When the alarm went off at 5:00 AM it was already dawn in Ushuaia. A red glow could be seen in the Eastern sky. A few early workers were driving the streets, but we had something more important to do. We were off to walk with the penguins on Isla Martillo.

There are several tour companies that will approach the penguin colonies by boat, but only Piratour has authorization to disembark on the island. Their tours are usually booked weeks in advance, but in a stroke of luck we got four tickets for the morning tour. After a quick breakfast we walked to the Piratour kiosk and boarded the van for the 90 minute ride to Estancia Harberton, and then a short boat ride to the island. There were the penguins.

There are two types of penguins on the island, the Magellanic penguins are migratory, and may swim thousands of miles north to Brazil during the Austral winter. They dig nests in the ground and typically lay two eggs each season. Gentoo penguins in contrast do not migrate. They create nests by mounding rocks with a central depression for their eggs. Both types usually mate for life.

We spent about an hour on the island, taking care to avoid the nests. Most of the hatchlings are now adolescents, but some still have a downy covering of grey feathers.

After the penguin walk we toured a curious museum nearby where they collect and study the skeletons of whales and dolphins. Much of the work is done by marine biology students from Buenos Aires. The funky smell of dead cetaceans filled the air, and the tour could have been more brief, but was interesting.

Back in Ushuaia we found a seafood restaurant serving mounds of king crab fresh from the sea to end our day.