By Eric Jaffe
The island of Damas is a half-hour boat ride from the Chilean coast. On the island, it’s dry and rocky. The Humboldt penguins that live there have no ice slopes to slide down in their black-tie apparel. Instead, these desert penguins seek out caves to shade their eggs from the sun. If they can’t find a spot beneath a boulder, they may burrow into seabird dung. Sometimes, they nest inside a cactus.
To see these penguins, visitors usually begin in La Serena, Chile. They drive 40 miles north on a main highway and then cut toward the coast on a gravel road that leads to the fishing village of Punta de Choros. Local fishermen there charge a fee to guide the tourists to Damas by boat. On the island, people are free to walk into the caves where the penguins live. Anyone can watch a mother brooding an egg and snap a picture with a flash camera or a mobile phone.