We left San Martin and began our descent towards the bottom of the world. This route would initially take us to the eastern coast of Argentina to Puerto Madryn - the jumping off point for trips to Peninsula Valdes.
After yet another 24-hour bus ride (we are over a dozen at this point), we arrived in the early manaña to the bus station. There were 3 other pairs of weary travelers and we all wanted to make good use of the day and get out to the peninsula. The frazzled lady behind the tour company counter assured us that we could, but there could be no hesitation on the decision. It was now or...tomorrow.
Mauricio, our guide, picked us up and we were off on the journey. His obvious interest in animals was infectious; it took only moments to realize he was going to be a good tour guide. He could hardly turn his head around fast enough to tell us something whenever he thought of it.
Our first stop was to the nature center to learn about the landscape, flora and fauna that we would be observing was clearly lost on him. "Maps." Mauricio shook his head and said, "Do the penguins coming from Antartica have a map?¨ Fortunately for him, it was just a quick stop.
Next we went to visit the sea elephants. If no one else was going to admit it, I was. "What is a sea elephant?" It turns out, it is a type of seal. They look quite similar to sea lions but have a few distinguishing characteristics, most noticeably they use only two of the four "flippers" that they have. Sea lions, by contrast, use all four. You will need to remember this, as there will be a test at the end.
A seal elephant hard at work
I could both appreciate and relate to the seal´s laziness and desire to sit in the sun and do nothing. Bill, too, could appreciate both the sea lions and the sea elephants, but for a different reason - the male forms substantial harems, often with 20 or more females. Perhaps in another life...
The sea elephants were cool, but I was growing restless. I wanted to see something a little bit cooler - I mean no disrespect to sea elephants.We drove on and then approached another beach where we "might" see some penguins. Imagine our surprise when we saw hundreds!
The Magellinic penguin is smaller in size to many species of penguins. It migrates each year between Brazil and Antartica. The male and female always travel together and annually return to the same place to mate. Punto Tombo, just two hours to the south of Puerto Madryn, is the host to a million of these penguins each year. These animals are just now starting the migration and will begin to lay their eggs within the next month. I picked out a friend and spent most of my time watching him waddle right in front of me. They were so cute, I just wanted to hold one. I didn´t, I promise. Check out my buddy, Fred, below:
My buddy, Fred, the Magellanic penguin
For the grand fnale, we went to the dock in Puerto Pyramides on the peninsula and boarded a boat that was hauled by a tractor to the neighboring bay. We had already seen a couple of Southern Right Whales from the shore in the distance and were expecting more of the same.
The guide quickly went through the rules, the most important being that if the whales are on your side, you kneel. If the whales are on the opposite side, feel free to stand on the seat or wherever you can to see them. So much for safety, but we were glad for the permission.
The tail of a Southern Right Whale
Immediately bulls and calves started to dive before our eyes. We all started to frantically take pictures thinking that this might be our only chance. To our delight, these playful animals seem to love company and like to stay in the bay. They do not seem to be even slightly distracted by boats. Twice, in fact, one of these beauties swam directly underneath our boat.
A Southern Right Whale swimming under the boat
The animals can grow in size up to nearly 17 meters and have very different characteristics from the Orcas that also share this area (we did not see any of those, unfortunately). The tail forms a majestic ¨V¨and is often lingering in the water long after the rest of the whale. The faces of the whales often look as if they have barnacles around the eyes and mouth. Rather, this is hair - it is a most unusual sight.
As expected, I ended up taking tons and tons of photos. And I may have gotten a little carried away with video. Bill looked nervous as he rapidly watched hundreds of potential pictures dissipate as I continued to take video. He may be uploading pictures and video for the next few weeks.
A really cool video that we shot of the whales. This is a very large file that may take a while to load. Please make a comment or send us an e-mail and let us know if it worked.
Needless to say, this day was certainly a highlight of our trip thus far. Words and pictures could never accurately portray how amazing these animals are. To be constantly surrounded by five whales at a time is truly a sight to behold.
The ride back was filled with other untamed animals, this time on land. Rheas, which are slightly smaller, but look exactly like an ostrich, crossed our paths. They were followed by vicuñas, sheep and cows. Again, no disrespect, but these animals were lame compared to what we had just witnessed.
Our exciting day was coming to a close, but we needed to rest for future adventures. We were continuing south the next day, to El Calafate to see the Perito Moreno glacier.
- Chrissy