Penguins in Punta Arenas

At some point during the evening I remember my man Ludin, and how he was blabbering this morning about penguins and how mean it was that he wasn’t allowed to go ashore to see some. I reminded him that I had sent him shore in Rio, to take pictures of the statue of Christ the Redeemer, but he said that Christ the Redeemer was no penguin and he wanted to see penguins.

When he showed up again, two minutes before departure, he insisted that I had clearly given in and let him go ashore. I recalled no such thing, and Ludin was put on volunteer duty once again and will spend the rest of the week cleaning filters.

Here are Ludin’s pictures:

Penguins in Punta Arenas

Penguins in Punta Arenas

Penguins in Punta Arenas

Penguins in Punta Arenas

Penguins in Punta Arenas

Penguins in Punta Arenas

UFO's over Punta Arenas, Chile

We’re in Chile, apparently, although nobody has time or a mind to going out. Perhaps we’re all still too saturated from seeing the grandeur of Antarctica; perhaps we’re plain old lazy. We spend a few hours tied to shore but hardly look over the railing. Our world exists entirely between the bulkheads; out there is a universe we’re only technically a part of.

At departure, a fleet of UFO’s emerges from the horizon. Some unusual natural phenomenon casts shadowy beams across their backs, as if somewhere out there the mother ship is calling us home. We don’t head her call. Lines are cast and we head north, meandering through the Chilean fjords, looking for definition.

UFO's over Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas, Chile

UFO's over Punta Arenas, Chile

UFO's over Punta Arenas, Chile