MAGDALENA ISLAND AND MARTA ISLAND TOUR FROM PUNTA ARENAS

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Day 15: Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour from Punta Arenas - Puerto Natales

Today is a special day on this trip to Chile and Easter Island since it is the day we will do the Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour from Punta Arenas.

As we explained yesterday when we started the tour of all the places to see in Punta Arenas, one of the first things we did was approach the offices of Solo Expediciones, the company with which we will do this Tour Magdalena Island and Marta Island to confirm the reservation and remain calm with the confirmation of the weather forecast for today that they tell us is quite good, something complicated in Punta Arenas, where as the locals say, the most common is "see the sun shine in the rain".

Early morning in Punta Arenas

Punctual when it is six and a few minutes we go down to the reception of the Hotel José Nogueira to check out and leave our luggage at the hotel reception so that they can keep them during this morning's tour, since today we are leaving towards Puerto Natales, where we will start another part of this incredible journey.

It is time to be at 6:30 in the morning at the doors of the office of Solo Expediciones, which is the collection point and is located a few minutes from our accommodation, the Hotel José Nogueira where we slept tonight.
When we left so early we could not have breakfast at the hotel nor found anything open, not even for coffee, so on an empty stomach we go to the office from where they will take us to the boarding point to start the Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour from Punta Arenasand where we meet the other travelers.

The tour officially starts at 7 in the morning, although the company summons you at 6:30 in the morning to avoid delays, something that seems like a great idea, to avoid problems like the one we had on the day of the Geysers of Tatio tour .
Once the time comes we ride a couple of buses that take us to the departure dock in Laredo Bay, about 20 minutes from Punta Arenas, where we ride the boat for 65 people who will take them in 45 minutes to Magdalena Island.

Embarking for the Magdalena Island Tour

Once in Isla Magdalena we will have 1 hour to enjoy the island and then, if the weather conditions are good we will embark on a 20 minute navigation to reach Marta Island, an island where you can see sea lions. We initially did not understand the time factor, but they explain that this area has a special weather and if the weather is bad the boat moves a lot, here it does not disembark, so you can not see the sea lions, in addition to causing a lot of dizziness, so if there is bad sea or windy avoid making this stop.
At the moment the forecast is good weather, so we will continue asking Pachamama to continue like this and continue enjoying this incredible time that we have been having since we started this trip to Chile in 31 days.

After about 40 minutes of navigation we arrive at the Magdalena Island when at 8:15 in the morning, with a calm sea and an incredible blue sky, which gives us the best framework for this Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour from Punta Arenas.

The Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour starts from Punta Arenas

Once we have all disembarked, we receive several instructions, which although they seem obvious, it is not bad to remember, especially when it comes to walking among animals and we must try to make our presence less noticeable:
- The tour of the island is circular, passing through the lighthouse. At no time can you get out of the marked paths. Under any concept.
- It is completely forbidden to feed, touch or stress the penguins. This might seem obvious, but it would not be the first time someone jumps the cord to take a selfie with a penguin. So you can imagine the importance of being aware of where we are and that we are only guests.
- Although it is understood that we are all looking forward to taking pictures of the penguins, there are thousands on Isla Magdalena, so it is not a good idea to stop 20 minutes with the first ones we see, since we will have to do the rest of the tour very quickly.
- The time in Isla Magdalena is 1 hour, more than enough time to go around the island, stop, take pictures and enjoy the place.
- In the event that a penguin passes in front of you, something very frequent since walking with total freedom, you have to keep a safe distance, always trying to avoid hindering your path.

Magdalena Island Tour

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Magdalena Island Tour

Following the recommendations that have been made to us, we try not to stop too much, although we assure you that we practically have to be pushing each other to avoid getting in front of the first penguin we have in front of us and it is that as much as we explain it, the feeling is indescribable .
Moreover, none of the photographs we took show the images we were lucky to see, and you just have to think that in Isla Magdalena there are more than 60,000 pairs of penguins, so you can imagine how many of them you see while Tour the island.

Magdalena Island Tour

As we move forward we realize how time, despite being sufficient, comes upon us, so we have to increase the time we have to try to reach the area of the lighthouse as soon as possible and thus have about 20 minutes to make the way from there to the boat.

Magdalena Island Tour

If we take into account the visual factor, we will tell you that the first part of the route, from the moment of disembarkation to the lighthouse, is the most scenic, so if you have to take some more time, do it in this area and leave some 15-20 minutes to make the journey from the lighthouse to the ship.

Magdalena Island Tour

As we said before, the time on the Magdalena Island Tour flies by, so almost without realizing it we find ourselves again in the boat, with a smile from ear to ear for the experience and with the announcement of a good weather, something that It will allow us to go to Marta Island and thus complete the Magdalena Island Tour that we had planned.

