We had about a two hour drive along the Patagoian roads before we arrived at the rookery. There was a visitor's center where we had the opportunity to learn more about the penguins and other marine mammals, then a short mile drive to trail. It was SOOOO different than yesterday and SOOO many people! There was a cruise ship in and several tours from there. Much of the trail was boardwalks and roped off to keep visitors from entering the nesting areas.
The males arrive in September and ready the nests and then the females arrive and the courtship begins. Eggs are laid in October and hatched in November or December. Chicks begin leaving the nests in January. The chicks begin molting in late January early February and continues into March when their oil glands have them prepared to enter the water. Their annual migration begins in April and lasts until September.
These are some penguin videos: https://youtu.be/iSvgMrWjOZ4 and https://youtube.com/shorts/2ODkF0hb784
The males have wider bills, more pronounced foreheads, and are generally heavier than the females. They both share the protection of the nest, incubation of the two eggs, and raising and feeding the chicks.
The penguins from Punta Tombo Reserve will swim as far as 370 miles from their nests to feed themselves and to obtain food for their chicks. Most foraging dives are under three minutes and at depths of about 90 feet! They feed on anchovies, hake, silversides, and squid.
One thing that was different today was we were able to watch them swimming and then marching back up the hill to their nests. This is penguins swimming: https://youtu.be/qBQ1k8zeBJo
Our guide told us it was unusual to see guanacos in this area of the park, but they seemed to like hanging out with the penguins today!
All too soon our time was up and we were back in Puerta Madryn. The weather was great so we enjoyed walking around town before having dinner. All along the beach there were lots of people enjoying the sun even though it was windy!
We opted to eat at Nautico Bistro del Mar along the beach. It had great reviews but we thought it was overrated. I had the prawns and they were beautifully prepared, but overcooked and dry. Tobey ordered the hake and it was better, but the highlight of the meal were the mashed potatoes! Bummer!
Tomorrow we have the morning here, but fly to Ushuaia in the afternoon so it's off to bed.
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