Puerto Madryn

Argentina

January 2007
3 days

Puerto Madryn
25th to 28th January

El Calafate was going to be hard to beat after seeing the Moreno Glacier but we knew Argentina still had its ace card up its sleeve, Iguazu Falls. But that would be later as for now we were just heading another twenty odd hours North East on the overnight bus.

We were looking forward to the bus journey and it failed to disapoint. Great seats upstairs once again with so much legs room we saw at least three people swinging cats around in theirs. We watched a good movie late afternoon, and even had the chance to play Bingo, although when the numbers are called in Spanish its adds that trickier edge to it. When all the fun and games were over and the sun had set we settled for yet another movie before bed. When I say bed, I mean, sit where you already are but crank that recline hand a notch more, pull up a blanket and rest your eyes.

During the movie Sarah needed the toilet which was downstairs and had a notoriously sticky lock on the door. She was gone only 5 minutes but came back a little flustered. It turned out that the sticky lock hadn't quite been engaged correctly so at the worst possible time as she raised from the seat ready to reach down and retrieve her lower attire the steward pulled open the door, gave her a look of disgust, and promptly slammed it shut. Sarah was devastated for the rest of the journey and had to fake being asleep each time he bought drinks round. Lol.

That was just great, but the journey had another little surprise in store. After the late movie all lights went out around 1am. I don't know about you but I love that cosy feeling when you travel overnight on a coach or plane, when everyone falls asleep and you feel cocooned and safe in your seat, maybe casting a beady eye around to see what people are doing, is anyone awake?

I pulled out my IPOD and popped in the headphones, selected a random album that i used to not give the time of day and drifted off to sleep. The album in question is called Big Chill Classics and was copied off of Royster the Doyster many nights ago at Shelbury Close. Falling asleep to music is another weird but wonderful concept. You would think it ludicrous but its actually very easy to do providing the tempo and volume are appropriate. Drifting in and out of consciousness hearing snippets of tunes is actually very very pleasant and not something one would normally try at home (except Trevor Harmer if memory serves me correctly) but its just another great thing to do on a bus.

At around 3am I woke with a thirst so sat up and drank some Agua sin gas, which in English simply means still water. We were driving through desert so when I looked out the window I was amazed at how many stars were visible. Due to a lack of light pollution normally found in suburban and city zones I was able to make out much more than the usual constellations such as Orion's Belt which is actually seen upside down in the southern hemisphere.

Then it caught me eye. A large white round glowing star low in the sky, but this had a difference. It had a tail, and even without a degree in Astrology I knew this was no rat, but indeed it had to be a comet! The tail swept across a quarter of the sky and although it did not seem to be moving I knew damn well it was hurtling through the ether at a fair rate of knots, and the fact that it wasn't moving made me realise it had to be a comet and not a shooting star. I had to wake Sarah up to witness this and she did not chastise me for doing so.... she was as much amazed as I and I doubt we will ever see one again. To be blunt, they are rarer than having a threesome with Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. Rare!

Now I always try to keep these updates brief, honestly, but its never easy and I've already rattled off no less than seven paragraphs just about the night bus to Puerto Madryn. So I'll give you just a very quick overview of what we did in this location.

DAY01
Walked 4KM up the sandy beach to visit the Eco Centre. Here we saw whale skeletons, starfish, watched a documentary by the BBC on how fishing is killings so many species of, you'll never guess what, FISH! We also read a lot on the walls about this part of the world and how its shallow sea shelf is the perfect breeding ground for plankton and that in turn attracts many whales. We hoped to see one tomorrow.

DAY02
So off to Peninsula Valdes, a National Park, in hope of seeing whales, sea lions, elephant seals, penguins, camelids, ostrich and my favourite.... Armadillo! Now let me just remind you here that we had left the glaciers and ice back down in Ushuaia and El Calafate. This is arid desert, flat as you like with small round shrubs as far as you can see. Not really the kind of landscape in which you'd expect to find some of these creatures.

It was a long day of driving on bumpy gravel roads and to be honest the animals we saw this day were not that amazing. We were told that the last whale had been spotted three days ago and they were now swimming to other parts of the world. This was disappointing because we are talking about Killer Whales, known here as Orcas, and its here that if you are lucky you can see them crashing up on to beach trying to gobble up the poor seals. Now that would have been a great photo.

Instead we saw huge sea lions and seals, and there are differences but its all very boring indeed. They are actually quite hideous and stressful to watch because they are so noisy and very aggressive towards each other. You get about 10 males and each has between 2 and 15 female partners with whom he mates with at will and protects violently much like a Brooklyn pimp. We saw one huge male (lets call him snoop dog) climb up on top of one of his bits of fluff and almost flatten the poor dear whilst he got jiggy with it. He knew he was boss and although they look fat and clumsy, when they need to move they sure can.

We embarked on a boat trip in the afternoon to see even more of these creatures and some large coastal birds. Some took up the offer to snorkel and all in all it was an OK day but a lot of driving made it a little tiresome.

DAY03
Per-per-per-pick up a penguin. Now you may have thought by now we'd had enough of these little fellas but we were told we must go to Punta Tombo to see the largest penguin colony around. Again more hideous driving through the desert but boy was it worth it. This place was something special, a desert coastline packed to the rafters with tiny penguins. Not just a few, but over 1 million of the wobbly beaks.

Much like the island in Ushuaia we were told to walk slow, keep voices down and to not touch the birds. We were able to walk amongst them and get as close as a few feet without startling them. Babies in nests crying for food, parents too-ing and fro-ing meeting these demands. And down by the water we could see babies trying their first time in the sea. You'll see that even with just a compact digital camera we were able to get some great close up shots.

The same day we took a small dingy type speed boat out with ten others in search for a small dolphin found here. In fact they only live here off the east coast of Argentina and are tiny and black and white like a miniature killer whale. Now the water was choppier than Bruce Lee wielding an axe and being a small boat I was having trouble keeping my lunch down. By the time we reached some of these dolphins I couldn't have cared if they were jumping through hoops wearing mini skirts I felt very sick and concentrated on the horizon. Sarah bless here tried here best to get you guys a photo of a dolphin but with their small size, speed and fact that the boat was rockin and rollin like Jerry Lee Lewis we only got you a glimpse. Sorry.

Another great day out, truly truly amazing. But if I never see another penguin again ever..... well that's just fine because we've now seen enough to last us a lifetime.

So we hope you enjoyed our latest update, and if anything happens to Sarah in the toilet on the next night bus, you'll be first to know. Oh and Roy, Big Chill is my new favourite album for tranquil nightime journies so thanks for that.

The Spicy Apples.