We arrived in Puerto Madryn on an overcast day with a warm temperature. The best weather to see and take photos. It was our final day to see penguins on this adventure. After getting off the ship we took a bus for 2.5 hours to the Nature Reserve of Punta Tambo. On the way we had a chance to see some of the other wildlife in the area.
Punta Tambo Reserve is home to the largest colony of penguins in all of the Americas. 
Over 1 million melleganic penguns live in the reserve most of which come in the summers to breed and raise their chicks. As we walked through the reserve we couldn’t believe just how many penguins we could see. It was amazing that by standing in one place and turning around 360 degrees there were penguins as far as you can see.
I’m sure you’re thinking… how bad did it smell. The answer is surprisingly not as bad as one would think. The area typically has fairly high winds coming off the ocean which sweeps away most of the smell. This made the visit much more enjoyable.
Penguins chicks were everywhere. We were able to see penguins doing various parts of their everyday activities.
As we walked toward the beach, we had to stop to along the penguins to cross the path. They always get the right of way.
The closer we got to the beach, the more penguins we saw waddling back and forth to the water to find food. We crossed over the “penguin highway.” The penguins have created a path from the beach to their burrows. At any given time you can see many of them passing back and forth. Click the link below to watch a video of the penguins on the highway (it’s a bit slow to pull up).
Along the beach thousands of penguins are “hanging out.” We enjoyed watching them come in and out of the water.
After a few hours with the penguins, our visit had to come to an end. We said goodbye to my favorite animals and took the 2.5 hour bus back to Puerto Madryn.
Our next stop on our adventure is Montevideo, Uruguay.
Oh those cute little penguins!!!! I love the little guys but their colors are not nearly as vivid. I guess their home burrows were much like the ones in South Africa. It’s amazing the penguins are not afraid of the people although they are probably quite use to mingling with humans. There must be a lot of fish in the sea to feed them! I hope there is some kind of protective agency looking out for the penguin’s well being. Humans have screwed up many an ecosystem! Just amazing! Thanks for sharing! Love, MOMO