PUERTO MADRYN

Punta Tombo
With Buenos Aires nineteen hours behind us our bus pulled up in Puerto Madryn. This area was given to the Welsh by the Argentinians to help populate the south so the Chileans wouldn't cross the Andes and lay claim to the land. Unfortunately little Welsh heritage remains in this little port town except a small closed tea shop we passed on the waterfront. Apparently the land wasn't the best round here and many of the Welsh made the journey west across the Patagonian steppe to the Andean foothills. We plan to follow them in a few days time. 

Most travellers make the journey here for two very good reasons. 1. Penguins, 2. Whales ! In hindsight arriving Sunday wasn't the best move as everything was closed, Punta Tombo's penguin colony is a two hour drive south and all the tours had already departed. Luckily there was a couple of car rental places still open, now we just needed another couple to split the hefty $100 per day bill. As luck would have it we found two French travellers called Tanguy and Jihane who also wanted to split the cost. Unfortunately in all the excitement just before getting into the car I twisted my ankle on a curb (what a boring way to get injured). By a lovely twist of fate our new companions were both doctors, what are the chances! As we set off I took comfort in the fact that penguins don't move that fast on land and now neither do I. 

Punta Tombo's penguin colony is the largest outside of Antarctica. The entire peninsula is dotted with thousands of the little guys. Many lazed in the sun just outside their nests. There are only two rules here, keep to the paths and give way to penguins. We walked through the shruburbs which lead to a board walk along the rocky beach edge. This must be the wealthier part of town as these nests had beach access and sea views. The sea was a brilliant rich blue colour and the rocky headland was a vibrant red.

For all of you who have been unlucky enough (I don't believe it's lucky) to be shat on by a bird take comfort in the fact that we spotted a few feathered friends with a nice white splatter down their backs. That said these little guys are actually pretty well house (hole) trained. On a number of occasions we saw one shuffle out of its burrow, bend over, take a shit, then waddle back inside. Some of the more lazy ones would merely poke their rear ends out their burrows and splattered all over the front patio. Helen said that would probably be her style. 

Down by the ocean a seal popped up catching a few penguins off guard and causing a mass waddle up the beach. Slowly they gained confidence and shuffled back to the shore. Once in the water they really flew, darting around after small fish, taking to the air for a split second before diving back into the water.

Valdes Peninsula
A rock in the distance disappeared into the ocean only to reappear somewhere else. For a while we questioned our judgement until there was no doubting it. WHALE!!! 

After our successful penguin trip the day before and some medical advice from T & J we met up the following morning to try and spy some whales and other wild life on the Valdez Peninsular one and a half hours to the north. 

Just out of Puerto Madryn we took a crumbly track down to a desolate beach called Playa el Doradillo. Tanguy and Jihane had been tipped off by their hostel owner that this was a good spot to catch a glimpse of a leviathan. There was a strong wind but much of it was being blocked by the peninsula, then suddenly amongst the chop in the distance we saw a dark barnacled shape emerge. We hurried up the sand to get in line with it and were amazed at how close it was. It didn't look deep enough for a creature of such size to be so close to shore. We think it was a mother and calf heading south. They often visit this protected bay so the calfs can safely learn and grow before tackling the deep blue. It was having a great time waving its fins and splashing its tale. It was hard to capture this intimate meeting on camera so you will have to trust my words. We were all super stoked and felt we had witnessed something very special. We followed the pair down the beach for about twenty minutes until they changed course and headed for the horizon, we changed course and headed for the car.

A lama galloped across an arid lake kicking up dust along side the car as another group stood watching munching on something bushy. This seemed like a good start to our drive around Valdes. We stopped by the only village on the peninsula Punta Piramide. A quiet, colourful little place set in between the sand dunes at the top of a large beach. The strong winds had cancelled all the whale watching boats for the day so the village was full of people milling about killing time. We didn't spend long, grabbing lunch then heading to a point just out of town in the hope of seeing another whale amongst the chop. As expected without the shelter of the cliffs it was too rough to see much in the churning waters, but we did spot a colony of lazy seal lions flopped on the rocks below.

After an hours bumpy drive across the peninsula we made it to Punta Norte. A wind battered scrubland looking north over the ocean. The tide was out revealing a large rocky shelf of vivid green and blue. Tucked away in between our cliff perch and the reef was a colony of elephant seals. They look like seals but much bigger and the males have a floppy trunk. We eagerly scoured the sand for a male until our scouring revealed an information sign saying typically a male collects a harem of 40-50 females when it's mating season so our chances of spotting one were slim. Lucky guy. One massive female thundered her way up the beach, it looked like a lot of effort, she then face planted on to a pile of other sleeping seals. They all rippled in unison but didn't bat an eyelid. Our female continued to stretch and scratch herself for a while before sneezing over everyone and falling asleep. We all know someone like that. 

Near by another female pushed herself upwards on her flippers, and gave the most monumental, window shattering burp I have ever heard. You could feel the base rattling your bones. 

Unfortunately it was too windy and the tide too far to see orcas which this point is known for, however we did see a colourful lizard and a big hairy tarantula to compensate.