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Published: March 23rd 2007
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Mr and Mrs Penguin
These cute little guys had their nest right at the top of the bank by the viewing point and did not seem disturbed by us at all. They are looking a little shabby as they are going through their annual moult. Sorry, I seem to start all of these blogs with info about photos. But I like to say it here rather than at the end which I know some of you might not make it to!! More photos added. This time to "Snorkelling wonder" (I got a chance to upload fishy photos from our cd) and a few more to "more waterfalls and montevideo". One day I will try and get back up to date so the photos actually come with the blog! Right, back to the actual purpose of the blog.
Last night in BA
Having dashed off at the end of my last blog I ended up in a rather posh restaurant in BA for Nikki's bday. It reminded me a bit of the gentleman's club in the 1920s, not that I have ever been to one. Lots of polished wood, art deco stain glass and a HUGE table with very attentive waiters. Yet another yummy steak was consumed but this one had a few interesting twists (breaded with gorgonzola and a slightly curried sauce, sounds weird but was delish!)
The endless road
The next day we began the 5 day drive to get
Nothingness
An example of the hundreds of kms of flat, empty land that we drove through on the way down to Ushuaia. This view was actually quite exciting as there is a hump of land to look at! down to Ushuaia. The days were mainly been taken up with reading, playing cards and sleeping. It wasn't that bad as we had lost 7 members in BA (traitors we call "the others" who choose to fly to Ushuaia) so we had lots of extra space to stretch out on the seats. The first day was mainly endless flat farmland full of cows and our first rough camp was in the only clump of roadside trees for miles to try and shelter us from the wind. My cook group drummed up an ace meal of bangers and mash - my mash was praised for its herbs, cheese and garlic, mmmmm.
The next day we entered Patagonia and the farmland changed to miles and miles and miles of NOTHINGNESS! I have never in my life seen so much empty space and it just went on and on. It was also mainly completely flat with just scrubby gorse-like bushes and the odd sheep. It was sooo strange to arrive in Puerto Madryn and see buildings and civilisation for the first time.
Killer Whales!!!!!
Whilst a few of the guys who were dive trained decided to dive with sealions most
of us spent our one day in Puerto Madryn on a day excursion out onto the Peninsula Valdes which is a UNESCO protected national park because of its marine wildlife. Much of the day involved sitting on a minibus bumping along dirt roads through even more flat nothingness. However it was well worth it because we got to see orcas! (or killer whales as they are wrongly known). When we got to the gate of the park our guide had a tip off that there was a pod heading north so we pegged it to Punta Norte where there is a sealion colony. For a good 15-20 minutes we watched as a group of female orcas taught their babies how to beach themselves. The idea is obviously to then snatch a tasty sealion pup meal but we didn't actually see them feed (phew!) because apparently they had 8 kills the previous day. Even so, it was so stressful seeing all the gorgeous sealpups in the surf and willing them on as they scrabbled there way back onto the sand and safety. I know it is nature, and it might have been quite cool to see a kill, but part of
Leaping guanaco
On our nature drive around the Valdes Peninsula we encountered herds of guanacos roaming the sparse landscape. These animals are related to llamas and alpacas. me is glad we didn't.
Before hopping back on the minibus for our next destination we met a cute little armadillo. He was wandering around the carpark trying to scavenge crumbs from sandwichs but as he is almost blind he comes right up to your shoes and has a good snuffle. It didn't expect him to be so hairy and also so friendly - he didn't mind a little scratch on his armoured plates.
Wildlife Galore
The other wildlife highlights of the day were seeing a elephant seal colony and a Magallanes penguin colony. Most of the elephant seals had already moved on although we did so a good few females and some juvenile males who were working out their strength through play fighting. The penguins looked in a very comical but shabby state as they were moulting. They had already bred and the juveniles had already gone back to the water. The older pairs were having to wait until they lost all their old feathers before they could get back into the water. They had nested all up a bank and quite a few were at the top where we were. It was lovely seeing one
Run babies, run!
