Patagonia, Argentina – Argentina

From the moment we arrived in Puerto

Madryn, in Chubut, we decided to pass through the town.

Strolling along the seaside, we got our the first surprise:

we found small Inns, reminiscent of those in cottage country

(in Northern Canada), full of young people sunbathing, jet

skiing and windsurfing. We decided to hang around there

listening to great music for the rest of the afternoon.

The next day, we got up early to go on our first whale-spotting

tour. We shared breakfast with Italian, French and English

tourists (each year, more than 40 000 tourists visit the

area , and all 12% of those from countries other than Argentina

seemed to be staying in our hotel.) Like everybody, we loaded

up on the delicious, home-made fruit spreads. The owner

of the hotel had an anecdote on this subject: she told us

that a year ago, a man came to her and took a sample of

each of her jams. Later, she discovered that he was the

owner of the biggest jam producer in Australia, and he confessed

that he had never had jam as good as hers.

We

arrived at El Doradillo at 7am, when the high tide encourages

the whales to come closer to shore. We climbed to the top

of a cliff and were astounded by what we saw: the whales

were right there in front of us, no more than thirty meters

from shore! There were four cows with their calves (one

of them an albino) which passed through the gulf. Some did

turns and others “sang”. Each year, from May to December,

about 800 whales pass by the area to raise their calves.

In the afternoon, we got another surprise: we discovered

that Madryn offers a variety of activities far from the

conventional tourist circuit: sandboarding, horseback riding,

trekking, mountain biking, photo and air safaris, diving,

fishing, fossil-hunting, rafting, and even a trek through

an old mine!

On that particular afternoon, we chose to try sandboarding.

Pablo Neme, a true pro who seemed to come straight from

California, was our instructor. In the dunes of Madryn,

we learned some secrets of the sport, like staying near

your board before swooshing down a dune, so as not to get

a mouthful of sand.

Before the sun went down, we went to Punta Loma, where

there are sea lions year-round. On the way back, we met

up again with Pablo, who then took us mountain biking and

showed us one of his favorite spots off the beaten track.

Here, the experts practice acrobatics, against the backdrop

of one of the best views of the ocean imaginable. The sunset

was spectacular, with the sun painting the sky rose, before

settling into a palpable silence.

The next day, we began our tour of

Peninsula

Valdés by foot. After about an hour, we arrived at Puerto

Pirámide, a town which, according to the locals, is inhabited

by several “characters”.

The first such person who we encountered was Daniel, a

skinny guy with dreadlocks who is the neighborhood diving

and sandboarding expert. The next was José Maria, who conducts

boat tours and is the DJ on the town’s radio show.

We took a tour with him, rocked gently by the waves to

strains of Mozart. A whale came so close to us, she scraped

the side of the boat and almost knocked us to the other

side!

Later, Jorge Schmid, one of the region’s oldest guides

(he’s been giving tours for over 25 years) declared that

we were very lucky, as only one in 100 boats full of visitors

get to see the whales so close to boats, seeking contact.

On the road again, we went by Salina Grande, one of the

deepest depressions in South America (about 35 square kilometers),

and by Salina Chica. At this time of the year, they form

small lagoons of pinkish water between them, which owe their

color to the crustaceans present in the water. These animals

attract flamingos, the sight of which made for a truly unforgettable

scene.

Another image that stays in mind is the old lighthouse

of Punta Delgada, which was constructed at the turn of the

century and currently functions as a hotel and restaurant.

We went to the breeding grounds in Pirámides and then

later to Punta Norte, where we saw the only sea elephant

breeding ground on continental territory. The permanent

population is estimated at 700, although from August to

March over 20 000 come to molt and breed. Guides ask that

tourists not bother the quiet animals, who are saving their

energies for later in the summer when they will begin their

dives in search of food . Normally, they go down about 400

meters, but some have been known to go as far as 1500 meters.

On the way back, we stopped by the Isla de los Pájaros,

which is overwhelmed by seagulls. There, we were surprised

to find a replica of the Chapel of the Fuerte La Candelaria,

the first Spanish assembly in the peninsula.

Once at the hotel, we dined on Patagonia lamb. Exhausted,

we retired to our rooms to prepare for the vigorous day

that lay ahead.

The last day, we had planned to see the penguins in Punta

Tumbo and Gaiman, the Welsh village inhabited by the descendents

of the first settlers in Patagonia. We thought that we would

have a relaxing day, for once, but we were quite mistaken.

We met Luis – one of the nicest guides from Rawson – and

set out on a mission to see the porpoises. “Captain” Rawson

took us by dinghy to the Playa Unión. It was a true surprise!

More than 50 porpoises were playing in the prow, splashing

us playfully. The sight had no rival, and the porpoises

are rather social, interacting with visitors.

One back on solid ground, we directed ourselves to the

penguins at Punta Tomba (created in 1979). Our arrival was

met with yet another awesome sight-more than 500 000 birds

were flocked together, not an atypical sight from September

to April. In fact, this particular penguin colony is the

largest in the entire continent. Only Antarctica has more.

We chatted with the park ranger, and munched on the most

delicious meat pies, baked fresh by the owner of the camp

nearest the colony.

Walking to Gaiman, Luis commented that his family, Welsh

descendants, received First Prize in a cake baking contest

for their entry in the annual Exposition of the Chubut Valley.

Each year, there are about 50 contestants, who conserve

their family recipes guardedly. One of the conditions for

Luis to obtain the cake recipe from his grandma was that

he had to promise to never alter a single ingredient.

With his stories, we were brought closer to a culture that

lives closely to its customs, and which still celebrate

the Festival of Disembarking, in honor of the ship “Mimosa”

that arrived in 1865, full of future Patagonian settlers.

Totally intrigued by all that Luis had to say, we arrived

at Gaiman, and visited the same teahouse that Lady Diana

had visited the year before her death. There, we took tea

in what could be described as one of the most traditional

places in Patagonia, full of original objects from the “Mimosa”

and staffed by true Welsh descendants who told us their

history in great detail.

Later, we went for a stroll through the village and noted

that the Welsh have truly managed to preserve their traditional

ways of life. As with many of the places we had visited

on this trip, the silence, however, was the most imposing

presence, only broken by the rustling of leaves and the

sighs of the wind.

Back in the city, we remembered that many had said during

the trip, “Did you know that Darwin, in his old age, stated

that Patagonia impressed him even a more than coral reefs

or Amazonian rainforests?” and now, it must be stated, that

we understand why.

The weighty silence and vast tranquility of Patagonia are

just some of the qualities of the place that penetrate the

soul and can never be forgotten.

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