December 26, 2007 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina
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I must still be on Easter Island time zone as I could not wake up at 6 AM. Daylight here comes really early (5 AM or so). I finished breakfast by 7:25 AM and out my baggage in the hotel´s locker - an unused bathroom! All I can hope is that they don´t acquire any added odours! The pickup arrived at 7:40 AM. It was the same driver who drove us to Punta Tombo yesterday. We did have a different guide though.
In many places I have been mistaken for a Brazilian! Maybe the darkened skin had something to do with it (plus my bad Spanish!).
We picked up a few slackers (who were still groggy from partying excessively the previous night) and headed to Puerto Piramides (which is the entrance to Peninsula Valdes). There was not much to see (during the 2 hour drive from Puerto Madryn to Puerto Piramides) so I dozed on and off. We spotted Darwin´s Rhea on the way to Puerto Piramides. We reached Puerto Piramides around 9;40 AM and had to pay 40 Pesos (US$13) as park fees. There is a small museum here (more like an exhibit describing Peninsula Valdes and the area).
We headed to the Port of Puerto Piramides - located at the southern end of Peninsula Valdes - and boarded our boat at 10:30 or so. As the tide is quite low here, the boat is placed on a long trailer which stand on the beach. After all passengers get onboard the boat, a tractor then pushes the trailer out to deep water where the boat unhooks itself from the trailer and sets sail.
The reverse takes place when the boat returns to port.
This cruise was only to be in the gulf of Puerto Piramides. We would not be heading into the Atlantic Ocean (at this point it is referred to as the Argentinean Sea).
We spotted some seals but no Whales. As this is not the season for seeing Whales, the tour operators should not con folks into thinking that they will be seeing whales, when such a change sighting is less than 1%. Apart from myself and one other couple, no one in our group (of 15 folks) had ever seen a whale! Unless there is a 75% chance of seeing whales (this is very much possible in season - July to November), the tour operators should not take the boats out.
Despite having seen whales in North America and Australia, I still love to see them in the wild. I was quite disappointed in not being able to spot any today.
We headed to the Punta Norte (yes, is it the Northern End of Peninsula Valdes) and spotted numerous Elephant seals - including the massive (4 Tonnes in weight) Southern Elephant seals - and their harems!
A BBC documentary seen many years ago (with David Attenborough) that showed Orcas attacking the seals on shore was what prompted me to put Peninsula Valdes on the list of must see places. These attacks happen in scores during the month of March when the seals have given birth to their young which are vulnerable.
There is an ORCA research station on the beach and these folks chart ORCA sightings. The chart showed quite a few sightings during the past week but none this week. I did see a lot of pictures at the ORCA research station that showed ORCAS attacking the seals. Must be magnificent to see them live. A return to Peninsula Valdes (in season) is something I will save for a future trip.
We headed next to Punta Cantor located on Caleta Valdes (between Puerto Piramides and Punta Norte). We spotted many magellanic penguins here (although nowhere as many as Punta Tombo) and had time to walk on 2 nature trails. We observed many seals (from afar) who appear beached because of low tide. When high tide returns, these animals would move back to sea. A thick wall of mist enveloped the entire area (during our visit) and rendered visibility to about 100 feet.
It was indeed terrific to have observed the massive (5 Metres in length - 4 tons in weight) southern elephant seals and their harems. As I mentioned before, spotting whales would have made this a far more memorable trip.
We headed back to Puerto Madryn and drove along the beachfront of Puerto Madryn. I saw excellent houses along the waterfront that cost at least a MILLION pesos (US$ 300 K) each. I can see myself living here. A small chalet would be just fine :)
I picked up my bags from Hostel Viajeros. The bags had not acquired any added odours! I requested the hotel folks to get me a taxi to the bus terminus. The taxi cost me 5 pesos. The bus ticket to TRELEW was ARP 8.50 (less than US$3). The journey would take around 50 minutes. It was a decent bus - definitely better than greyhound. While waiting for my bus to depart, I observed a bus set to depart for Buenos Aires (about 18 hours away). It was a semi-cama bus - where the seating is more or less like Airlines´business class seating! There were 2 drivers up front who no doubt would take turns driving the 18 hours to Buenos Aires. I may experience one of these buses during my ride from Puntas Arenas (Chile) to Ushuaia (Argentina) - a trip that will take approximately 12 hours.
The bus picked up some more passengers until it headed out of Puerto Madryn. On entering the outskirts of Trelew, the driver stops the bus wherever folks request him to stop. That´s what I call service! The journey to Trelew took about an hour.
December 26, 2007 - Trelew, Argentina
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I waited at the Taxi stand for less than a minute before a taxi pulled up. The cab drivers here actually help you with your bags. The ride to the hotel was less than 5 minutes and cost me ARP 3.50 (US$ 1.20 approx.).
After filling out an obligatory form requiring your name, address, domicile etc, I was given a room on the 4th (the topmost) floor of Hotel Libertador. I tipped the bellhop ARP 3. Anything less than a dollar seemed cheap and I did not want to overdo the tipping in such a way that the locals suffer after I leave. Many yanks over tip or are complete cheapskates who do not tip at all.
Hotel Libertador is the BEST place I have stayed thus far. Marble floored lobby. Nice Elevators (again a first during my trip thus far). Uniformed bellhop. Bathroom with a bidet. Monogrammed towels and the biggest wash basin I have ever seen. Breakfast is Included. All this for ARP 156 (US$ 52) per night. And to think I paid US$50 for a dump like Cecilia´s in Easter Island.
The receptionist recommended a restaurant called SUGAR near the town square (I think it is called Plaza Independencia) that cost me ARP 50 (US$ 17). I had a nice Spinach Gnocchi.
TRELEW is not a tourist town. Although most folks disembark here at the TRELEW Airport, all of them head to Puerto Madryn and Peninsula Valdes. When they are done, they take a flight back from Trelew Airport. TRELEW - the town - is visited by Argentines and is therefore inexpensive. Good for moi!
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