We enjoy another early morning wake-up to witness our passage past Cape Horn.  Our starboard-side veranda is the perfect place to follow the ship’s progress  and photograph the lighthouse and memorial at the end of the world.  But more about that later--for now I return, after another sea day and our night-time passage through the Magellan Strait, to our voyage from the Falklands to Punta Arenas, Chile.

Monday, 10 December 2018
Punta Arenas, Chile

We arrive at Punta Arenas on time at 6am, but a merchant ship blocks our passage to the dock and we must wait for it to depart.  About one hour later, after waiting in our heavy, warm clothes in the Mainstage Theatre, we begin the excursion with a 20-minute bus ride into the heart of the city, from where we begin our 90-minute local ferry ride to the Penguin Reserve that occupies all of Magdalena Island.   

Outside the Ferry Port (above and below)

Ferry to Magdalena Island

But we will be given the full contracted 45 minutes on the island to wander along a marked path that curves its way through the island to the lighthouse and ranger station at its highest point, and back down another curving path that eventually leads across the rocky beach back to our starting point at the ferry landing.

Will on the Front Deck of Ferry

Our Ferry at the Landing Point, Lowest on the Island

The Lighthouse at the Highest Point

Burrowing Penguins of Magdalene Island

View from the Lighthouse:  Penguins on the Other Side of the Island 

Penguins Dancing Near the Rocky Beach, Where Our Ferry Is Docked

Penguins Have the Right-of-Way Crossing the Path; Humans Must Wait

Because of our late departure this morning, we don't arrive back in Punta Arenas until 2:30pm, from where we re-board the waiting ms Zaandam.

We leave Punta Arenas harbor around 7pm and sail through the Cockburn Channel on our way to Ushuaia, where we will arrive tomorrow at noon.  The skies stay light until 10:30pm, so we can witness the passage through the snow-covered mountains.