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Published: February 25th 2011
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Penguins 11 secs
1 additional video(s) currently being processed Sarah and I
@ Penguin colony Sarah displayed no noticeable marks or bruises after being traumatically removed from Buenos Aires. All that was left now after our two weeks in the city was a wine stain on our apartment floor. But how long could we last in our next destination; this raw, rugged wilderness that we were entering? Patagonia had an air of mystery about it, and it was about time for us to find out more.
Patagonia is the southernmost portion of South America, comprising of over 1,000,000 sq. kilometers of Southern Argentina and Chile. With just about an average of 1 person per sq. km, you can get the picture that this is a vast and sparsely populate region. But the barren landscape is, in itself, quite intriguing. Every now and then you can see pockets of sheep, Lamas, Road runners (Darwin’s Rhea), Condors, and much more along the shores as you can see in the photos. The area is visited by tourists for a few reasons including amazing hiking, camping, climbing, wildlife spotting, and basically experiencing a land that remains in a time vacuum. This is the part of the world where Darwin developed his theory of evolution; an area where archaeologists continue
Are we there yet?
18 hours isn't so bad, right? to discover prehistoric fossils and remains, a rugged wilderness where the best climbers in the world come to test their skills. This is Patagonia. We hope you enjoy sharing in our experience…
An eighteen hour bus ride from Buenos Aires, lies Puerto Madryn. This seaside town is a really a base town to explore Peninsula Valdes, a further 2 hours away, which is visited to view the variety of wildlife as you can see in some of our photos. Sarah and I preferred to skip Puerto Madryn and head straight for the Peninsula. We stayed in Piramides which worked out great for us - it was the closest point to the peninsula and a bit more off the beaten track. That evening we walked along the beach at sunset, had dinner and drinks, and looked forward to checking out the wildlife the next day.
Sea lions / Boat tour
It was a glorious morning when we walked down to the pier to board our little boat tour. The guide commented that it was one of the best days of the year so far….after which I duly applied more sun-block. There was a nice group of seven of us
as we cruised around the peninsula for about three hours. Almost as soon as we rounded the first coastal corner, we could see hundreds of sea lions. Many mature sea lions basked in the sun as the young pups practiced their swim technique. Alpha males roared and competed for territory. We were lucky to be able to get up right beside them in the boat and observe them all doing their thing. After getting up close and personal with the sea lions we had the chance to snorkel. To say that the water was cold would be an understatement: Due to the Antarctic currents, the water along the coast of Patagonia is the perfect temperature for many Orca, Dolphins, Whales Penguins and Sea Lions, but we had to wear wet suits to stand a chance!
The crew on the boat was sound; we met a lovely Danish couple who were also travelling for a few months. As we chatted, they let us know that they had rented a car and we were invited to tour the peninsula with them. Perfect!
In search of our Orca
Peter and Brigitte from Denmark drove us towards Punta Norte on the Peninsula.
This is the area where a unique pod of Orcas (aka Killer Whales) have learned to intentionally ‘beach’ themselves in order to pick off some unassuming sea lion pups. While we didn’t get to see this spectacle ourselves on the day, we did catch more than a few glimpses of the Orcas as the hunted in the water just off the coast. Remarkable stuff! We also saw a few armadillos here, who posed for some more hilarious photos.
P,p,p,p pick up a Penguin!
I really wanted to, but our guide later assured me that this would get me in severe trouble. From Punta Norte, our foursome drove west to an Estancia from where you can travel to the Penguin colony. We promptly had a beer at the Estancia before hopping on a truck to take us over some sand dunes to the Penguin colony. I doubt that I’ll ever see so many penguins again in my life – there was an estimated 200,000 of the funny little fellas waddling around! It was brilliant. We got to get right up beside them as you can see in the photos.
Surprisingly, they didn’t live in igloos or wear red ‘Santa’
hats. Instead they all had nests quite a few meters from shore – some as far as a kilometer or so from the sea. The penguins generally live in family units within groups of about five or six nests – kind of like mini housing developments if you like.
On the road back to Piramides, Peter had to expertly swerve from the path of a few suicidal Lamas / Guanacos!
After congratulating ourselves on our wildlife spotting, Sarah and I enjoyed a bottle of Malbec with our Steak and Salad. The next day we were off to Chilean Patagonia, where we would attempt to brave the mountain range of Torres del Paine.
So, Sarah and Bref roughing it in the wilderness? Can they survive and eight day trek around Torres del Paine with their backpacks primed and rented tent ready to go? Just how good are Bref’s hunting skills? Find out in Patagonia Part II….mwah ha ha ha ha!!!
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lauren
non-member comment
CUTE
I LOVE the pictures of the penguins. I'm having a rough week and these pictures, especially the one of Sarah talking to the penguin. Made my day. So glad to see you guys having so much fun.