Penguins, a rock moving dog, and Christmas with Dora

Hello all,
Since Todd have already described the Patagonian winds there is not much to add to that subject. Perhaps I would just change my previous statement in which I said that “Patagonia keeps taking my breath away” to “ Patagonia’s winds take pretty much everything away.”

I know that the holiday season is already over but I just wanted to describe with a few paragraphs how we spent it and then I will talk a little bit about the penguinos :)

As you all know we were heading to Ushuaia to spend Christmas. Many fellow travelers we kept bumping into along the way, were planning to spend Christmas in Ushuaia as well. Coming to Ushuaia was very exciting to me as, I connected it with a little reunion with our randomly encountered friends. For some of them, arriving in Ushuaia was rather bitter sweet since it meant the end of their journey ( many traveled from Alaska to Ushuaia). They had tons of cool stories to tell, and I am sure millions of memories to take home with them.

As far as Christmas goes, we spent it in little bed and breakfast place. There were 18 human beings: a French couple, 3 Italians, 2 British, 3 Americans, 2 Irish, 3 Germans,1 Slovak and the women who owned the house (lets call her Dora), her three visiting sons and wives, a rock moving dog ( little video attached otherwise you would not believe it), two cats, and an assortment of unusual and different workers.





This little B & B would definitely be an interesting place to have a little cross-cultural study on uneasy feelings and first impressions. Even though we were all different ages, race, and nationalities I very soon observed that we all had one common feeling and that was that Dora made us all just a tiny bit uncomfortable.

However, the common areas of the house were gorgeous, comfortable couches with spectaculars views towards the Beagle Channel. You could pretty much hang out on these cozy couches as long as you wanted unless Dora’s client scame . In that case the door of one room would close. Dora was a psychoanalyst. So if you were somewhat interested in psychoanalysis or just were curious what people in therapy talk about you could just hang out in the hall way and listen to the whole session. What may be a privacy concern in US is just an afterthought in Ushuaia.

However, I must admit that it was very nice of Dora to provide Christmas dinner for all of us and have a place where we could exchange stories and create new friendships. Everyone was ordered by Dora to bring a present, so we all did and exchanged them. It was quite nice, I put a bottle of wine in and got a notebook. I guess it was my way to tell someone to enjoy their trip even more and it was the universes way to tell me to study more and take a few more notes.

We stayed in Ushuaia for five days and toyed with the idea of going to Antarctica. It was neither of our dreams to go there, but we kept listening to other people that it is “a must.” They had some last minute deals that were 75 % off the regular price. We kept talking to the travel agents and could not make our minds up. Then this tourist agent finally told me: “Corazon, this is a Russian boat absolutely no good for girls.” That did it for me, I guess. I immediately flashbacked to my elementary school in which pictures of Russian boats along with comrad Lenin hung pretty much on every wall. From that point on I wanted to go. However, by that time it was too late and everything was sold out. I still wonder what the Russian boat would have been like.

We spent our New Years in el Calafate. We had dinner at a little family run Sushi restaurant that was open only until 11:30.PM. As we were walking back to the hotel ( 11:40 PM ) people started to gather on the main street. Waiters, and cooks ran out of their restaurants and were carrying buckets full of home made fireworks and granites. I felt a little uneasy when they started shooting them from right under the electric power lines, but everyone seemed to be pretty ok with that. Hey, we were in Patagonia not US, I reminded myself.

The truth is that it was a tiny bit hard to be away for the holidays, no family, no carps, no good friends to laugh with. Oh well, there is so many more to come…

Ok , lets talk about penguines now. We have the Magellan penguin colony in Punto Tombo. The penguins were everywhere, in the parking lot, in the restaurant, on the road. I thought they have a pretty good life. The live in these huge community ( 500 000) yet they can have as much personal freedom as they want to. I am sure that there is a lot of gossiping around, sometimes it turns bloody too. Mostly when the males fight over the females or a pretty good looking nest.

Otherwise it is very peaceful there. When we were there the little penguins were just entering the adolescent stage. They were so cute. So this is how Magellanic penguins spend their lives:
Males come to Valdez Peninsula around September and they made sure they pick the best looking and the most appropriate place for their nest. Most of the time there is plenty to choose from but I guess there is always one who thinks that the grass is always greener on the other side. In that case there is a fight over the nest. About one month later the female penguins come and start checking out the nests. The males are hanging out by the entrance and waiting. But it is really not about the males as much as it is about the nests the women are “shopping for.” Once they like the place they settle in and lay eggs. Always two.

Once the little penguins hatch the male and female take turns going to the Atlantic to get the food. Sometimes they are gone for up to 4 days. I guess there is not much questioning among couples where one exactly goes unless they bring some food back. When the babies get old enough they all leave to spend the winter in Brazil.


Then they all return. First males- usually to the same nest, then females- always to the same partner. They do it for about thirty years. So if you are ever faced with the question what would you like to be in your next life and you like monogamous relationships, the option to pick your own house, personal freedom to hang out on your own for a few days in the Atlantic- a female penguin is always a good option. Just be careful that you don’t sign up for the Antarctica ones, those guys have it much tougher.

I miss you all. Hope 2010 is good to you!

Love,
Kristina