Blogs from Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina, South America - page 18

After early arrival at the Trelew airport we spend the day at Punta Tombo watching pinguins and their kids, the breading season is about to end. Typical about these birds is that the couples spend the whole year apart from one another but each year at the same time the males are arriving at punta tombo to prepare the nest. Around 40 days later the females arrive and the mating season starts. They return to their own nest each year and stay together as couple over the years! The afternoon we had the chance to visit a small Welsh town near to Trelew and we enjoyed the high tea. After that is was time to go back to the hotel. We are staying in this clasic hotel at the beach boulevard of Puerto Madryn hotel bahia ... read more

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 ... read more

Well it´s been a while since we wrote anything but we´re still here. We´ve moved from the end of the world to Puerto Madryn, Leon went scuba diving with sea lions on the day we got here and yesterday we went to Punta Tombo to see thousands and thousands of penguins. The dive was great and apart from being a little nibbled and knawed by young sea lions there was no damage done. Zoe watched from the boat and enjoyed the spectacle so much she forgot to put sun block on her shoulders! We hired a car to go to the penguin area, (BUDGET car rental = Will not pass MOT) after sliding down the 45km of gravel track with (AGAIN) much complaining we got there to witness the adult males and females taking it in ... read more

On the other side of loving the ocean In marine biologist heaven Puerto Madryn is 18-20 hour busride. To some people this would seem like and endless journey...a waste of time. Yet, my endless carbon dioxide afternoons have prepared me for endless hours of staring out a pane of glass. I have been prepared by driving up and down the Florida coast like it was my hobby...(Ft. Lauderdale. Everglades. West Palm Beach. Homassasa Springs. Jacksonville. Ft. Lauderdale. Orlando. Lake Placid.etc.etc.repeat.repeat). After I left the peninsula I jetted across the state for California...that was only 50 + hours in four days...(Florida.Georgia.Alabama. Lousiana. Texas. Texas.Texas.Texas.Arizona.New Mexico.California). Then there were endless trips up and down California and to Black Rock City. (LA.Sacramento.LA.Sacramento.San Francisco. Sacramento. Sierras... read more

Tuesday 7th November, Tandil, somewhere in Argentina! We take the night sleeper bus (another 7 hours!!) to from Buenos Aries to Tandil. Arriving at 5.45am! Luckily there is a café open at the bus station and we have a "media luna" (half moon, which is the Spanish for a croissant!) and a coffee. Take a taxi to our hostel, Albergue Casa Chango, and arrive at a large converted former mansion house. It appears deserted and it appears we’re the only people staying there. Bit of a haunted feel to the place, smells of mothballs, creaky floors and old cobweb covered chandeliers! Reminds me of the hotel in the film the shining! Have a very quick shower and head out into the town. Modern town with not a lot of character but good coffees and gets us ... read more