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Published: December 12th 2006
Sunrise on the Colective
The only time I see sunrise lately.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. Sacramento. LA. Reno. Black Rock City. Sierras. L.A. Lake Tahoe. San Francisco. LA.repeat repeat. ) The grand finale was a day in an airplane flying to Buenos Aires
(Pacific ocean.LA.all the states between.Miami.Caribbean. Cuba.Jamaica.Venezuala. Equator.Amazon.Buenos Aires) ...these travels have transformed my concept of travel time. So, an 18 to 20 hour coche cama bus ride in Argentina seems like a club med vacation. I get to sit and stare out the window at endless miles of
newly traveled land, watch movies, read books, write in a journal, simply sit, day dream, and sleep. Plus, the coche camas aren't your typical USA greyhound bus. The seats could fit 1 1/2 me, there are blankets & pillows, and the seats recline 3/4 of the way back, and i am served warm meals. I try to hide the fact that after almost a day in a motorized two story bus my mouth feels like it is decaying because of the overly sweetenend bad cafe I am served. And I feel like am covered with a thin layer of grossnes that includes people-sweat-dead skin cells-and dirt. But those are minor details to getting to the main point. The final destination: PUERTO MADRYN
So, after this long 18 hour bus ride. I stumble into another unknown city and claim my back pack from the downstairs. Now its time to figure out where I am? Its almost like waking up in the twilight zone and having to find your way to a temporary home. So, I start off by trying to find some sorta tourist friendly map. After I obtain one from a tour guide's office I wander in every direction
Ecocentre-Puerto Madryn
Cafe y postre a de Econcentre en Puerto Madryn. Looking at the Atlantic Ocean. sigh. there is possible to find the correct direction of the streets I want to travel on. (Side note: In every argentinian city the street names are the same...I suppose there is no one hired to pick street names). Alas, I am in the right direction. I walk for about 15 minutes and arrive 10am at the doorstep of a hostel, crossing my fingers there is a bed I can sleep in for the next couple of days. I ring the doorbell and a friendly face answers the door. Score! There is room for me to get my beauty sleep. I'm all set. During the check in process I notice the figure that sat behind me for 18 hours shows up at the same hostel. We exchanged our first words and become temporary travel friends and travel parallel for the puerto madryn chapter of our trips. After reserving a room I set down my stuff...wander around for a couple of hours...check in...organize my belongings...shower...and decide what to do for the day. The travelers ever pending question "How am i going to spend my time today?" The sorta question I like to have when my days are free from work. It is
Ecocentre-Cielo
Cielo y Nublados en un habitaction de Econcentre. The view of the sky from a room in the ecocenter. really a lot harder than it seems to decide what adventures the day will hold and to create plans to fill all the precious hours of a day.
Day 1: The bike ride to Puerto Lomo to find Sea Lions. I set out on a bike ride with the Irish fellow I met in the hostel. I get on the bike from the hostel and start riding around the little town of Puerto Madryn. The bike ride started out quite simple...flat paved roads...only an occassional dodging of cars...crossing the non stop signed intersections hoping i have the right a way...side walks...then to an ocean view. I was fooled by the first 20th part of the bike ride. Slowly the obstacles began. I first encountered sugar sand when the side walks ended. This was easily fixed by riding on the roads with the cars. Next, the hills began show up one by one. No worries I am in shape from hiking uphill both ways the month prior. Next, the pavement ends. Disaster...the biking surface ends up consisting of gravel and sand. This material has a a very high surface area and creates friction that goes against all the energy i
Limpet shells
The scientific display of limpet shells. exert into peddling. With all the force i put into each push at the bike tire i am counteracted by the sugar sand and gravel on a mission tostop me. No matter how fast I peddled the sand always seemed to drown out the momentum and forced me to travel at a pace just above a turtle. I repeated in my head "slow and steady wins the race"...then the wind started blowing against me...the hills continued...Plus, my poor atrophied legs had barely moved for the whole 18 hour bus ride. When forcing myself to the tops of the hills (mountains at the time) I repeated "I think I can, I think I can"...and then asked why didn't I just hire a taxi...it was just a little more expensive. I calmed these negative thoughts by looking at the scenery. On my left was the blue/green ocean of the South Atlantic and a view of Peninsula Valdez. I was looking at the point of the Atlantic ocean where the current from the equator and another from the arctic meet. On my right was the vastness of Sur Patagonia, shrubs & "nothingness". Behind me was the view of Puerto Madryn. In front of
Golfo Nuevo-Ballena
Un Ballena en Golfo Nuevo. Muy majestuoso. me...the reality of the bike ride and an unknown destination. That seemed to get in the way of the other scenery...Throughout the bike ride the forces were against me: a non-friendly biking road, wind in my face, sun in my eyes, and the force of gravity pounding down on me, and 14 km of road left. After what seemed like an eternity of biking in patagonia I came to a top of a hill...finally gravity was with me...I fully exploited the earth's rotating force and coasted down the road...I made it to the final destination, sorta, I made it to the park entrance of Punto Loma. The rest of the way I walked my bike enjoying the scenes. The final outcome was rewarding...lobos marinas (sea lions). I sat and watched the creatures for an hour or so....trying to forget the fact that I had to ride back and the fact that my stomach was growling, because I hadn't had a bite to eat except the small bus breakfast. The beginning of the end started with a treacherous hill that I once glorified, but the bike ride back was a lot easier.
