With our layers of clothing zippered to our chins and our hoodies tied tight around our ears, we motored toward the reserve as Saint Andrew, the patron saint of fishermen (and tourists, I hope) watched our back. I hoped to see many penguins, sea lions, and dolphins, oh my! Our little boat was surprisingly stable and dry. Being the paranoid person that I am, my camera was wrapped in a plastic bag and safely tucked away inside my backpack which was on my back. I was on the port (left - same number of letters) side of the boat on the middle bench seat, which turned out to be a tactical mistake for taking photos. The trip took us on a clockwise course around the island, so I was almost always as far as possible from the wildlife. The woman in the not-so-sensible shoes was directly in front of me. Our guide was in the middle and Anil, my traveling companion from India, sat shivering on the starboard side of the front bench. Next to me were two young ladies from Kentucky, of all places. The couple sitting on the last bench was Spanish speaking. They and the two boatman (one in front and one handling the motor in back) rounded out the crew.
We were the only boat out there that day. Tourist season wasn't in full swing yet. There wasn't even a bunt. We were about two months away from prime time. That being said, there was something nice about being the only boat out there. It was easier to appreciate nature in the virtual solitude that we found there.
The sea was dark, but not uninviting. The waves were somewhat large, but rolling rather than choppy. Despite the cold, it was a rather nice ride out to the island. The ride over was scheduled to take about 30 minutes from the dock. When I wasn't shivering, I found myself in that riding on the water zone. You know the place. You're just watching the horizon and enjoying the lift and drop of the sea. It was nice. All except that drone from the motor. Give me a sailboat, any day.
We were so low to the water that it was difficult to see anything in the water until we were almost upon it. Not that there was much to see, really. The view was a little better when we were at the top of one of the small swells, but not by much. At about the three quarter mark, I saw something that brought me out of my zone. I was startled by the head of a sea lion about 20 feet off the port side of the boat. I was so startled that I tapped the lady with the not-so-sensible shoes sitting in front of me. I didn't know how to yell "LOOK" in Spanish. I've since learned that "MIERE" will do the trick (learned that from a pack of 4 year olds trying to get everyone's attention on the teeter totter....), although I haven't yet looked up the spelling of the word. Back to the sea lion, he was there for just a moment. I think he was checking out the noise. He soon dove under and I didn't see him again.
The closer we got to the island, the more I could see how rugged the terrain was. No sandy beaches here. Rocks and cliffs up to the top. A few cacti scattered here and there in the rocks. It sure didn't look like penguin territory to me. All of my memories of National Geographic specials had penguins on ice not on rocks with cacti. Chile is not like other places.
The guide mentioned that the penguins climb up the steep, rocky slopes to the flat top of the island for the winter. Really?! On those little legs?! It was impressive to say the least. They climb back down in the spring to mate, nest, and raise the young. At the height of the season, you can see 8 to 10 THOUSAND penguins on the shores of the island. It wasn't high season yet, so we had to be very alert and vigilant in order to spot the penguins on the shore. Not only because of the small number of them out and about that day, but because the darn little guys blend right in to the scenery. No, not the cacti....the rocks that are slimed with penguin (and I assume other bird) guano. Yup, that's their cover. Rocks and poo.
People used to live here, the guide tells us. But when the area was declared a national park, they had to move off. No one is allowed to set foot on the island now. A good thing from the penguin perspective, I'm sure. As he's telling us about the people that used to live out here, people that fished, I just kept thinking what the heck did they build boats out of to get out here? There weren't any trees on the island or anyway close to here. I never did ask him about that. I'm sure they'll be another chance in the future when relatives come to visit.
We finally made it to the island. We were on the leeward side. We were close enough so that the island protected us from the cold breeze that plagued us across the channel. I put down my hood and unzipped my jacket a bit. I recovered my camera from it's relatively dry hiding place in my backpack, which was on my back. I almost hit one of the girls from Kentucky in my haste to get the camera out. The new zoom lens was attached and I was ready to shoot!
We motor along. We're all holding our breath and scanning for the first penguin of the day. The guide points...THERE...damn...it's a cormorant....or a bunch (flock? gaggle?) of cormorants is more like it:They were just sitting around chatting about bird things. Our presence didn't bother them one bit.
"THERE!" shouted the guide again....our heads quickly turned...mine with my camera attached to my eye...Pelican...sigh... Ok, capturing him in flight was cool, but darn it...where are the penguins?! We motor along the coastline...our eyes squinting to find these elusive fellows....THERE! yells the guide...we all slowly turn....PENGUIN! YES! 
