MUNGO EATS Latin America

We decided to visit Punta Tombo today, which we think is the largest Magellanic penguin colony on the continent.  We were pretty happy with the penguins we saw on the Valdez Peninsula, and both Kevin and I were questioning whether we should actually pay another park entrance fee to see yet more penguins.  We decided to go for it but at first we were thinking we had wasted our money.  There seemed to be fewer penguins and most of them were not posing as nicely as the last batch, a lot of them were in their nests or hidden by bushes.

However, as we walked farther and farther in to the reserve, we went from the suburbs, so to speak,

to the downtown core, and then we were swimming in penguins.

  The penguins that are in the furthest suburbs are a FOUR HOUR walk from the beach.  The penguin couples take turns going out to sea to feed, and will feed for a period or 2 or 3 days.  So every couple of days they make the trek to the beach, feed and make the trek back.  More room in the suburbs, but it comes at a cost!

There are SO many penguins that you have to walk around them. 

They stand on the boardwalks, and in your way, and you know, the sign says…make way for penguins! 

You are not allowed to touch them, but man, was it tempting when they were this close. 

We followed the rules though. 

Most of the penguins are in the process of moulting, and so there are a whole bunch of really bad hairdos out there. 

I think this guy was the worst one that we saw. 

During their moult, they do not go out to the ocean to feed, so they do not feed for a period of about 3 weeks.  In 2 or 3 weeks from now, a mass exodus of the penguins will take place.  From the end of April to September, they will migrate to the oceans off the coast of Brazil and will not come to shore at all during those months. 

So, in the end it was DEFINITELY worth the price of admission.  One of the highlight of the trip I would say.  I will remember this for a very long time!!