Whales (not Wales)

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Puerto Madryn is a nice little seaside town and we stayed in a terrific hostel, the Viajero, who were so popular we were unable to extend our stay! The sunset was terrific and we relaxed soooooooo much. The Ecocentre was an excellent place to visit to learn about the marine wildlife before a trip to see it. The sofas in the lookout tower were a little too comfortable so we left before outstaying our welcome!

The main point of staying there is to go and see the whales, and to visit Peninsula Valdes, home of various fauna of the region. The whales were not as numerous as we had hoped, in fact we only saw three or four of them. Even so, it was wonderful to see these graceful creatures in their natural habitat. Whilst none of them ever leapt out of the water or waggled their tails, we did get close up views of a mother and calf, and several water spouts. Fortunately the wind was in the right direction to prevent us getting a salty soaking!!

On the peninsula we saw lots of wildlife. The guanaco were numerous and we spotted an armadillo for the first time. There were also maras, the Patagonian hares, ñandu, and loads of sheep! As for marine life, we saw a lot of female elephant seals, but their ugly male counterparts had performed their part of the reproductive cycle and gone back to sea! A small penguin colony entertained us but, after Punta Tombo, it was nothing to write home about. The sealions were pretty good but had to be viewed from afar as access to the beach was rightly restricted.

On our way back to Puerto Madryn, our guide showed us a mara suckling her offspring. We felt quite privileged to be there watching.

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Photos

Going Whale Watching
What fetching gear we have!

Oh my God!
Where's his head gone?!!!

Armadillo
The first one I've ever seen that's not stuffed!

Comments

[Abbey y Mark]

Please find the penguin´s head!!