one bit.  for what you get it’s definitely worth the money as you are with just 7 other tourists, you get the experience of sailing and a beautiful bus ride to the port about 50 minutes from Ushuaia, and the traditional giant Catamaran tour which leaves from Ushuaia still costs 1050 ARS (100 CAD  so it’s really not that much extra for what is in my opinion a far superior experience.  So I book it for the next day at 12 and spend the rest of the day wandering through Ushuaia just hoping some of the rare king penguins might show themselves on the morrow.

I head down in plenty of time to board the small included transfer van and soon were zipping up into the mountains above Ushuaia and I am entirely captured by the rough and dramatic beauty just out the window.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how spectacular Patagonia is.  We don’t stop and that would probably frustrate me even more if sailing and penguins weren’t already filling my mind.

As  we pull up back along the coast of the beagle channel and pile out of the van to beautiful views of the sea and puerto Williams the southernmost chilean town of any size across the beagle channel we are greeted by two excessively friendly kittens of all thing, bounding over the rough terrain towards us.  A very unexpected pleasure.

Soon enough we’re greeted by our two friendly sailors and welcomed aboard our vessel for the next 5 hours, the Paludine a cool looking sailboat which is surprisingly comfortable both inside and out and soon enough we’re heading off through the beautiful rugged landscapes on either side of us, everyone excited to be on board the sail boat and hanging out above on deck despite cold winds and some unpredictable splash patterns.

Before we get to any penguins though the seas get rougher and soon enough I’m up to my knees in water for a brief moment and am forced to temporarily retreat to the back of the boat where I take great joy observing the Albatross’ soaring all around us.  Soon enough I’m back at the front of the boat and being served a tasty hot chocolate.

From here we come through a narrow passage and emerge at a small rocky islet absolutely covered in a type of cormorant I now believe are called blue eyed shags. their antics are entertaining but perhaps unfairly to them, most of us are just too eager to get to the penguins to fully appreciate them.

And believe me when I say we get to the penguins.  And it starts with a bang as we reach a place where we can barely make out movement on a distant beach and me, scanning with the impressive zoom on my camera take a picture when I see a flash of yellow and capture all three types of penguin I’d hoped to see in one shot.And then, because I take too many photos, in three more shots.   The boat all huddles up near the front watching the spectacle grow from specks on the horizon to close up views of these incredible birds and  as we round a point on the island we are thrilled to spot three more king Penguins even closer to the shore. Being on the smaller sailing boat pays off as while were not allowed to land (only one company, Pira tours,  is allowed to but the trails on the island seem a far way from most of the penguin action anyway) we do get very close to the island and stay there a good long time watching these amazing birds interact with each other.

They are incredible to watch and I’m enthralled by the impressive size of the king penguins which are the second largest penguins in the entire world.  I’m overwhelmed with gladness to find them here as i’ve long dreamed of seeing this particular bird.

We reverse back closer towards the kings and I am lost in happiness as I watch them calmly look on at the other species who have more fully fledged colonies here, the lone kings are likely confused or lost but have decided to call this place home.  The only other place to see them in South america,  other than South Georgia and the Falkland islands which comes with such a high price tag, is a small newly established colony near porvenir chile. Day trips are run from Punta Arenas year round but it is a lot of time on the bus.  To get to see them check in Ushuaia if they’ve been around and head here because it’s an awesome day trip and I highly recommend it, especially the sail boat version.

Eventually it’s time to head around the island away from the kings and to more sparsely spread out penguins further from the sea eventually saying goodbye to the colony once and for all.  It’s too brief a time with these incredible birds but it’s been amazing, and our experience for the day isn’t over quite yet.

We pull back out into more open waters and sail through impressive islets and beautiful landscape.  Tierra del Fuego is famous for it’s wind and the sheer force of it is clearly manifested in some of the trees on shore which have grown accordingly.  I also strip down for a paint me jack shot on the bow of the boat, impressing some of the Argentines on board with my resistance to cold.  Unfortunately I’m not allowed to jump off the boat and go for a swim but it’s still a great voyage back towards the dock.

We’re not done through and as we emerge from another narrow channel we start approaching a cool looking rocky islet covered in a group of seals with one male and his harem of females, snow dusted peaks lurking in the distance on the chilean side of the canal.

We get right up close to these cool creatures and I’m impressed by the sheer difference the male of the group looking like a different species entirely.  Seals are always fun to watch interacting and playing and here is no exception and we spend a good little chunk of time with them before continuing on our way back to the harbour.

The rest of the sail trip back to port is pleasant enough and there we are greeted by our friendly driver, the kittens, a meadow full of spectacular yellow flowers and a truly impressive looking crab shell belonging to a baby king crab, which while expensive here, is quite common and the pick of things to splurge on food wise in Ushuaia along with Patagonian Lamb. we also take a group shot to remember the special day.

The sly has cleared and our drive back through the mountains is even more spectacular as we pass the trailhead to Laguna Esmerelda, a hike I plan to do soon, I smile, glad to be back in Patagonia, and almost excited at the thought of spending a month sailing in Antartica.  It will no doubt be a scary and sometimes uncomfortable experience, but after a day aboard a similar boat I feel somehow sure it will be a great journey too that proves well worthwhile and truly unforgettable.