Years ago when I had the chance to
go to Antarctica, one of the things that most interested me were the penguins. I scrabbled out of the Zodiak and found
myself on Terra Firma and as I gazed around the desolate beach, I saw dozens of cute waddling little creatures all over
the place. Little birds in suits. Penguins. They were so cool. You could get really close to them, too. I’d just lie
down on the beach next to one holding my camera, and he’d kind of gaze at me and give me a look that said, “Does my ass
look fat?”
So I’ll put it out there right now. Penguins are cool. If you agree, and if you decide you would like to hang out with
penguins some day, read this piece in the
Christian Science Monitor about the legions of penguins who call Magdalena
Island home. Magdalena is a nature reserve and summer home to more than 60,000 Magellanic penguin families. That’s a
lot of penguins. Hanging out there with all these little birds in tuxedos must be like attending the midget Academy
Awards.