6 March 2008
Our hotel was quite removed from the center of town, but the view of the sunrise was spectacular. We breakfasted with a honeymooning Kiwi couple (the husband was another Fulbrighter!), killed time hiking up toward the glacier that rises above Ushuaia, and made it back to town just in time for our excursion to visit the penguins. The bi-lingual guide spoke English with a thick Britannic twinge that reminded me that much of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego was settled by Welsh immigrants a hundred years ago.
The tourist van drove through the Tierra del Fuego National Park to reach Estancia Haberton, from which a small motor boat took us over to a protected island teeming with penguins, swimming, sleeping, waddling, nesting, molting, and braying like donkeys. Of all of the tours that cruised to see the penguins, ours was the only that allowed us to disembark and walk and sit next to them. (Need I say?) a really cool and highly recommended experience!
