I'm Glad I'm Not A Penguin

Tuesday 13 February

As we didn’t have to be ready till midday, I managed some early morning blogging before breakfast. There was just time then to search out the shops of Punta Arenas for 1. a new back pack – mine is falling apart and needs to be larger to take overflow from my suitcase, and 2. lunch for today which was not being provided – but all we bought was some chocolate bars – tolberone, picnics, kitkats, etc – we could not find a “snickers” bar or a “mars” bar anywhere – can you believe I am now eating chocolate bars for lunch as well as drinking tea?

We all met in lobby at 12.00 midday to be taken by minibuses to see penguins at Seno Otway – a wildlife conservation area about 65 kms away, where there are several colonies of Magellan penguins – they differ from the Chilean penguins in that they have two white stripes down their sides. They weigh about 4 kgs and like most penguins, cannot fly. They have very solemn faces with short hooked beaks and beady black eyes, and their tail feathers are short and stubby, a bit like a rabbit’s bobtail, that wobbles from side to side as they walk. They have large webbed feet specially made for speedy swimming in the cold Antarctic waters. At this time of the year the young are shedding their juvenile brown down and learning to swim, which they will have to do without their parents’ protection in the next couple of months. Their feathers are densely packed with an oil just below the skin that keeps them warm during the harsh winters where temperatures can drop to -20 degrees C or below. We saw a large flock of these black and white “skittles” standing on the beach with their backs to the incoming strong winds, whilst some of their peer group were standing in the shallows, with small waves washing around them, braving themselves to swim to find food for their youngsters. It was very cold.

As we wandered down the path we saw several couples of penguins, either grooming each other or waddling towards the sea together – these animals mate for life. We also saw large southern crested caracara birds – about the size and shape of eagles – feasting on a dead penguin – such are the rules of nature. We walked around the viewing area in a triangle, but if we have had more time, could have explored further. We were about 100 yards from the café when the rain showered again, so luckily we didn’t get too wet.

Others came back to the minibus quite bedraggled, and were glad of the warm drinks and biscuits offered by the drivers (from Remota but we didn’t realize it at the time). We then followed the long straight road, which went for miles, scaling a few hills, but otherwise visible to the horizon. We stopped at a wind sculpture beside open stretch of moorland - four tall steel poles with a “knot design on top – three poles were on one side of road, while the fourth was opposite. There was hardly any traffic on the road, except one large truck which passed while we were all taking photos - we could imagine the headline in the newspaper – “British tourists run over by only truck on road for several days!” We knew why the sculpture had been placed in this spot – it was extremely windy, blowing over flat moorland country, with nothing between this spot and the Antarctic, making it cold and damp and we had a hard job to stand up straight. But we saw quite a lot of wildlife – Darwin’s rheas – a smaller version of the ostrich, with feathers in different shades of grey – there were several families feeding near the road, with the babies all fluffy and trying to emulate their parents as they nosed around in the sparse grass for something to eat, on very thin, spindly legs – we all loved them. There were also flocks of lapwings – quite different from the ones we see at home – these had red crests and creamy and brown feathers – but were quite appropriate as this tour is called the “Lapwing” tour. We also saw rabbits – peeking out from burrows into the gale force winds and red foxes on the prowl for any unsuspecting animal that could be dinner. Lying all around were lots of decaying grey tree trunks – similar to those we had seen in Australia – here some had been burnt to provide more winter pasture for sheep, while others were decaying after being attacked by parasites – many trees still standing had leaves on the lower branches, while the upper branches were grey and bare. We had one short stop about three quarters of an hour before Puerta Natales, in a roadside café, where a big map of the area, gave Mike a chance to explain a little about what we were going to see in the next few days.

Our destination tonight was the Romota Hotel complex, just a couple of kilometres outside of the town, situated beside the fjord, with tall snow capped peaks all around in the distance and deep blue water with lots of small white horses. It was beautiful. This is the hotel that was changed from the one in the original itinerary – it is less than a year old and has received good write-ups. We should have been staying actually within the National Park, a further couple of hours further on, but Journey Latin America had decided to “try out” this hotel with us as guinea pigs. It was based on the same lines as the Explora hotel chain – which we had stayed in at the Atacama Desert – but from the outside it looked like a prison – two storey black arms stretching towards the fjord from a huge central area, housing reception, up a slope to lounge areas and further up the slope to the restaurant. The floors were all tiled in dark grey, and the tiles could be quite slippery, depending on what shoes you were wearing at the time. There were large round circles of stones on each level with huge extracting chimneys where large trunks of trees were burnt in the evenings. The plasterwork was roughcast and painted white, while the cushions on some strange bench seating were bright sunshine yellow – the benches were like a letter “L”, but tipped backwards on to the right angle, but proved very comfortable, even if your feet couldn’t touch the floor. The wood was all pale pine (?), with bark edging, and the whole feel was minimalist, but very comfortable. Everywhere was very light, with magnificent views through the floor to ceiling windows.

We were shown to our rooms, down a long black painted wooden corridor – again reminiscent of a prison and up to the first floor via a staircase which narrowed as you reached the top – sort of perspective, but gave you a weird feeling when descending, as you could reach both banisters at the top, but not by the time you reached the bottom. The rooms were large oblongs, with one wall of windows, a massive double bed, a shelf running round two sides of the room – serving as a desk, window ledge, storage shelf for dumping stuff(!) - and a square bathroom, with huge bath and drench shower. The window in the bathroom, looked out across the bedroom, in a truncated “V” shape, and had frosted stripes, but when sitting on the loo you could see the view across the water – that was the architect’s aim anyway! There were a few design faults in the hotel – like the bathroom window, the fact that getting in and out of the bath was almost more hazardous than walking on ice – either your foot in the bath slipped or the foot on the floor skidded away from you (especially if standing on the bath mat!), and some complained there were no easy chairs or full length mirrors, slippery rugs in the corridors and no choice of meals. But you can never please all of the people all of the time – we thought it was lovely.

We had very little time to shower and change for dinner, but all met up in a large meeting area where drinks and nibbles were served. Like Explora everything was *free” here, so we all feasted ourselves before listening to a couple of the guides as they explained our options for activities while we were staying here. That was when the confusion started – our registration cards had said we were staying until Saturday (17th) but Mike was sure the hotel in El Calafate was booked from Friday (16th). We all voted to stay here – everything was free after all - but Mike said he would have to make some investigative phone calls and let us know. We all decided that tomorrow we would take the excursion on the boat to the Serrano Glacier, with lunch on an estancia, as this was one of the “must do” excursions.

Dinner was served at tables overlooking the lakes and the peaks, and we watched the sun shining on the roofs of the nearby houses, as it set around 21.30. We had scallops in a thick sauce with cheese on the top for entree – with only fish knives and forks to eat it with, no spoons, which would have made life easier – but not so much fun! This was followed by a white fillet of fish with potatoes and then fruit salad. The wine, of course, was flowing fast. We finished with teas and coffees, and everyone was feeling weary as it seemed to have been a long day – it was by now after 23.00 – quite late for us to finish dinner, especially as the coach was leaving at 07.10 to take us to the port for tomorrow’s quest to the glacier.