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Published: September 29th 2006
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After spending an amazing day in Puerto Pyramide visiting the whales of Golfo Nuevo, I spent my next day in Puerto Madryn relaxing and enjoying my time away from Buenos Aires. I slept in late, drank my morning coffee leisurely and wrote in my journal all the while trying to figure out a way to travel a little further south in hopes of seeing the elusive Magellan Penguin colony of Punto Tumbo. I had considered an organized tour but felt that it was incredibly overpriced; I was determined to find another way. I had enquired about renting a car and found that it would be cheaper and much better if I could only find one other person to share the cost and experience with. That is when I ran into Erin and Olga, a couple from Holland. I had spoke with them the night before in the hostel and decided to ask them what there plans were for the following day and see if they would be interested in going to Punto Tombo in a rented car. It turned out that these two Dutchies were one step ahead of me and had already arranged to rent a car for the following
morning so that they could visit the penguin colony. It only took a little prodding for them to offer me a place in their car. It was set, we were to leave the next morning at 9am.
After Erin finalised the rental agreement we were off in a small Volkswagen golf. It is difficult to describe the way people drive down here. They are no stop signs or lights at intersections and it seems that either the first person to arrive or the most aggressive driver has the right-of-way. In addition to this, the majority of the roads in Argentina are one way and can make for some interesting driving when a tourist is placed behind the wheel. After slowly making our way through town, we found the main highway and headed south. The landscape in this part of the world is very barren . Bushes and shrubs cling to the earth in defiance of the relentless Patagonian winds that are unimpeded by this flat and seemingly inhospitable land. Punto Tombo is approximately 180km south of Puerto Madryn, 50 km of which is a rough gravel road. Estancias raising sheep are the only type of industry out here and
Photo shoot on the Punto
This little guy just couldn't stop posing for me it is difficult to understand how these sheep survive so far away from home. My guess is that they dream of greener pastures and that the green fields of New Zealand and Britain are only legends told by the older sheep to keep the smaller lambs in line.
As we neared the coast the terrain became more interesting with slopes and valleys rising and falling like a ship in the ocean. It is only when you can begin to see some of the landscape that you can truly begin to appreciate its beauty. Hawks circle the sky and Guanacos graze the tough succulents that cover the ground. I imagine that this place would explode in a frenzy of blooming soon after the first spring rains fell on its arid soils. My guess is that it is currently the dry season, being winter and that in a couple of weeks this landscape would be a painter’s palette of colours and textures.
After rounding a bend marked Punto Tombo we came upon a ranger station. It was here that we paid our entrance fee and were told to watch out for Penguins on the road as we drove into the
Wow, that's a lot of Penguins
At the peak, there will be about 400,000 penguins at this breeding spot park to the parking lot, about a kilometre away. Leaving the ranger station we immediately saw penguins littering the ground in ever direction. Some appeared to be sleeping, while others were standing upright catching the warm sunlight of the day. It was quite something to see so many penguins in one place. After leaving the car, I walked out towards the ocean. Everywhere I turned there were penguins standing, walking and guarding nest that had been dug into the ground. Some were making donkey sounds in what I guessed to be some sort of mating call. If you closed your eyes you’d swear that there were a couple of donkeys heee-hawing in front of you, when in fact it was a tiny penguin, no more than 40 centimetres tall trying to get lucky. Come to think of it, I know some rugby players whose ‘game’ in the bar is just as bad.
I explored this beautiful point a little more until I came upon a wonderful little cove that faced the crashing waves of the Atlantic and allowed me to watch the throngs of penguins arriving at these breeding grounds. The park expects to attract over 400,000 Magellan Penguins to these breeding grounds alone. They paddle in like ducks on top of the water and wait for a wave to come so that they can dive just beneath the breaking water and surf into shore. Then they quickly get to their feet lest the next wave knock them back down onto their chests. It’s funny to watch them tumble forward in the waves; its kind of like if I fell down face first with my hands in my pocket and reminds me of that one time at Cedarbrook Elementary school….
Anyways, I waited for the Dutch couple at this magical little spot; watching the waves crash down on this beautiful land. I couldn’t have been more content; I was in Patagonia and had finally found my elusive penguins.
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mormor
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Penguins
oh Jason it is so wonderful you can keep us informed you certenly have seen a lot . keep having a vonderful time. you will always remember this . love Mormor and Morfar. hi to laurence.