See what I mean about the rocks and guano?! This guy was busy cleaning himself. Guess he was awaiting a lady penguin to make her way down. He was going to look GOOD when she got there. This was a typical penguin shot on the island. Some green moss covering the rocks close the the water.I was able to capture this shot, which doesn't show any penguins, but does show the moss and the tops of some of the enormous seaweeds that grew in the area.
Later, we ran into a pelican holding court among the cormorants.
Leaving the pelican to his subjects, we moved on to a much rockier area of the island where we found boobies! No, not those kind of boobies. Boobies as in bird with round heads and eyes that stare right through you. They were nesting. Hard to see it here, but this one had evil red eyes. Evil I tell ya. I do carry a bit of bird paranoia. I blame it on my sister. She's nine years older than me. Well, when I was about 5 she asked me if I wanted to watch a movie with her. A movie for older kids....Yes! Of course. What little kid doesn't want to watch what the older kids are watching. In this case it was Hitchcock..."The Birds"....and totally inappropriate for youngsters. I had nightmares about birds plucking peoples eyes out of their heads for months. Oh, my young life was never the same....birds haunt me everywhere to this day (not the penguins...they can't fly)...but others follow me...REALLY! The chickens followed me and only me on hikes in Kauai....a cat bird chased me through Charles Village in Baltimore...it even waited for me on the telephone wire when I went inside Tambers Nifty Fifty Indian Food and Soda Fountain Diner (a story for another day) while I went in to place a take out order. It was there where I came out the door...started swooping at my head as I ran down the street with my order in hand. Ok, enough about that. But this bird's red eyed stare just kinda creeped me out. If it had taken flight over the boat, I may have just jumped overboard.
There was one guy who either didn't get the memo at high tide that it was time to chill or he dove in on his own and would have to wait until the next high tide to get back up there. I think he was posing for me on this day. Talk about cute. I'm happy that I was distracted by the sea lions in this particular area. As we motored into the narrow channel with high cliffs on either side, I wondered whether the boatman knew what he was doing. The surf in this area was somewhat rough as surf tends to get in narrow rocky areas along the shore. Great area for waves to come crashing into the rocks, which was just what they were doing while we were in there. As the waves retreated, so did the boat ( remember, it's small). The boat would follow the surface of the wave down just as another wave would start to barrel it's way in. Fortunately, on this day, the boatman did a good job in keeping us from being swallowed by the waves.We were all disappointed that the dolphins hadn't been spotted in the area. The guide told us that sometimes you see one or two, sometimes hundreds, and sometimes none. I hoped it wouldn't be the latter. The guide thought that perhaps they were out on the windward side of the island on this rather chilly day. As we come around a point from the relative calm and safety on this side of the island, I began to think that this a rather dubious plan.
I grew up on a small island in the middle of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. At the southernmost point of the island was a lighthouse. It really was a point. The lighthouse sat well above the sea on the rocky coast. The was a reef off the end of the island. It was windy out on that point. I remember watching the ocean waves powerfully crashing over the reef, even when the wind wasn't so strong. One could really see the power of the ocean in that spot.
Back to the boat trip.....so, our small craft comes around the end of the penguin island preserve and into the Pacific Ocean. Not much between us and Easter Island now. The wind is stronger here. And the waves, while still not choppy, are huge compared to our little boat. I put my camera back in it's "safe" place, cause I'm thinking that we are surely going to get wet out here. From the troughs, all I could see were the fronts and backs of waves above us. When on the peak of the waves, looking to our right, I could see what appeared to be a large rock or reef area off the rocky coast line. No lighthouse here, but watching the waves crash across that rock and powerfully break up, spraying surf hundreds of feet in every direction made me think of that reef at the lighthouse in Rhode Island. Only this time, I was in the water. ACK. I really didn't think the dolphins would be out here. Turns out I was right. No dolphins that day. Once we got past that dead mans corner of the island in our little boat, things got better. The surf calmed and the sun started to come out. We passed the end of the penguin island and made our way to the only island in the preserve on which we were allowed to disembark and explore.
Here's a closeup from the side. I love the little rust colored rings around their necks.I wandered about and took photos of as many of the plants and flowers as I could. It was spring and the desert was blooming somewhat.
Cactus flower
We spent about an hour here. It was pretty, but it was now about 3 and we were all starving. So, we climbed back into the boat and motored back to the dock. The sun was now bright and eventhough we didn't see any dolphins, it brightened the day.
If you ever get to this area of the world, it's something worth the trip to see. Bring your warm clothes and be prepared for anything...including a small group of Guanacos crossing your trail on the way home through the desert. The guide yelled "LOOK" and this is what we saw.
St. Andrew did his job that day. Penguins and cacti...yup.
1 comment:
Can't wait to see boobies! And I will remind you of what evil birds can do. Love you.
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