Puerto Madryn, Argentina

As I walk along the pier, looking back towards Puerto Madryn, a right whale throws me a tail
see all photos »

Moving south from Mendoza through Bariloche on the infamous route 40 (aka South America’s route 66) ended in Esquel. During this time of year, or should I say until summer, the road south from this point is mainly closed. No buses were running, so I was forced to go east. I also had the bright idea of heading over to Puerto Montt (in Chile); eventually working my way south through the island of Chiloe and then crossing back into Argentina near Esquel. However, this idea was squashed by the mere fact that I would have to go through Chalten, which was completely devastated and still shutdown due to the Volcano eruption earlier in the year. Since I was going East (and eventually South), I looked into Puerto Madryn. I heard great things from the locals about the wildlife, sparking my interest.

Viewing Elephant Seals along the east side of Peninsula Valdes
see all photos »

Moving away from the Andes, the land turns into a low-lying desolate landscape. Rocky, arid, barren and treeless. This is the true reality of Patagonia. Most people think it is green with mountains, lakes, forests and glaciers. Although this stuff exists in Patagonia, it’s only a small percentage of the overall area that makes up this region. You have to go looking for it, and in some cases cross borders as Argentina is much drier than Chile. But I will eventually get to that…

Forced to head east, I stop to view some whales...

Hiking above Puerto Piramide
see all photos »

The real reason for a stop here is to take in a tour of the Peninsula Valdes, where wild-life is abundant and southern right whales hang out from July through December. The town, only 60,000 strong, is dominated by the fishing industry which rears its ugly head (and smell) as you look north from the main pier. Still though, it has its charm and it’s nice to walk along the beach and boardwalk on a sunny day (which happens often, the region only gets 100mm of rain a year). On my first day, recovering from an overnight bus, I walked around town, noticing the off-season fairly quickly. But it didn’t take long to see the whales. As I walked out to the beach, onto the pier, they were everywhere. Once in awhile they would jump out of water (unpredictable and hard to catch on camera), but they mostly flapped around and waded on top. I also caught some sea lions hanging around the pier, on a lower metal deck, basking in the sun.

The main pier of Puerto Madryn
see all photos »

On my second day I toured the Peninsula. Given the $150 peso price tag (not to include the $40 peso entrance fee), it turned out to be fairly expensive for a long day of driving through a mostly flat and low-lying shrub area only to spend little time along the coasts where the wild-life existed. Of course, some of this can be attributed to the large area that has to be covered in a car to get from one destination to the next. Still, my touring buddies (a German girl and an Italian couple from Triste) and I were happy to be in a small mini-van with room to spare rather than in a large bus like most other groups. Along the way we hit Puerto Piramide (a very small town – 300 people) for more whale-watching, the main information center, and a point along the east coast in which the first elephant seals started to arrive and settle from the outskirts of the Atlantic. Forgoing the boat tour (another $100 pesos) I had to wait, so I decided to take a hike around Puerto Piramide which I really enjoyed – and received great views of the surrounding areas. Upon leaving the reserve we drove past salt flats Salina Grande and Salina Chico. Supposedly the lowest spots in Argentina (at 35-50m below sea level) this fact was refuted by my guide, quoting an area down south near Rio Gallegos. We left the hostel at 8am and returned after 6pm. A long day – now I will head further south, as 2-3 days is all you need in this town.