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Ninety seconds on Islotes de Puñihuil
Come in December or January, when the colony is fullest. Pack a zoom lens, because the boats must keep well back from the penguins, and a warm layer for the wind on the water.
Before the boat, you put on a life jacket at the water's edge, then ride a raised wheeled cart pushed out through the shallows to the boat, so your feet stay dry. In the quiet months boats leave about every fifteen minutes, and you can walk straight onto one without booking.
From the water you see Humboldt and Magellanic penguins on the same rocks, with sea lions, cormorants and gulls around them. Above the beach, a small forest-service guard post keeps an exhibition on the islets, and the land around it has lookouts over the cove.
Explore the rest of Ancud
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