Digress back to:DAY 63
PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE
My husband was right! My husband was right! I will shout it from the rooftops if required. But, first....lets start from the beginning:
PART 1
Yesterday (New Years Day) was about the worst day ever. We arrived at the Navimag (our ship) office around noon with about two hundred other stranded passengers. The only upside to standing in the line waiting for our refund was the chance to swap ideas and strategies with the other lost souls. Here were the deductions:
A. There is no road connecting Northern Chilean Patagonia to Southern Chilean Patagonia. There is a 400 kilomether stretch between where the Pan American Highway (lovingly known to us as Ruta 5) ends and the Catarrel Austral (dirt road to the South) begins.
B. All the boats, ferries, and etc... were booked until later in the month
C. Either you head North.....or you fly.
As the travel agent put it "Mame...it is the edge of the world. Not an easy place to get to." Thanks for the heads up buddy!
I was so exhaserbated I voted to give up. I wanted to hop on a 747 and head West to Buenos Aires. But, my typically "happy to have you plan it" husband put his foot down. "We said we were going to the end of the earth and by God WE ARE." he mantrad.
So along with hords of others...we booked a flight for the next day.
That left us with another pleasant evening in my favorite town...Puerto Montt. Those of you who have followed along know that last bit was laced with extreme sarcasm.
In Puerto Montt everything was closed for the holiday....and I mean everything...including the hotel restaurant! I wont go into all the details of the evening...because it will make me look bad......but the next day we and our new friends from BOSTON and Sally...boarded our planes of doom.
The first half of the flight was not bad.....I was past out from a bottle of wine and a xanax...despite it being a 10am flight. But the 2nd half of the flight a coma could not have kept you asleep. The high winds of Southern Patagonia pushed and plummeted our plane like a childrens kite. The only ones on the plane not effected were the flight attendants....and possibly Bryce who thought the roller coaster was cool.
Sally has never been afraid of flying before....but she says she may take the 30 hour bus ride back through Argentina. (Just kidding Sally!)

Part 2
Ok...it was worth it!
Some of you know I like to chat. But, its a lucky thing because less than an hour after our arrival in Punta Arenas a fellow traveler told us the only boat going to Isla Magdalena was leaving in 1 hour.
Now, there are places I have dreamed of going ever since I bought my first travel guide to South America... and Isla Magdalena is one of them. This island, two hours across the Magellan Straight from Punta Arenas is the worlds largest Penguin Breeding Colony. And come hell or high water....I was going.
So we threw our bags into a hostel and ran for the boat. We did not even bother changing or eating. As far as I was concerned...this was a run for my fantasy.
It did not disappoint. About 1 hour into the very pleasant boat trip you begin to see little black and white heads popping in and out of the water. As we drew closer to the island....there they were. Thousands of them. 150,000 to be exact!
You get right off the ship and there they are allaround you. They just waddle about with little to no bother of the 100 people who just walked onto their island. The best part was we are here in time for the babies! They were born only 4 weeks ago and they are cute and fuzzy as ever.
Bryce loved it! Ok....I loved it too!
They tell you not to touch the penguins...but thats hard because as soon as you get close.....they touch you. Or bite you to be exact!
We wandered around the beautiful island watching them feed their babies, huddle in their little burrows under the mud, kiss, clean, squawk, and dance about.
I was sad to miss the movie Happy Feet but this had got to be better!
It was four of the most amazing hours of my life.
On the way back Bryce made friends with a 10 year old English girl and they ran all over the ship playing hide and go seek. They were so cute.....and everyone on the ship was in such a good mood from our fabulous trip that people all over the boat got involved in helping them find each other with points, whispers and hints.
The boat did not return until almost 10pm. But it was still light out and we were all elated from the experience. So the three of us, and Sally, treated ourselves to dinner at the Sarah Braun mansion. She was one of the first wealthy female settlers here and her home is as spectacular as a Newport Mansion.
Bad start to the day........great finish. Thanks Rich for pushing me on!