Founded by Welsh settlers in 1886, this sheltered port city has become a tourist favorite for the nearby wildlife sanctuary in Peninsula Valdes. After 17 hours in a bus traveling south along the Atlantic coast of Argentina, passing nothing but fields and open plains, we came over a hill and there was the little city of Puerto Madryn. Promises of whale watching and penguin sightings is what drew me to the little city in the first place, and anyone who knows my affinity for wild-life could understand that as soon as I got there I would run to the beach and look for whales. Thinking that seeing whales was a chance happening I couldn’t believe that after just an hour of being in front of the water, we saw whales jumping about 100ft offshore!!!! The locals informed us that we hadn’t seen anything yet, and boy where they right!
The first full day we took and all day tour to Peninsula Valdes. Shaped by two large bays and the Atlantic Ocean, this bleak-looking peninsula was a real wildlife wonderland. One can see Sea lions, Elephant seals, Guanacos (argentine deer), Maras (Patagonian hares), Magellan penguins, Orcas and Southern Right whales from various parts of the peninsula where these animals were colonizing. Cold water conditions from Antarctic currents and enclosed bays safe from fierce Patagonian winds makes for a safe haven for many of these animals during the most sensitive time of their lives when they mate and breed. Many of theses animals travel miles to mate and bear their offspring in this safe location. The closest I’ve ever been to a whale (besides frequenting Sea World as a kid) was on a boat ride out into the bay in San Francisco where a whale splashed its tail some 500 ft away; however, this boat trip would prove to be much different. After an hour of riding we came upon a Southern Right whale mother and her calf. They were swimming about 50ft from the boat when suddenly they turned and started to swim towards us. Barreling at us they quickly dove underneath our boat and popped out on the other side! At one point they were jumping less than 20ft from the boat itself!
From there we headed to the seal-lion colony consisting for both seal lions and elephant seals. We were told that the previous day Orca’s were seen surfing the shores and feeding on the baby sea lions. The waters were a bit rough and not quite the ideal conditions for feeding, but that didn’t stop the normal day-to-day routine of the elephant seals. The dominant male, infamous for his phallic looking nose, was surrounded by his harem of females and their babies. Slowly cruising the shore was a less dominant male looking to spread his seed or to take control of the tribe of females. He slowly crept out of the water approaching one of the females. The dominant male was sleeping on the other side of the beach but was awoken by the howling of one of the females as the other male mounted himself on her. The dominant male come barreling down the beach barking and approached the other male. Knowing that he wasn’t quite big enough to fight, the other male quickly slipped back into the water.
From there we headed to the Magellan penguin colony. Spring fever was also in the air as penguins were mating and laying and caring for their eggs. All along the coastline and up and down the cliff for two miles you could spot little black and white dots as they nested in the prairie grass. We were so close you could touch them!!!
But the best sight seeing we saw came in the next few days when we weren’t even expecting it. Warm enough to lie out on the beach we headed out there to lie in the sun. As we got to the bay, there were 12-15 distinct black blobs jumping and splashing with their tales. Only 20 ft out you could clearly see the whales in all of their majesty, and the best view point came from the pier where they would swim by. Mothers and babies and mating couples frequently passed by the pier putting on shows with their theatrics and loud baritone noises as they surfaced for air. Coming so close that you could actually see their eyes, I was in complete awe. Just merely being there and watching captured everything that I had read about and all the specials that I had seen on this very wondrous little city. The entire four days spent in this small city will forever be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment