October 16 - 18, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
October 16:
I took a night bus on the 15th from Mar del Plata to Puerto Madryn. After 16 hours on a bus I arrived and hopped a cab to the Hostel. Immediately I was greeted with a tea and lots of tour and tourist information. Awesome. I dont have much time here so I booked a full day tour on the Valdez Peninsula for the next day and will talk to a SCUBA shop about snorkeling with the sea lions the next day.
That afternoon I ran into Emma and David again from Ireland. We had crossed paths briefly in Iguazu and have ended up at the same hostel again in Puerto Madryn. We shared a few beers and then joined the hostel for a group dinner of all you can eat shrimp!
October 17:
Early breakfast then a van picked us up around 8am. Emma, David, I and a few others from the hostel joined the rest of the group for the tour.
Our first stop was the the Peninsula visitor center, where we had to pay a 130Peso entrance fee to the park. Inside the center they had a huge whale skeleton!
The next stop was in Puerto Pirimades where we all loaded up on a boat to go whale watching. I was a bit skeptical about this part of the tour because it almost doubled the price of the tour overall and I had seen these types of whales before in South Africa. However, I am sooo glad I decided to go. The whales got sooo close to the boat. It was so awesome seeing such large animals up close like that. The Southern Right Whales come to this area every year to breed and have their young.
After the whales we went to see a sea lion colony on the beach.
The final stop was at a penguin colony. And the penguins nested super close to the pedestrian walkway. I could have touched one (if they rangers would have allowed it). We even got to see their eggs.
October 18:
One of the most exciting and fun things I have done. Snorkeling with wild sea lions!!! We met up at the Lobo Larsen SCUBA office at 7:15am to get suited up and trained on how to interact with the sea lions.
We were given 7mm wet suits. Thick thick wet suits because the water is so cold. We were also given booties, gloves and a hood. Then we boated out to the sea lion colony about 30 minutes from town. A ranger is stationed at the colony to make sure people dont go up on shore. They want the sea lions to come to you rather than you invade their territory.
Once in the water (COLD!) we all lined up and began to kick. The bubbles and movement peaks the sea lions curiosity. In no time we had several of them following us!
The best way to describe the behavior is to call the sea dogs. They want to play! They come right up to you, rub on ya, nibble your fingers and even kiss ya right on the mouth! Sooooooo exciting! I think I had a huge smile on my face the entire time!
And this last one is my favorite. I'm not paying any attention to the group photo BUT I am getting a sweeeet sea lion kiss! Its ok to be jealous. :-)
That afternoon I loaded up on a bus to Comodoro Rivadavia. Only about 7 hours south. And that's where my friend Trenton will pick me up to go hang out on the sheep ranch he is managing!
October 16:
I took a night bus on the 15th from Mar del Plata to Puerto Madryn. After 16 hours on a bus I arrived and hopped a cab to the Hostel. Immediately I was greeted with a tea and lots of tour and tourist information. Awesome. I dont have much time here so I booked a full day tour on the Valdez Peninsula for the next day and will talk to a SCUBA shop about snorkeling with the sea lions the next day.
That afternoon I ran into Emma and David again from Ireland. We had crossed paths briefly in Iguazu and have ended up at the same hostel again in Puerto Madryn. We shared a few beers and then joined the hostel for a group dinner of all you can eat shrimp!
October 17:
Early breakfast then a van picked us up around 8am. Emma, David, I and a few others from the hostel joined the rest of the group for the tour.
Our first stop was the the Peninsula visitor center, where we had to pay a 130Peso entrance fee to the park. Inside the center they had a huge whale skeleton!
The next stop was in Puerto Pirimades where we all loaded up on a boat to go whale watching. I was a bit skeptical about this part of the tour because it almost doubled the price of the tour overall and I had seen these types of whales before in South Africa. However, I am sooo glad I decided to go. The whales got sooo close to the boat. It was so awesome seeing such large animals up close like that. The Southern Right Whales come to this area every year to breed and have their young.
After the whales we went to see a sea lion colony on the beach.
The final stop was at a penguin colony. And the penguins nested super close to the pedestrian walkway. I could have touched one (if they rangers would have allowed it). We even got to see their eggs.
October 18:
One of the most exciting and fun things I have done. Snorkeling with wild sea lions!!! We met up at the Lobo Larsen SCUBA office at 7:15am to get suited up and trained on how to interact with the sea lions.
We were given 7mm wet suits. Thick thick wet suits because the water is so cold. We were also given booties, gloves and a hood. Then we boated out to the sea lion colony about 30 minutes from town. A ranger is stationed at the colony to make sure people dont go up on shore. They want the sea lions to come to you rather than you invade their territory.
Once in the water (COLD!) we all lined up and began to kick. The bubbles and movement peaks the sea lions curiosity. In no time we had several of them following us!
The best way to describe the behavior is to call the sea dogs. They want to play! They come right up to you, rub on ya, nibble your fingers and even kiss ya right on the mouth! Sooooooo exciting! I think I had a huge smile on my face the entire time!
That afternoon I loaded up on a bus to Comodoro Rivadavia. Only about 7 hours south. And that's where my friend Trenton will pick me up to go hang out on the sheep ranch he is managing!
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