We were still half an hour out at sea when I spotted the first one. I thought it was a sea bird until it dived, then it's sheer speed and agility through the water gave it away, re-surfacing like a bullet along the top of the water. This was my first sighting outside a zoo of one of the most abundant residents in this part of the world - a penguin. On land of course, they look very different. As the boat drew up close to Isla Magdelena, the sight of 60,000 of th...

On the southern end of the Hielo Sur ice field, on the Chilean side of the Patagonian Andes is another range of impressive mountains with sheer rock faces and spiky pinnacles. And for hikers, there is a distinct advantage over their Argentine counterparts - it is possible to do a complete circuit around them without needing to step onto a glacier. So, carrying my camping gear and eight days' worth of food, I have done just that. It's warm and sunny here in Puert...