Puerto Madyrn

Moving on from Bariloche then and across the country from West to East to Puerto Madyrn - one of the best places in Argentina to spot acquatic wildlife.

The main attractions in the area...ie: the Southern right whales, Orcas, sea lions and seals, and the ever so cute Magallanes penguins can be found in the area called Peninsula Valdes which can be reached on day trips from nearby Puerto Madyrn. More about the wildlife in a mo - just a couple of words about the town.

Have to say its nothing special - basically a small industrial town with a beach, lots of restaurants, etc but not much life in the place. Saying that though its a good base for accessing the Peninsula and cheaper than staying at Puerto Piramides.

So the wildlife then, I´ll take them one by one and attempt to educate you!

Southern Right Whale - (Eubalaena australis) comes to Golfo Nuevo to breed mostly during September and October but can be seen up to December, our guide reckoned that they have on average 1500 per year so if you´re there at the right time your chances of seeing them are pretty high. Early on they can even be spotted from the beach in Puerto Madyrn. They can grow up to 18m in length and apparently can weigh up to 60 tonnes. They are the complete opposite of Free Willy - not quite so cute but pretty awesome to look at, particularly when they´re breaching, they just look HUGE! I took a boat trip so got up quite close and personal, definitely the way to go but only if you have sea legs.....otherwise you might find the surge a bit much to deal with, pretty strong winds down this part of the world when I was there.

I will try to get around to posting some pictures one day.....

Orca´s - well these are Free Willy whales. We were lucky to see some swim around but unlucky to miss the feeding frenzy of an hour before we arrived (high tide). This is one of the only places in the world where Orca´s hunt seals on land (I know that sounds wierd....just wait a minute!) Basically they swim in on a wave and try to grab a seal before going out again by using their hughly powerful tail and the backward motion of the waves. Gutted we missed that but good to see them all the same.

Seals and sea lions - don´t think I have to give you too much info on these...do I? Suffice to say they are numerous, the male sea lions are huge and the babies very cute.

Magallane Penguins - (Spheniscus magellanicus) reach 45 cm high and 4 or 5 Kg weight; the males have a bill longer and thicker than the females. In September, the male penguins arrive in Punta Tombo after spending 6 months at sea where they feed (penguins are excellent swimmers); they build a nest or occupy the same nest they had the year before, and condition it. Later, the females arrive (penguins generally are monogamous). These lady penguins know a thing or 2 about keeping their men in line eh??? In October, the females lay two eggs inside the nest, and both members of the couple incubate them for 40 days. The baby penguins are born with grey feathers, and change them ten weeks after, but the characteristic black and white plumage appears when they are one year old. When I was there in mid-November they were still in the nesting phase so didn´t see any babies, just a lot of penguins milling around with that adorable waddle and many more nesting. (Again photos will be forthcoming at some stage in the future......).

Has to be said - an excellent way to spend a day!

Some mentions - Wolfgang (Swiss), Natalie (French) & Bernard (French Canadian) who for some reason took to calling me Carry On for 3 days......apparently something to do with my sarcastic sense of humour.....ummmmm!

Not much else to say about the place - next stop El Calafate and the glaciers!