1st April 2008 Tuesday:  On the same day we went to Torre Del Paine, we also went to the Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument which is situated along the flanks of the Cerro Benitez mountains. Now, it’s not the cave that’s “special”, but the”Milodon” thingy. In 1896, someone discovered bits of skin, bones and other fragments of something inside this cave. Apparently, these remains are dated from an era earlier than 10,000 BC, and are thought to be parts of the extinct giant ground sloth, which they called the Milodon (Genus Mylodon).

We have to admit we are very skeptical about this whole Milodon thing. Our guide said that the skin was quite well-preserved.Is it a fossil, we asked him. He said, ‘No, it is the real skin.’ Real skin found inside a cave that isn’t covered in snow or ice all year around? Seemed unusual. What’s more, it’s the only kind that is found in the whole world. The only one, a unique species. We never got the chance to see any of those fragments for some have been sent to the UK for study and others in a musuem somewhere in Chile.

 

A burning question: How did they come to the conclusion of it belonging to a giant sloth? We noticed a lot of gaps in this theory. Another thing: We had to pay entry fees to visit the small empty cave. Yes, it was where humans possibly inhabited 8000 years ago as some prehistoric tools were found there and so on, but the statue of the Milodon doesn’t justify the entry fees.

 The landscape around

 Limestone stalacites hanging from the roof of the cave

 A statue of the “Milodon”

 

Might as well take a photo with the “Milodon”

The caves are generally formed of limestone conglomerate, and are surrounded by moderately dense Nothofagus forest

1st April 2008 Tuesday: One unexpected highlight of visiting the Torre del Paine National Park was that we actually got to hold a piece of a glacier! And that glacier is the Glacier Grey. Glacier Grey is in the south end of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field. While in the Torre del Paine, we got quite some time to ourselves and we walked a short distance to the west side of the park to where we could see fragments of ice from Glacier Grey floating near to the shore!

 

 This is Grey Lake where Glacier Grey empties into

Glacier Grey coming into contact with the lake. Glacier Grey loses ice from its terminus as it enters the water, a process known as calving. Calving produces large free-floating chunks of ice.

 Look what’s there, a small iceberg which has broken off from the glacier 

 

The blue coloring is due to the ice’s absorption of red wavelengths of light and scattering of blue wavelengths of light as it is transmitted through the ice.

 Another blue iceberg that has broken off Glacier Grey. You can see the glacier behind.

 

 Pieces of ice coming onto shore

 

 

 Holding a piece of the ancient glacier!

 The ice is cold!

 Take the photo quickly, my hands are cold!

 

 This bird in the foreground kept hopping around the shore, trying to find food among rocks and pebbles

 

 Looks and feels cold, but the wind blowing towards us was actually quite warm

 

 Enjoying the moment

Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to oceans as the largest reservoir of total water. Rising temperatures in the regions and around the world are contributing to the slow demise of glaciers worldwide.

Below are two satellite photos of part of Glacier Grey flowing into Grey Lake. The top photo was taken in 2007 and the bottom one was taken in 1986. See how much ice has melted in a span of 20 years from global warming. The observed retreat means that ice loss has been greater than ice replenishment. There is no easy and quick solution to global warming, but each of us can do our part to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

 

 

29 March 2008: The Magellanic Penguin is the most common and numerous penguin species found in South America. The size of its population is estimated to be a total of 1.5 million couples. 2500 couples can be found in Seno Otway which we visited yesterday, and 62,000 couples can be found on Magdalena Island (85 hectares). Magdalena Island and Martha Island (12 hectares) were declared Natural Monument in 1982.

So we got tickets for the ferry to Magdalena Island and went on 29 March, a Saturday, which luckily for us, was the last day people could visit the uninhabited island, till September. The penguins leave the island between March-April every year towards Atlantic and Pacific coastal waters to feed, so with no penguins around, it is not permitted for people visit the island between April and September.

This double-deck ferry awaited us in Punta Arenas

Taken from the ferry as it left the shore

The ferry captain

 After a 2-2.5 hour ride in the ferry, we were eager and excited to disembark

 At least a hundred other people were also on the ferry to see the penguins

 Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos

Penguin paradise for these Magellanic penguins!

