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Published: March 30th 2007
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Arriving in Puerto Madryn we could definitely feel that the town is a special place, and for obvious reasons - the wildlife. In particular the Southern Right Whale, Orca (Killer Whale), Megallanic Penguins, Sealions and Elephant Seals, along with an abundance of different birds.
We were both very excited at the prospect of seeing these animals in their natural habitat and wasted no time in reserving places on excursions to see them over the next couple of days.
Puerto Madryn also brought us our first hostel experience as up to now we had been living it up in "hotels", however things weren´t so bad as this also brought with it the opportunity to have a home cooked meal courtesy of Suzz - a very welcome break from eating out.
Our first full day started with a trip to Peninsula Valdes and the highlight - seeing the Orcas at Punta Norte. It is here that Orcas practice intentional stranding to snatch baby seals from the beach - this type of hunting is only practiced in one other place in the world so it makes the spectacle even more special.
We arrived at the beach and could immediately
see a colony of seals sun-worshipping whilst seal pups jovially played with each other, unaware of the dangers that frolicking in the shallows bring. Within minutes the unmistakable sight of an Orca´s dorsal fin was spotted away from shore and you could feel the tension building up as everyone watched intently - however it disappeared as fast as it appeared. It wasn´t long however before a group of 4-5 were spotted again and much closer to shore. However, it seemed that the seal pups were also aware of their presence as they were all out of the water. Nonetheless the Orcas made a bee-line for shore only altering course at the last minute - a test run perhaps?
It was obvious that the Orcas were biding their time as they swam around and around popping up occasionally showing their fins, colours and ominous size. A truly amazing sight and a privilege to witness such a beautiful animal in the wild.
Unfortunately for us, but I suppose fortunately for the seals, no pups were snatched in our presence, however as if saying goodbye the group of Orcas swam along the shore cresting the waves - less than 10 feet
from the beach - straight past us before disappearing for good. Fantastic!
Moving on, and the next point of call was Caleta Valdes - the Valdes Inlet - created by coastal currents shifting sediments from the north of the peninsula to the east. There we saw hundreds of Magellanic Penguins, literally nesting next to the fence of the parking area and all the way down the cliff-face to the beach below. We also saw a small colony of Elephant Seals a bit further along the coast, however the majority of the adults had already migrated for the winter months. These seals can swim approximately 300 miles out to sea, diving to depths of 200-300 metres to feed inorder to build up fat reserves for the start of the next breeding season in September, when they return to Peninsula Valdes.
After a quick lunch stop, where we saw evidence of the continental shift/plate where South America and Africa were at one time joined, we headed to the small town of Puerto Pirámides. Here we boarded a boat for a trip around the coast to see more sealion colonies (these ones base themselves higher up on the rocks so the
Orcas can´t get them) and several varieties of Cormorants (Rock, Common and Blue-Eyed). We also had the opportunity of walking along some of the coast, which is covered with fossils dating back millions of years - everywhere you looked were thousands of fossils of giant clams, whelks and sand-dollars. Navigating along the coast we saw an obvious line of sediment in the cliffs which we were informed had been dated to approx. 25 million years ago.
On the journey back to the hostel we briefly stopped at the small museum by the exit to the reserve, where we saw the skeleton of a Southern Right Whale (they´re HUGE!) and lots of information on the different species and fauna found on the peninsula. We also had our first siting of Guanacos grazing on the roadside - these are a smaller relative of the Llama and are extremely common in Patagonia.
In the evening, at the recommendation of our tour guide, we went to a seafood restaurant called Mariscos del Atlantico ("seafood of the Atlantic"), owned and run by a cooperative of local fishermen of Puerto Madryn. Here we tried out a selection of different seafoods and a fantastic paella!
Our second day and we took another tour, this time heading south through the towns where the Welsh settlers first came to Argentina. Our first stop was in a town called Rawson where we took a boat ride to see the Commerson Dolphin. Sailing along the small estuary to get to the sea we saw a couple of Bottle Nosed Dolphins, although they were very timid and camera shy, so we weren´t quick enough to get any photos. The captain then opened the throttle and we blasted out to sea, being told to look out for dolphins as we went. Av was the first to spot two small dolphins jumping over the waves, off in the distance, so we changed direction and headed over to where they were playing. The Commerson Dolphin is very small, at only 1.5 metres in length, but has very striking black and white colourings making it very easy to identify.
The dolphins would crest the waves a few times before disappearing, only to reappear again in a completely different location, so we moved about as they showed themselves, at one point having them bow-riding with us at the front of the boat. After
about an hour we headed back to land, catching further glimpses of the Bottle Nosed Dolphins as we entered the estuary again.
The next stop (and the main highlight of this particular tour) was Punto Tombo, where we were to see more Magellanic Penguins. Punto Tombo is Continental South America´s largest penguin nesting ground, with over half a million of these little penquins setting up their nests absolutely everywhere you look. Each year the male penguin returns to exactly the same nest, where he rebuilds it, ready for the return of the females. He attempts to win the heart of a female by collecting small pebbles to decorate the nest, in the hope she will be greatly impressed and choose him as her mate for this breeding season! Presumably, if he´s good at decorating, he´ll tempt the same female back each year (just like humans really!).
Our final stop of the day was a town called Gaiman - famed throughout Argentina for its Welsh Teas and cake (!). And that´s exactly what we came to sample. Entering into a normal looking building, we were taken back in time to a traditional British tearoom, circa 1920! Here we were
served with a plate containing several slices of different cakes (all delicious) and a huge pot of tea (with free top-ups). We spent about an hour here, pigging out (Av finished first and popped out to check out the hot rods on show) before we headed back to the hostel and another round of packing.
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Chris
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pigs
no wander you have put on weight i bet suzz only got to eat one cake on those plates!! LS xx