Ecocentre After the long bike ride I headed
Golfo Nuevo-Ballena II
Un Ballena en Golfo Nuevo. Muy majestuoso. to a fabulous place. It was a marine biology ecocenter and had a lot of information in spanish & english. Though, I knew most of the facts pasted on the walls it was nice to be around an area of interest that I love. Plus, I could understant the spanish displays alright, because I knew what they were talking about. The center wasn't that big, but it was a nice change from the elements outside. I wandered through the first section and went into a completely black room that imitated sounds of whales. Finally, sat down and stared at the ocean while drinking a cafe and eating the best apple tart I ever had. It was even decorated with sugar stenciled as a sea shell. The most amazing part of the place was a room they had on the second floor that was full of couches. The sky was changing and rain clouds were heading in. I could have stayed in that room for hours staring at the horizon and hoping that i would see an Orca. But the establishment was closing and I had to depart. At least it would be time to eat a nice dinner. I ate
Golfo Nuevo-mi
Yo estoy un turista en el barco de Golfo Nuevo. Ha!. steak that night.
Day 2: Peninsual Valdez A short version Muy Linda. I decided to dress like a tourist for a day and hit a tour of peninsula valdez. I jumped in a van with about 20 other people and we hit the road with a tour guide. I was told a little information about the town and the fishing history. We stopped w/ many other people at an information center that did have limpet shells. I was in the masses...oh dear. Then I stopped in Puerto Pirimides and went whale watching. I was handed a raincoat and life jacket. I felt like i had a bulls eye on me and would have drowned from discomfort if the boat was really to capsize. So, I piled on the boat and realized how sardines must feel. But I did manage to see Right Whales. They were abosolutely amazing. We saw one jumping in the distance. Also, we came up close to about 3 whales. We stared at a mommy and a baby, a young lighter colored juvenile. I realized why I love to study biology and work in the field at this moment in my life. I love to
Peninsula Valdes-La Playa
Muy linda. La playa con elephantes marinas. One of my favorite beach views!!! be outdoors staring at amazing things with out a heard of people snapping pictures and acting like its the most exciting thing they have ever done in their life without regards to whats going on around them. But I enjoyed seeing the beauty and strength of the whales.
After the whale watch and lunch we headed off to two other parts of the Peninsula. The first being one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen in my life. This is where the elefantes marinas (elephant seals) come to live for part of the year. There were only the juvenile males and they spent most of the time slumbering on land. The beach was an amazing blue/green color. I really wanted to go down to the intertidal and see what creatures I could find in between the channels. But we were not allowed to venture on to the beach and I know this is better for the ecology of the environment. It would still be great to find the sea stars. I wanted to stay there for hours, despite the cold weather, but the tour van had to go.
The final part of the day was at a
point where I saw my first penguins. They were absolutely the most adorable birds you could ever watch. They were a lot nicer than my sister's attack parrot that so many people have been accosted by. So, the day ended on a good note. After about 2o minutes of watching penguins it was time for the bus ride back. I fell asleep most of the time on the road.
Day 3: Punto Lomo
This is where i saw thousands of penguins. i will publish later in its own journal.
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jason
non-member comment
mucho gusto
mucho gusto = it is a pleasure to meet you