The penguins we saw were the last ones still remaining on the island, and have not yet departed the island for the faraway waters to feed. All the young ones have left, and those remaining were finishing their molting or were trying to fatten themselves more before the voyage. So what we saw was only a fraction of the entire colony.

Penguins guarding their nests

We could only walk along the designated dirt path so as not to disturb the colonies.

Penguins coming onto shore after a swim to find fish. Don’t they look so cute!

Magellanic Penguins are medium-sized penguins which grow to be 70-76 cm (28-30 in) tall and weigh between 3 kg and 6 kg. Each has a pink ring around their eyes.

 Coming in from the sea

 This one peeks out from its cave nest

The rope separates inquisitive humans from the penguins. We are in their territory, so we can’t make any loud noise.

They are monogamous! Magellanic Penguins mate with the same partner year after year. Males reclaim the burrow from the previous year and wait to reconnect with their female partners. The females are able to recognize their mates through their call alone.

 Have I already mentioned they look soooo cute? 

There are only penguins on the island

While we saw more penguins here, we preferred the observation experience in Seno Otway even though there are fewer penguins there. Over here, we were herded along the path in a hurry by the guide (the same guide for everyone), with little time to observe the penguins at a leisurely pace. In Seno Otway, we could wander around at our own pace.

Feeling sleepy?

 During breeding season, two eggs are laid inside the nest

 Molted fur are scattered everywhere

 Leaving the island on the same ferry

A wonderful sight to behold

27 March 2008: After a long flight from Mexico to Santiago de Chile, we then flew on the same day from Santiago, the capital of Chile, down south to Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is by the Strait of Magellan, in Brunswich peninsula, and was once called “Sandy Point” by J. Byron, who discovered it in the XVII century. Punta Arenas is the continental city farthest south in the world (although Argentina insists that Ushuaia is a city and thus the southernmost in the world) and it is the southernmost place both of us have ever been. We were really so happy and excited when we arrived -it must have been the feeling of being at the end of the world!

Punta Arenas is cold all year round, being situated so south. When we were there, it was drizzling and the temperature was less than 10 deg Celsius. Still, nothing dampened our mood!

It was a short drive from the airport to town where our hotel was located. This is one of the scenery that greeted us along the way.

Here is a “busy” street

A quiet street in town on a weekday. See the shop sign saying “CruzVerde” (meaning Green Cross)? It is one of the biggest pharmacy chains in Chile.

Quiet town

Colonial-looking building

Memorial to Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan), a Portuguese maritime explorer (sent by the Spanish King) who was the first European to discover the Strait of Magellan in Punta Arenas.

This cute little pavilion is actually a tourist information center

We are in Patagonia - a truly magical place

Patagonia is a geographic region comprising the southernmost portion of South America. It is mostly located in Argentina and partly in Chile. The name Patagonia comes from the word ‘patagon’ used by Ferdinand Magellan to describe the native people who his expedition thought to be giants. It is now believed the Patagons were actually Tehuelches (native tribal people) with an average height of 1.80 m (~5′11″) compared to the 1.55 m (~5′1″) average for Spaniards at that time.

That white building houses a Spanish restaurant, but we have not come to Punta Arenas to eat Spanish food.

Trying out Patagonian food for the first time at one of the few restaurants in town

We love to eat salmon, so we were delighted that salmon is a big part of the Patagonian diet here in the south. For lunch, we had salmon pudding with potato croquets.

A fruity sorbet as dessert

Jerkus, the local restaurant where we ate

Menu del dia: Menu of the day

Two local restaurants on this street. We’ve tried both but preferred the one on the left.

Public transport is in the form of the colectivos, which are shared “taxis”. Each colectivo has a number signboard at the top which represents the specific route taken. You hail it like a taxi from anywhere and can alight anywhere along the route. Fares are fixed within the town (less than US$1 per person). We even took the colectivo twice: once to a ferry terminal and another from the ferry to the hotel.

Here is another colectivo