We said goodbye to the warm, northern part of Chile and entered the near Antarctic conditions of Punta Arenas, way down towards the southern tip of the country. When we emerged from the airport at 3.40 a.m., light had already started to appear in the sky (it’s not even summer yet). We liked the idea of long, sunny days, but the weather was anything but warm - my phone told me the heat index was currently -2°C. It was an unusual but very welcome feeling to enter our hostel and find the heater running.

 

The following day was the windiest we had experienced in a long time. Reports indicated the gusts were up to 90 km/h, and we could definitely attest to that after being blown around the streets. I was keen to explore the town, with its wide, quiet avenues and sleepy atmosphere, but the combination of the wind and the single degree temps had me diving into every door I passed. Even with the clear blue skies overhead, it wasn't a day for being outdoors.

 

Like La Serena, the main drawcard for Punta Arenas was the marine wildlife. Just off the coast was Isla Magdalena, home to a vast number of Magellanic penguins. In appearance they looked very similar to the Humboldt penguins we saw up north, but this time we were hoping to see a lot more of them and from a closer vantage point.

 

We had signed up for an extremely expensive tour, and the initial step involved waiting outside for over an hour in the freezing early morning conditions just to have our names ticked off a list. We weren't exactly thrilled about our choice of tour company at this point. Next, we were all herded onto buses to drive out to the port, where the water was surprisingly calm today. Thankfully, this time our boat was entirely enclosed, meaning I wasn’t shivering uncontrollably the entire time. On our way out to the islands we were fortunate enough to spot a large sei whale, who occasionally showed us his back but there were no spectacular leaps.

 

I didn't have to worry about whether we would see any penguins. Isla Magdalena was teeming with the birds, many of them nesting but plenty up and wandering around. We were given an hour to follow a marked trail, where at all times there were dozens in sight. Kelp gulls were the dominant animal on the island, and as they were also black and white it meant we had to search carefully to find the penguins among the flocks. The hour flew by, and I was disappointed to leave once the time was up.