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Published: September 28th 2006
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After a long and arduous 17 hours journey by bus, I finally arrived in Puerto Madryn; this bus, which for whatever reason stopped in every tiny town all night long couldn’t have been worse. Not only was the heat cranked all night long, yes, I was a sweaty mess, but I was also sitting beside this old Italian guy who really wanted to talk with a Canadian kid. Trouble was I understood about 20 % of what he was saying, but that didn’t seem to bother him. Needless to say, I was happy to see the entrance of the Puerto Madryn bus station.
This is a small town in the Province of Chubut (Patagonia) that is settled along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The main industry is fishing and tourism as this is the closest major town to the Valdez Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was great to be travelling again and feeling the excitement of entering a strange town with only one objective: find a place to stay. Luckily, I ran into a Dutch couple at the bus station who pointed me in the direction of a nice hostel. This place had 6 person
dorms, at a decent price with a lively common room, and cold beer. Perfect! I drank down my litre of Heineken, grabbed a shower and headed to the beach for some tourist information and a walk. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see the ocean and feel the space that it allows.
After talking with tour operators offering excursions to the Peninsula, Diving and Kayaking, I returned to the hostel with a fist full of information and a cold beer to ponder my options. Went to bed early that night, feeling very tired from the long journey and the cold beers.
I decided to go to the Peninsula on my own, instead of through a tour operator. My experience has been that they are far more expensive and offer only marginal organizational help. There was a bus from town that would take me to the only settlement on the Peninsula, a small fishing town called Puerto Pyramide. On the way, I was able to appreciate the bleak environment that makes up this place. The land is covered in small thorny shrubs with little or no trees dotting a landscape that seems to extend endlessly towards
the horizon. It is extremely flat and I imagine a difficult place for people, animals and plants to live. The weather conditions are harsh and the wind in relentless. I did see some Guanacos (llamas) on the drive. They are a beautiful caramel colour and seem perfectly suited for this barren landscape.
Once I arrived in Puerto Pyramide, it was immediately obvious that this place was now more of a tourist hub than an actual fishing town. Whale watching operators lined the main street, sandwiched between small cafes and restaurants. What was great was that I could see the whales from the main street in town and could see them quite well from the beach. Puerto Pyramide is located on the Golfo Nuevo, a body of water that is the breeding grounds for South America’s only population of Southern Right Whales. The animals arrive each August and stay until December raising their young and feeding in the cold nutrient rich waters of this part of the continent. I was exited at the prospect at seeing these enormous whales up close.
I decided on a company and waited for our noon departure time. While I would have preferred to
Penguins or Commorants
What a bunch of Posers! be in a Kayak to see these creatures, that wasn’t a possibility and the boat option would have to do. After boarding the boat, we made our way maybe 500 meters off shore to the first, and closest whale in the bay. It turned out that it was a mother and calf who seemed very at ease with our presence. The boat captain was able to get very close and the whales didn’t seem to mind the attention too much. It made me think about the major whaling industry that existed in these waters not long ago. This species of whale in particular was hunted nearly to extinction and its no wonder given its docile attitude and friendliness towards people. I can only say that we betrayed these animals our friendship and that hopefully the next generation of Southern Right Whales will be able to trust people again. On a brighter note, the guide said that the population is estimated to be at approximately 1000 animals and is doing well and growing at a rate of about 7% per year. That means that in 10 years the population should double.
By the end of the tour, I had
seen many, many whales, some rolling over at the surface, others thrashing their tails and one that was jumping out of the water, over and over aging. After getting back to land, I grabbed a coffee and watched the whales from the beach. They are amazing creatures that for whatever reason I respect and admire greatly. I only hope that there numbers continue to increase and that we, the people can find ways of living with these animals and share the oceans more fairly.
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mormor
non-member comment
Hi Jason I saw your comments it sounds so interesting You sure experience a lot of different episodes Oh Jason what a way to remember your 25 th. I dont remember what we were doing You will always remember yours. thanks for keeping us informed. we really enjoy it. when are you going back to Laurence?take care Jason love mormor and Morfar.