This is the final report about our days in Chile during our Field Guides’ trip Birds and Wines of Argentina and Chile. The next report begins with our entry into Argentina.
As we sat at dinner on the beach in Viña del Mar, our guide Marcello gave us a choice for our final day day in Chile: sleep in and then hang around the beach in Viña del Mar or drive a couple hours north to see the Humboldt Penguin colony at Cachagua. To tell you the truth, my first reaction was to take it easy on the day we had to fly all night to get back home to Chicago. Then I remembered Bon Jovi’s words to live by, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. The next morning we all agreed that we would rather go off to see the penguins instead sitting around relaxing.
Our target was Isle de Cachagua, a small island near the town of Cachagua.
The first thing we noticed as we walked toward the island were all the sea lions sprawled out on the rocks.
As we rounded the corner we could see the Humboldt Penguin colony on the edge of the island, several hundred yards away. Note all the white there – natural fertilizer.
The closer we got the better we could see the penguins. If you look carefully, you’ll see some brown ones, which are immature penguins.
As we watched the waves crash on the rocks of Isle de Cachagua, I was glad we decided to make this our final stop in Chile. Next week, on to Argentina!
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What a fascinating experience that must have been! clearly there must be an abundant food source to support all those guys.