Chile - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 463

ISLA MAGDALENA
In the middle of the stormy Magellan
Strait lies Isla Magdalena - the largest
Magellanic penguin colony in all of
Chile, with an estimated 120,000 nesting
birds residing on a one-kilometre-square
cliff by the old lighthouse. The
monogamous birds spend the September
to March breeding season here, living in
burrows in the ground. The female lays
two eggs in October, with both parents
taking turns looking after the chicks once
they've hatched in December, while the
other fishes for food. In early February
you'll find the grown chicks huddled near
the sea, as large as their parents but still
growing the adult feathers necessary for
swimming. The best time to visit the
colony is January, when the population
is at its largest. Though you have to
stick to the designated walking routes,
the penguins don't fear humans and will
come quite close to you. You can visit
the colony with the large ferry Melinka ,
run by Turismo Comapa (Magallanes 990
T 61 200200, W comapa.com, late
Nov-Feb Tues, hurs & Sat 5-10pm
from Tres Puentes Terminal, with around
one hour on the island; CH$28,000), or
with Solo Expediciones (Nogueira 1255;
T

viewpoint by the beach, where you can
watch them frolic in the waves just a
few metres away. Several tour operators
run tours at 3pm daily mid-Oct to
March, with two hours at the colony,
returning 7.30pm (CH$25,000;
CH$5500 entry charge and CH$1500
toll road fee not included).

PUERTO NATALES
Some 241km northwest of Punta Arenas,
the town of PUERTO NATALES is situated
in relative isolation on the Seno Última
Esperanza (“Last Hope Sound”).
Officially founded in 1911, it was used
primarily as a port for exporting wool
and beef from the nearby Puerto Prat
cattle estancia , built by German explorer
Hermann Eberhard in 1893. Though the
export trade has since declined, the town's
proximity to one of the continent's most
gasp-inducing national parks - Torres del
Paine - as well as the magnificent Serrano
glacier, combined with the popular
Navimag ferry from Puerto Montt, has
led to a tourist boom that has firmly
established Puerto Natales as one of
Patagonia's top destinations for outdoor
enthusiasts and backpackers, with hostels
on almost every corner.
Faced with a motley collection of tin
and wooden houses, a visitor's first
impression of Puerto Natales is invariably
coloured by the weather. On a clear day,
Seno Última Esperanza, bordering the
town's west side, is a remarkably vivid,
tranquil blue, with magnificent views of
the snowcapped Cordillera Sarmiento and
Campo de Hielo Sur visible across the bay.

4

61 243354; W soloexpediciones.com),
which has excursions to the island in a
small but faster Zodiac boat (mid-Oct to
mid-April daily 7-11am, depending on
weather conditions, includes 1hr on
island; CH$39,000), passing Isla Marta
on the way (home to a colony of 1,000
sea lions that use nearby Isla Magdalena
as their local takeaway).

PINGÜINERA SENO OTWAY
If you can't make the boat trip to Isla
Magdalena, then don't miss the land-
based excursion to the colony of Seno
Otway , 70km northwest of Punta Arenas.
Hosting around ten thousand Magellanic
penguins at its peak, the breeding site
is fenced off and visitors are obliged to
stick to the 1.5km wooden boardwalk
that runs between the penguin burrows.
While not as up-close-and-personal as
Isla Magdalena, you still get excellent
views of the penguins, especially at the

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The town is centred on the Plaza de
Armas , with its main commercial
thoroughfares north-south Baquedano
and east-west Bulnes. The worthwhile
Museo Histórico at Bulnes 285 (Dec-Feb
Mon-Fri 8.30am-1pm & 3-8pm, Sat &
Sun 2.30-6pm; rest of the year Mon-
Thurs 8am-5.30pm, Fri 8am-4.30pm;
CH$1000), less than two blocks from the
plaza, has attractive bilingual exhibits on
the region's native tribes , illustrated with
artefacts and black-and-white photos of