Puerto Madryn and the Valdez Peninsula
Port of call #6, Puerto Madryn was the one that made me scream "I'm going on this cruise!". While mulling over the idea of a South American cruise, I did a quick google search on "Puerto Madryn, attractions" and the result was pages and pages of photos showcasing whales, orcas, elephant seals, guanacos and of course, penguins.
After that, there was no room for debate. I kept picturing the elephant seal from "Happy Feet" and for some reason, felt that I had to, had to, had to see these creatures for myself. With that thought firmly in mind, I booked (a) the cruise and (b) a tour with Nestor of CuyonCo to the Peninsula Valdez.
The peninsula, about an hour's drive from Puerto Madryn and a UNESCO world heritage sight, is home to all the aforementioned wildlife and is thus, quite understandably, a big eco-tourism destination. People come from all over to stay in Puerto Piramidas and watch southern right whales frolic in the Golfo Nuevo and the Golfo San Jose during their mating season. They come to catch the ghastly spectacle of orcas in Caleta Valdez and Punta Norte momentarily beaching themselves in order to catch seal and sea lion pups (one of only two places in the world where this is known to take place).
And of course, there are the Magellanic penguins. Had we had more time, we could have visited nearby Punta Tombo, the largest colony in all of South America (approximately 500,000 penguins!!). As it was, our time and timing wasn't exactly the best. The whales were slowly leaving the Gulf and making their way back out to sea, meaning that a boat trip to see them would take the better part of the afternoon. The orcas were too far to the north to cover during our short time in port.
The adult male elephant seals, the ones I envisioned from Happy Feet had just concluded their mating season and were out to sea feeding and regaining weight lost during their amorous pursuits. Left behind were the females, pups and the teen-age males, who had yet to develop the prominent proboscis that gives them their name. The penguins in this region were few, but boisterous, engaging in aggrieved territorial disputes in spite of the fact that, compared to their brethren in Punta Tombo, they had more than enough land to call their own. Fortunately, things went slightly better when we headed inland.
We did see guanacos (which are llama-like creatures with an uncanny ability to stay just beyond camera range at all times), maras (over sized rodents, very similar to the Venezuelan capybaras) and a couple of tarantulas that enjoy basking in the middle of the road. It was not the wildlife extravaganza that I had hoped for, but by this point, the cruise had so exceeded my expectations, that I did not really mind. I felt we had seen as much as we could have given our limited stay.
It was clear the potential that Puerto Madryn held, if one had enough time to enjoy it, and as with so many other places, I decided I would like to someday return....with more time and hopefully better timing. But for now, I would consider the trip a nice preview and put the score at NCL 2, Indie Traveller 4.
After that, there was no room for debate. I kept picturing the elephant seal from "Happy Feet" and for some reason, felt that I had to, had to, had to see these creatures for myself. With that thought firmly in mind, I booked (a) the cruise and (b) a tour with Nestor of CuyonCo to the Peninsula Valdez.
The peninsula, about an hour's drive from Puerto Madryn and a UNESCO world heritage sight, is home to all the aforementioned wildlife and is thus, quite understandably, a big eco-tourism destination. People come from all over to stay in Puerto Piramidas and watch southern right whales frolic in the Golfo Nuevo and the Golfo San Jose during their mating season. They come to catch the ghastly spectacle of orcas in Caleta Valdez and Punta Norte momentarily beaching themselves in order to catch seal and sea lion pups (one of only two places in the world where this is known to take place).
And of course, there are the Magellanic penguins. Had we had more time, we could have visited nearby Punta Tombo, the largest colony in all of South America (approximately 500,000 penguins!!). As it was, our time and timing wasn't exactly the best. The whales were slowly leaving the Gulf and making their way back out to sea, meaning that a boat trip to see them would take the better part of the afternoon. The orcas were too far to the north to cover during our short time in port.
The adult male elephant seals, the ones I envisioned from Happy Feet had just concluded their mating season and were out to sea feeding and regaining weight lost during their amorous pursuits. Left behind were the females, pups and the teen-age males, who had yet to develop the prominent proboscis that gives them their name. The penguins in this region were few, but boisterous, engaging in aggrieved territorial disputes in spite of the fact that, compared to their brethren in Punta Tombo, they had more than enough land to call their own. Fortunately, things went slightly better when we headed inland.
We did see guanacos (which are llama-like creatures with an uncanny ability to stay just beyond camera range at all times), maras (over sized rodents, very similar to the Venezuelan capybaras) and a couple of tarantulas that enjoy basking in the middle of the road. It was not the wildlife extravaganza that I had hoped for, but by this point, the cruise had so exceeded my expectations, that I did not really mind. I felt we had seen as much as we could have given our limited stay.
It was clear the potential that Puerto Madryn held, if one had enough time to enjoy it, and as with so many other places, I decided I would like to someday return....with more time and hopefully better timing. But for now, I would consider the trip a nice preview and put the score at NCL 2, Indie Traveller 4.
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