I recently had the chance to visit the southernmost place on Earth I have ever been - Puerto Varas in the south of Chile. I was there as a part of a conference and stayed a few more days to explore the national forests and beautiful lakes around this area. It was a perfect break from the cold in the northern hemisphere and Puerto Varas did not disappoint us. Warm sunshine everyday with a beautiful lake overlooking the volcano Osorno was a treat for all of us.
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| Lake Llanquihue in Puerto Varas overlooking volcano Osorno |
One of the trips to look forward to was the one day tour to the penguin colonies in the Chiloe island which was like a 2.5 hour ride from Puerto Varas. There was a controlled bush fire near the highway which delayed our departure. But in-spite of that, we reached the island at an appropriate time. There is no bridge between mainland Chile and the Chiloe Island. Most of the vehicles including trucks and buses are transported in a ferry which takes about 20 minutes. It would become extremely convenient for tourists and the people in the island once a bridge is constructed between the two regions.
Chiloe is quite big and it took us nearly an hour to reach the penguin colony. The journey took us through the city of Ancud. Rest of the landscape was spectacular with occasional views of the pacific and little islands between its huge waves. One can see local farm animals which consisted mainly of cows, horses, chicken and tiny little pigs. There were a lot of creatures which I did not recognize. Once our bus even stopped to let a cow pass by (glad to know this happens even outside India).
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| The city of Ancud |
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| The local villages in Chiloe |
Once near the penguin colonies, we decided to take a lunch break near the sea shore of Punihuil. At this corner of the Earth, the food choice was highly limited. The only thing that was served here was beef and sea food. This was not surprising as one can see how remote this place is and it is practical to have such local food here.
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| Punihuil |
After a nice lunch beside the beach, we were off to the Penguin colonies in a small boat. The huge waves did give me jitters initially but it was the sight of the penguins that got my attention. At a distance, I could see a few penguins. Then a lot of them. Then we got a lot closer. I did not believe that I am actually seeing penguins in their natural habitat. It wasn't just me but everyone in the boat was excited and not even a Hollywood superstar would have got so many pictures clicked in this shirt amount of time. I took as many as I can and when I was tired, I just sat and watched them.
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| Magellan Penguins |
Amazing creatures these penguins are. They were standing at one place drying their feathers, some of them walking up and down the hill. That was the fun part. The best entertainment a penguin can give is to walk. First of all, they do not have hands like humans to support themselves if they fall on the slope. After a couple of steps, the penguin would just slip but somehow balances itself. They are pretty careful while going into the water. While coming out, they just look like a baby trying to crawl its way up the rock.
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| One Humboldt penguin which we spotted in one of the colonies |
These islands are a home to Magellan and Humboldt penguins. While most of the Humboldt penguins were gone at this time of the year, we were mainly able to see the Magellan ones and just one Humboldt. Apart from penguins, there were many otters and another bird (the name of which I do not remember) which kind of looks like a penguin but then up close you realize that it is a disguise. We hoped to see a bear as well but it was inside a cave. There was a major earthquake in Chile in the 1960s and some of the effects of the earthquakes can still be seen today. One of the islands was split into two and the earth quake had triggered off a Tsunami, the effect of which was felt as far as the island of Hawaii in the north Pacific.
Those 20 minutes in the pacific were completely worth the 5 hour journey we had to make. On our way back, we stopped at the city of Ancud at its local market. The fruits and vegetables were enormously large here. The size of a garlic clove was equivalent to the size of an entire garlic that you get in Germany. One section of the market sold fishes and other section sold souvenirs. There was a football match going on and I have never seen people so enthusiastic towards a game like this.
Chiloe was indeed a treat. I hope to visit this place again to explore the southern part of this island.
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