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Published: April 11th 2010
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Finally a chance to see some wildlife - our reason for visiting Patagonia (second to the stunning scenery further south). And I did not anticipate the vast numbers we would see. A whole beach full of hundreds and hundreds of penguinos, chilling out with their faces in the sand or stood to attention posing for photos. Then the sea elephants - we didn’t get to see them up close but we learnt some interesting facts! They are able to dive to 1000 metres and hold their breath for up to 2 hours! This differs from sea lions, who can only hold their breath for 8-9minutes an dive 100 metres. Another difference is the male’s sexual organ - a sea lion’s "pride" is external to the body however the sea elephant keeps its safely inside of him until he gets lucky! The simple reason being that the sea elephant weighs ten times as much as a sea lion and instead of walking on their flippers they drag themselves along like a snake... 4 tons of weight on a loose appendage would soon result in mince meat!
We then headed to a beach full of sea lions, very cute, but our attention
was distracted by the possibility of sighting Orcas. The chances were slim- the region has 35,000 sea elephants and 20,000 sea lions, but there are only 34 Orcas in the whole of Argentina. We heard whispers that some had been spotted from the far end of the cliff so we headed over and kept watch for a good 15 minutes with not even a fin to be seen. We returned our attention to the sea lions 100 metres down the path, and were just about to return to the bus when a few people with humongous cameras sprinted past us back to the cliff edge. We trusted the expensive cameras and followed suit.... sure enough there was not one, or two, but THREE killer whales! The binoculars Dad gave me the day before I left came in very handy! They circled and played for a few minutes, surfacing a couple of times, and it was completely captivating. They went out of sight and we were ushered back to the bus as it was getting late and we had a 2.5 hour drive back to camp. Back on the bus we were educated on the traditions of mate (pronounced like a "latte" coffee), a drink made from yerba (pronounces cherva) tea leaves. The method of drinking is very precise, from a cup (called a mate) made from gaud metal and lined with leather. It doesn’t have a handle but is shaped to fit in the grip of one hand. You fill the mate two thirds full with tea leaves and shake, then pour in 75-80 degree water, leaving some leaves uncovered. It is drunk through a silver straw, a strainer at the bottom of the straw filters the leaves. Only one hand should be used and the straw not handled (because it would destroy the tea leaves if moved around the cup). When offered, if you accept the drink you must consume all of it before returning the cup even though it is bitter and will certainly burn your entire mouth, otherwise it is a huge insult. It is frowned upon for men to sweeten their mate as it is considered a sign of weakness ("mate con azucar, mate de gaucho trolo"), and offering a man a sweetened mate is an insult. The guide offered us all a mate, selling it by stressing it would burn our insides and certainly contained bacteria and viruses (the vessel itself is never washed throughout its life). Not wanting to suffer an upset stomach this early on, I refrained, but tried it a few days later in a cafe (like a very bitter and very very strong green tea, but nice with sugar.. which woman are allowed to add!).
Back at the campsite I had my first opportunity for a shower since Wednesday night (3 days previously), a less enjoyable experience that anticipated as it was FREEZING cold and already cold and dark outside. We were reassured that the showers in colder climates would be warm... we’ll let you know.
Chris’s corner Deciding not to take a boat trip in Puerto Piramide, we decided to trek out to the sea lion viewing point, a mere 2km on the map. We soon found that the South America maps are like their time keeping... not so accurate! We had a two hour gap and walked the whole time, stuck in a valley not seeing much coast and definitely no sea lions! We did see a snake though.
After the excitement of Orcas, we realised that getting back to camp at 4 had slipped to 8pm, unfortunate as we had now run out of water with no opportunity to get more! Our lack of water brought out the adventurer in Sophie, causing her to brush teeth with tap water (!!) for the first time on the trip.
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