My four fave seal lion pups who narrowly avoided being munched by orcas, mainly because the orcas weren't hungry than because they had any skills at getting out of the surf! attempt the steep descent back to the shoreline - I have his stumbles on video. The pairs were so loving being monogous pairs that mate for life - watching them prune each other and nuzzle was so sweet. Anyone who knows how much I love penguins will understand my overwhelming joy at this encounter!! Other wildlife that we saw on the drives included rhea (flightless birds like ostrichs) and guancos (related to llamas).
We drive on
It has taken two more days of driving through endless nothingness to get down to Ushuaia from Puerto Madryn. It has mainly just been more flat scrubland with the ocasional rocky outcrop or hill. One of the weridest moments was coming to the top of a ridge and looking down and seeing the road just going on and on and on through flat scrubland as far as the eye could see. The only colour to break the monotony are the shrines to wish luck to travellers. Some have lots of red flags around and others have bottles of water. The water bottles come from a story about a young mother who tried to walk through Patagonia (virtually a desert) with her baby
Mums and babies together
Seal lion maternal love was demonstrated as mums ushered babies away from the surf and the waiting orcas. and no water. Whilst she died the angels came down and kept her milk running so that her baby could survive. She is now a saint and the bottles of water are to ensure that no other traveller suffers the same fate.
Our next rough camp was absolutely amazing. Our driver took a risk and followed a tiny dirt track down to the beach where he had seen a cove marked. It turned out to be a stunning pebble beach with a cliff that was just perfect to shelter us in our tents. Whilst we pitched our tents the sun was going down behind the cliff but lighting the sea in gorgeous colours. It was great to have a walk along the beach and actually get some air into my lungs after being stuck on the truck all day. It was Little Sam's bday so we had punch around a camp fire and plied him with whisky. The stars were fantastic - so much so that a drunk Sam decided to lie outside in his sleeping bag to watch them and promptly fell a sleep to be stumbled upon in the half light of the morning. The dawn (whilst
The throng
Just a section of the crowds of seal lions that were hugging the shoreline at Punta Norte. Apologies for the slightly dodgy zoom, I intend to steal some phots off my friends with BIG cameras. we were packing up the tents) was even more fabulous as the sun rose out of the sea - absolute bliss.
Our last rough camp before Ushuaia actually ended up being in the grounds of a hotel with some people upgrading, some camping and me and three others slept in the truck. It is amazing how much I have taken to the camping life - I absolutely adore it. I don't mind being dirty and smelly and muddy and having my hair scraped up. It is just so great to stop in the middle of nowhere, often places I'd never have got to as a backpacker, and just pitch our tents. The group has really bonded through this long journey with everyone pitching in to help with lunch or dinner or to put up the cook tent when it tried to rain once. It is really hard to convey all the little day to day activities that make life on the truck so different to anything I have ever done before, I suppose I will have to save all the mini stories for when I return.
Plans in Ushuaia
Having arrived in the afternoon yesterday I just
My hairy friend
This was the little armadillo that we found wandering around the car park at Punta Norte. He kept bumping into my ankles in search for crumbs that people had dropped. His favourite were peanuts. explored the town with Carly, had a great seafood dins with Claire, Carly and Emma and then headed out to a bar for our tour leader's bday (so many at the moment). It was quite a cool bar with a huge glass window facing the sea and heated stepped seating.
But todays plans are MUCH more exciting. In an hour and a half I'll be heading off on a 6hr boat trip in the Beagle Channel, the highlight of which will be to disembark and actually WALK AMONGST THE PENGUINS!!!!!!!
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non-member comment
Are you still in Penguinland ?
She said she was goin off to disembark in Penguin land and no more was heard . When they saw her running,dancing and singing off into the middle of the colony did they leave her behind? Did the penguins think she looked and behave so much like them that she has been naturalised . Will she next appear as Penguin envoy at the UN? OR is the absence of blog cos the only web sites there are feet !!!! groooan Lots love