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Published: October 12th 2006
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Southern Right Whale
The whale is smiling! Hello, everyone! I decided to change to a blog format so that you can see my pictures as well, but please keep the e-mails coming - I love ‘em!
I just returned from Spring Break (weird, I know), and I thought that I would write a little update. During our week off, two friends and I headed south to Patagonia. Basically, Patagonia is a vast expanse of nothingness. One could drive for hours and only view a seemingly endless plain and the occasional herd of sheep or llamas. However, the nothingness was a nice change from Buenos Aires, and the Patagonian coast contains some of the most remarkable wildlife in Argentina.
The cheapest way to get to Patagonia is to take the bus - a 20-hour ride. I was really dreading it, but it actually was kind of fun! At one point our “bus attendant” came over and asked us if we knew our numbers, one to one hundred, in Spanish. When we said that we did, our attendant became excited and said, “Oh good! Then you can play bingo too!” So we received small paper cards and half of a coffee stir stick (we decided we needed to
Sea Lions
The sea lions that we saw on our whale tour poke the numbers out), and the game began. The winner received a bottle of wine. It was unlike any bus ride I have ever taken before!
After getting about 8 hours of sleep on the bed-like seats on the bus, we arrived in the small town of Puerto Piramides and went whale watching. I was surprised at how close we were able to get to the whales - one group of two whales was sleeping, and we got close enough that we could have touched them! The whales that we saw were Southern Right Whales and are called the Right Whale because they were the “right” ones to hunt since they would come very close to ships and when killed, they continued to float at the surface of the water. Due to extensive hunting, their numbers were in danger for a fairly long period of time, but now their population is once again increasing steadily. It was especially amazing to me that even though the whale is such a huge animal, it can fling its whole body out of the water. Some of the younger whales that we saw were obviously having a lot of fun doing this because
Sandboarding
Sandboarding in Puerto Piramides they would leap out of the water 5 or 10 times in a row.
We also went sandboarding! We only tried very small hills though because I have never snowboarded, surfed, etc. in my life and really didn't want to break something! But we had a good time, and the sand is a little slower and softer than snow, so although we took a few good wipeouts, no one was seriously injured.
The next day, we did some hiking around the Peninsula, and then took a guided tour of an Elephant Seal colony. While the females look very much like regular seals, the males have an ugly little trunk thing and are basically huge lumps of blubber, but they are cute in their own way, I guess! There were also quite a few baby seals when we visited, and of course they were adorable.
Then we headed to a small Welsh village (who would have thought of finding such a place in South America!) to spend the next couple days. The Welsh came to Patagonia around 1860 because they were frustrated with the English domination of Great Britain, and they decided that the vast nothingness of Patagonia
Gaiman
Our tea house in the Welsh village of Gaiman would be a place where they could continue their traditions and language in peace. While the desert of Patagonia was probably not what they were expecting to find, they eventually learned some important irrigation techniques and established several towns. We stayed at a cute B+B in the town of Gaiman and took traditional tea in town every day. Tea is quite elaborate in Gaiman and included five types of cakes, homemade cheese, two types of bread, and as much tea as you could drink. Tea was served at 5:00, and while we didn't eat lunch in preparation, we didn't have to eat dinner either! In addition to the elaborate tea service, Gaiman was the perfect little Welsh village with water wheels, small cottages, and friendly people.
However, one aspect of Gaiman did not quite fit with its Welsh village image - the “garbage garden.” The “garbage garden” is the culmination of 26 years of effort by a man named Joaquin Alonso, who is now about 75 years old. The area was named the Earth’s largest recycled park in the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records, and it is like nothing else that I have ever seen. It is filled
Garbage Garden
Me with the creator of the "garbage garden" with thousands and thousands of flowers made from pop cans and bottles, as well as many different areas such as a zoo with animals made from brooms and what not and a zodiac calendar. It was an impressive collection of trash.
Our trip ended with a visit to the penguin reserve - my favorite! It was so incredible because the penguins were so unafraid of people, and they were so adorable! There were a couple of small fences put up to protect the penguins’ homes (holes in the ground), but many of the penguins just made their holes right in the middle of the path, or would boldly cross under the fence right in front of a group of tourists! We also found quite a few just standing in the middle of the path, eyes closed, arms slightly out, swaying in the wind. We would approach them, crouch down to their level, and they would open their eyes and tilt their head in a questioning manner - not at all afraid. We definitely could have poked more than a few penguins, but we restrained ourselves because if a human touches a penguin, that penguin is forever rejected by the
Penguins
Meeting a penguin in Punta Norte others, and because penguins are such social creatures, it will starve to death.
Well, I am now back in Buenos Aires, and I just received a note that we are no longer allowed to wear flip flops to the University because the professors are concerned that if there were to be a fire, we would not be able to run fast enough out of the building. However, apparently three-inch heels do not pose the same risk because students here wear those all of the time. Ah, Buenos Aires, it’s good to be back even if it can be a little odd! Have a wonderful week, and keep in touch!
Rachel
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Leah Hoversten
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Amazing
Hi Rachel, SO fun to see your pictures and hear about your VERY interesting trip. We are all very proud of you for being so brave to go on these excursions and try so many new things. What an interesting world it is, and how fun to experience it first hand. Keep learning and having fun! Loved the pictures--what an odd looking whale. I would love to see the penguins too--what funny little characters they are. Love, Leah