Christmas Break Patagonia Style: Milodon & Penguins (Part III of Our Chile Visit)

We slept in and woke up to a sunny day.  This was slightly disappointing, since we knew we had to leave before the afternoon.  Luckily we had some additional fun activities planned for the day which made the departure somewhat bearable. 

Here is our breakfast view at Hotel Lago de Toro.  Even without a kitchen staff they were able to provide guests breakfast each morning.  Javier mocks my stubborn USA mindset regarding breakfast in other countries.  I think I am fairly open-minded in our travels, but breakfast in South America tends to include toast, yogurt and some sort of granola (with coffee and juice).  Rarely do we find eggs at breakfast (a pretty standard addition to this meal in the USA).  I'll admit that I have a bit of a love affair with scrambled eggs and was complaining by the end of our trip about how I couldn't wait to fix them when we arrived home.  (Who in their right mind could be complaining at breakfast with a view like this one?)

We took one last walk around the little community of hotels just outside of the park to bid adieu to the glorious view.  Then we hopped in the car and headed back towards Punta Arenas.  Now...you've seen all of our amazing pictures from the trip (including the one above), but Javier swears his favorite part of the trip occurred on our way out.  We stopped at a little lookout for some last pictures of the park and saw a CONDOR!  Now I know they're rare and that this sighting was lucky to say the least, but favorite part?  I don't think so.  Regardless, the surprise and shock of the condor means we have no photographic evidence to prove it, just the twinkle in Javier's eye when he recounts the tale.

Our drive out of the park was muuuuuuch sunnier and clearer than our drive in, so we stopped regularly to try to document some of the teal waters and snow-covered mountains.  The views were pretty unbelievable.

We had also been warned about the crazy winds that covered the area during the summer.  Miraculously, we really hadn't had to deal with much wind, but the drive out was an exception.  Our (rented) car door almost flew off the hinges when I accidentally flung it open mid-gust.  This didn't, however, stop me from asking Javier to get out at every lookout to attempt a 'better' picture of us with the view. (If nothing else, I'm certainly relentless.) 

First stop on our 'Still Fun to be Had' list in Patagonia was the Milodon cave. 

What is a milodon you ask?  Fair question because the milodon has been extinct for thousands of years.  I am familiar with the milodon only because the Cabezas household includes a clay figure of the milodon in their dining room table nativity every year.  I know it was purchased in Chile and has some sort of sentimental value, but past that the story evades me.  Needless to say, I was curious to learn more about the fascinating yet insignificant creature at one of its original habitats right here in Patagonia.

Here we are with the milodon.  Terrifying isn't it? 

The cave was ginormous though (can you see Javier standing in the center of my photo for reference?).  Scientists have discovered that the milodon inhabited the cave prior to an increase in temperature that brought green plants and the extinction of the milodon in the area.

A view of the mountains from inside of the cave.

We made it back to Punta Arenas for lunch.  We were a bit rushed our first time through, but this time I took a second to notice and appreciate the black-necked swans swimming around the lake.

As lame as it may be, we decided to go back to the same restaurant we went to the first time through: an adorable creperie.

I loved their big coffee poster that illustrated the different brews customers could order (including a few with rum, baileys, or whiskey!!).

If you're stopping through Puerto Natales, the Cabezas would call this a must-stop spot.

After lunch we had to quickly get back on the road in order to make our next fun planned event.  Along the way we were frantically scanning the horizon for the last Patagonian animal I had yet to see: the nandu.  Javier remembered seeing bunches of them during his trip almost 10 years earlier, but their camouflaged feathers sometimes made it difficult to spot them grazing in open fields (darn nature...).  Regardless, we got lucky and were able to spot a few close to the road so that I could brave the wind (yet again) and snap a few photos!  Can you spot the nandu?

Our last fun stop was to see.....PENGUINS!!  Javier was so excited to show me the penguin reserve located just outside of Punta Arenas when we arrived on Christmas Eve, so we were insanely disappointed to learn that it was closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  However...this meant we could end our Patagonia adventure (instead of starting it) with these furry friends.

Megellanic Penguins are nicknamed Jack@$$ Penguins because of their call.  They throw their heads back (as the penguin in the back of this picture is doing) and make this honking noise to attract other penguins.  They did perform this ritual several times while we were watching, but it didn't detract from their adorableness in my opinion.

The reserve was very windy and included roped off areas of beach and the surrounding grasslands where the penguins had made their nests.

We were surprised to find that they often traveled in lines, moving from the ocean to their nests and back.

Please tell me that this penguin butt is not the cutest thing you've ever seen.

Here we are with the penguins (they seem far away in the picture, but they felt quite close while we were watching!)

His little face and tuxedo coloring....I can't.

It was super interesting to watch them on the beach, especially those coming out of the water from hunting.  I was surprised at the number that were lying down (we assumed to sunbathe and dry off from their ocean swims?).

My pictures can't illustrate their little waddle walks, but if I could have scooped one up to bring home with us, I 100% would have.

Penguin-covered beach, no biggie.

It's easy to personify adorable animals, but how could you not imagine they are holding hands in this little group circle?

Or giving sweet cheek kisses to their sweethearts? Javier knew I'd love seeing these little guys and the experience (once again) did not disappoint.  After such amazing scenery, it was cool to see some shockingly special animals.

We stayed the night a few hours at this adorable little hostel before our super early flight back to Santiago.  Our eventful and fun-filled trip back made our departure a bit more bearable.  Plus, I had the sunny beaches of Vina del Mar to look forward to on the trip.  (If you ever need to pull me away from a good time, the temptation of a beach is always a good place to start!)