Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine

A 7 a.m. disembarkent meant we were up early.  The morning' trip was a walk on Magdelena Island, whose residents are a colony of Magellan Penguins and a few of their predators - skuas and cara-cara.  These are a variety of penguin that builds a burrow. 

 Females generally lay two eggs and, subject to the attentions of the skuas and care cara, the pair may end up with two chicks.  As the chicks take only five weeks to reach the size of the parent, burrows give the appearance of being quite crowded in places!  There are penguins everywhere, with territorial bickering, mothers preening chicks and parents going off fishing.  There was also one King Penguin, some distance from where he should have been (in Antartica) on one of the beaches, but some distance from the path when we got there. (Sorry, no photo, Pete got one but he can't download on the blog, you have to put up with my i pad efforts!)On the next island is a seal colony so there is the occasional visit from a seal looking for pre-packed fish (a penguin on its way back to shore).

Having finished our packing, it was a wait to dock and get ashore and through Chilean customs, then a 5 hour minibus journey to our next stop in Torres del Paine (the blue towers).  The hotel is on the edge of the national park, with views over a lake to the mountains from the main rooms, the bedrooms and the pool.  Time this evening only to unpack, sort out our walks for the four days we have here and enjoy the view over a glass or two.  Also, with the first Internet for a week (and not the quickest connection) to download emails and deal or delete as appropriate!