Heading to Marta Island

It took us about 20 minutes to reach Marta Island, discovering from another distance another enclave in which we would not get tired of being a few hours, enjoying the gift he has given us, both day and nature.

Panoramic Marta Island

Marta Island

With a practically flat sea and a sun that we feared would not come out, we are getting closer and closer to Isla Marta, where it is not possible to disembark since it is inhabited by a colony of sea lions and in this case they cannot have contact with humans, moment in which the captain warns the crew to accompany us to all those who want to go up to the roof and sit there, to enjoy for almost 20 minutes the incredible views and images that we have in front of us.

Marta Island

It's a little after 11:00 in the morning when they tell us that we have to start heading back to Punta Arenas to where we have about 45 minutes of navigation that we take to have coffee and some cookies in addition to going half sleepy and it's that the early bird today starts to take its toll.
We arrive at Bahía Laredo shortly before 12 in the morning, where a bus is waiting for us that takes us back to the area of the Plaza de Armas of Punta Arenas, ending the Magdalena Island and Marta Island Tour from Punta Arenas and an experience we will never forget.
From here and seeing that it is 12:00 in the morning we take the opportunity to approach the Cemetery of Punta Arenas, one of the places that we also recommend visiting in the city and that we did not want to miss after not having had time yesterday.

Although before we make a brief stop at the Cathedral of Punta Arenas, where we make a small visit before setting off to travel the almost one and a half kilometers that separate us from the Municipal Cemetery, which although we had initially planned to do by taxi, in the end we decided to walk To enjoy the atmosphere of the city.

Punta Arenas Cathedral

Although the visit may seem a bit odd, we can tell you that the Punta Arenas Cemetery is considered one of the most fascinating cemeteries in South America, where the most sumptuous mausoleums coexist with the most humble tombs.

Municipal cemetery

After the visit, which does not take more than 45 minutes, we have to say that it has not been precisely what we can consider an essential visit, so if you do not have much time and want to leave it, you have our total approval.

They are just over 1 noon, so the time has come to find a restaurant to eat and rest for a while after the full day we are having. We look at TripAdvisor, as we always do and we find that the second restaurant in Punta Arenas, behind the Kiosk Roca where we were yesterday, is very close to where we are, so without much thought we make our way to La Marmita.

After reviewing the menu, and we like everything, we decided on a smoked salmon with salad, a plate of grilled salmon and a southern hake, which are really impressive, plus a beer, soda and dessert a cramble of apple that leaves us breathless accompanied by two express by 39800CLP.

Eating in La Marmita

It's almost 3:00 in the afternoon when we have just eaten and seeing that we still have a little more than an hour left for the departure of the bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales We decided to approach the Hotel José Nogueira, where we have stayed tonight, to be able to call the family, since tomorrow surely with the time change we will not be able to congratulate the new year in due time. In addition, how could it be otherwise, we took the opportunity to connect for a while, download photographs and work almost an hour waiting for our bus to Puerto Natales to leave at 5:15 in the afternoon.
When it is 4:45 we approach the Bus-South Station, which is where the buses leave from this company and is about 200 meters or so from the hotel, where we arrive in less than 5 minutes and where we find a small terminal, where we do not have to validate the tickets as we have them booked through the Internet to not run out of space.

Punta Arenas Bus-Sur Station

Punctual we ride in the bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales and on time we leave for the next destination of our trip and the gateway to Torres del Paine, one of the great reasons for this trip.
We have approximately three and a quarter hours of travel, so it is time to settle down, relax and enjoy the scenery and have a good reading time, which lately we miss a lot when we get up so early and fall at night.

We arrive at the Puerto Natales Rodoviario Station when it is 20:30 in the afternoon, although we must bear in mind that at this time of the year it is usually dark after 12 at night, so at this time we find that it is still by day, although there is not much atmosphere in the streets.
The next 3 nights we will stay at The Singing Lamb, a well-known hostel in Puerto Natales that is 1 kilometer and a half or so from the bus station we just arrived, walking distance and that after the experience And knowing the prices of taxis, we could have done by car to avoid unnecessary efforts.

After checking in fairly quickly, we leave our bags in the room and taking into account the time it is and tomorrow we have to get back early, since we have the Balmaceda and Serrano Glacier Tour, we go straight to find a place in the What a dinner. Our first option is Café Kaikén, a highly recommended restaurant, but right now there are no tables available, so we chose to go to a restaurant that is very close to sushi, also recommended and where we make the worst mistake we could make. It is the worst Japanese in which we have ever eaten, and look that we have gone times, so it is the worst mistake we have been able to make. From here the G Sushi Patagonia is totally discouraged.

And so, after this somewhat disastrous dinner, we return to The Singing Lamb when they spend 11 at night, enjoying a sunset in Puerto Natales that reminds us of how wonderful nature is.