Valparaiso Pelagic Trip

We were up early and walked from our hotel to the Wharf where our pelagic trip was to begin. I took my Gravol and steeled myself for the trip. Apparently this trip is usually much rougher than our first trip.

Guide Nelson Contardo on the right with some of our co-birders

We met a group of seven Chileans and their guide Nelson.  The plan was that Nelson would be the Spanish speaking guide and Lalo would be the English guide.  In the event, Lalo got pretty excited about the birds and would forget what language he was speaking, and Nelson would step in with the English.

Heading out the harbour we passed the tall ship Esmeralda, a training ship for the Chilean navy that has travelled the world.

Note the Esmeralda's figurehead:

The closest look we got of an Andean condor.

I just now read of the Esmeralda's dark past. She was a torture ship during the Pinochet years.

I did much better on this trip, hardly felt seasick at all and spent most of the trip on my feet looking at the birds.

Also they attracted the birds by chumming, throwing fish guts over the side of the boat.

(Apparently chumming doesn't work in the north).

The pelicans and gulls come flying in on a feeding frenzy.

It was fun to watch. The albatrosses are then attracted by other birds and fly in.

We saw 5 kinds of albatrosses. I can't honestly say I could distinguish them in the frenzy. But they are impressively large and magnificent.

 

Think this is a black-browed albatross with a sooty shearwater in the background.

Although this was a much better trip for me, 6 hours is still a long time on a boat.

Peruvian pelican landing

Salvin's albatross?

Pelicans at rest

Below is a royal albatross, one of the really big ones with a giant wingspan:

Gulls, pelicans and an albatross in front:

We also saw a large school of dolphins following a fishing boat. Too far away for a photo.

A highlight was seeing Humboldt's penguins in the water.

Cruising back into harbour:

Afterwards we had lunch at a seafood restaurant right on the wharf.

Nick enjoys caldillo de congrio and a last pisco sour before he flies home.

I had fried congrio (conger eel). Unlike the eel they smoke for unagi the flesh is not oily at all.  It's a delicious, meaty white fish.

Nick and Lalo had caldillo de congrio, a traditional fish stew, that Pablo Neruda wrote an ode to!  Had I only known!  In his home city!  But I was getting a little od'ed on seafood at this point. 

With an avocado and heart of palm salad on the side.

We then drove back to Santiago, stopping at the Parque Bicentenario to nab this guy:

The spot-flanked gallenule

This was a really beautifully landscaped park with ponds and planted marshlands.

They introduced some black-necked swans, native to Chile, but we were strongly cautioned by our guide not to count them on our species list!

Leo snuck a picture anyway!

The rest of the birds came here naturally, so counted:

Chiloe widgeon

Shiny cowbird

Monk parakeets are not native but have an established population so we could count them.

Monk parakeet feeding on jacaranda seedpods

Couldn't count the coi either!

Dinner was at Le Due Torri, an Italian restaurant.  Leo had gnocchi (fun fact, Chilean for gnocchi is ñoquis).

I had seafood canneloni, very good, but quite salty and the portion was enormous especially after having a large lunch.

And very pretty!

Total species seen: 41, Lifers:  10

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