Beagle Channel(Argentina): a Boat Trip

December 2019    itinerary link

 

We did not know much about the Beagle Channel before this trip, but we had heard we could see penguins there. When I tried to book a penguin tour online before we left home, I only saw prices well over $100 per person. Then I read somewhere that you could just go to Ushuaia port and book a boat tour in short notice, and that would be much cheaper. So that’s what we did. When we went down to the Ushuaia Port area to book a boat tour, there were a dozen or so booths each selling slightly different boat tour options. The first one we walked into offered an all day tour that included seeing penguins. Another place offered visits to more islands in the Beagle Channel, and another place said they specialized in landing on the island where the penguins lived and getting closer to them. We thought that would be a bit too rude to the penguins, thus, we settled on the first place, Rumbo Sur.  I think we ended up paying under $30pp.

We were promised to see plenty of sea lions, cormorants, and penguins. We were not quite sure how this would be achieved, though. More often than not, you get to see some of the animals from a distance when animal sightings are guaranteed.

The boat was clean and comfortable. With it about 60% full, there were plenty of places to sit around. There was a cafe that sold drinks, snacks, and warm sandwiches etc.

We left the Ushuaia Harbor behind. Recorded narrations were coming out at the right moments in English and Spanish. Beagle Channel is named after the British naval research ship, HMS Beagle, that carried a young Charles Darwin as a research assistant.

It was raining on and off, but that didn’t matter. The scenery was just gorgeous.

Uh? What’s that? We came close to one island in the middle of the Channel, and there seemed to be some animals on it.

Sea lions! Tons of them. Just on this one island. The boat got really close to the island & the captain made sure everybody got enough photos to take home with. Everybody went up to the upper deck, which was not covered, to take close-ups.

They were beautiful creatures just minding their own business. Ones we had seen in a zoo here and there looked tired and bored, but not these guys!

Quite frankly, encountering wildlife in its own habitat was an invigorating experience!

Next we went close to an island that was packed with birds. What are they? They look like mini penguins. They are cormorants.

Now we could see a pattern. One island conveniently colonized by one kind of animal — of course the tour companies could guarantee sightings of lots of wild animals!  We loved it. Quite a sight.

This man made lighthouse was not as interesting compared to the wild life. Still, I have to admit it is photogenic.

We needed to sail a couple more hours to reach the penguins, we were told. There were other wild animals all around us, though. We had lunch. Drank coffee/tea/beer. Passing time was not too hard.

Look! Someone shouted. We are here! Someone else yelled.

Ooooh! Down right adorable!  These Magellanic penguins are smaller than the arctic ones we see in movies and photos, but they are cute as buttons. The boat was brought very close to the shore of Matillo Island, and we had no trouble capturing all sorts of penguin moments.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Very playful and full of life, they did not pay much attention to people looking at them.

 

We could have stayed longer and taken more pictures. The captain was willing to let us take all the time we wanted. But, after a while, you start worrying about all the time it would require to look through the photos when you return home.

The return trip was uneventful and the scenery as gorgeous. We definitely got our money’s worth.

Our journey: Puelo -> Puerto Varas -> Puerto Natales -> Torres del Paine National Park –> El Calafate –> Perito Moreno Glacier –> Ushuaia –> the Beagle Channel –> Buenos Aires