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We met an Israeli couple a few days ago who advised us "Don't go to Puerto Madryn! We just came from there, and it is a waste of time! If the weather is windy, there is nothing to do, and such an ugly town in the middle of nowhere!" I'm glad that we just smiled and thanked him for the advice and went anyhow!
Our first time at the Atlantic Ocean- that is cool in itself! We arrived at 7 am yesterday after taking another night bus. As usual, when we arrived, we got a cab, and gave him the address. He drove us around the block, and stopped about 3/4 of a block down from the bus station!!! Our hostel is just down the street!! Lol. He charged us 5 pesos ($1) to bring us there. Hahaha! We walked in the door, and the hostel owner asked us what we wanted to do that day. He told us what he recommended - a tour of Peninsula Valdez, which includes a whale watching expedition. He said "it is very good weather to do this today, and who knows what tomorrow brings?" he said, "there is a national strike in Argentina today, and all transportation of goods and domestic flights are cancelled, so let me call, and see if they are open." He called them, hung up and said, "you should eat some breakfast- they will be here to pick you up in 10 or 20 mins." (!!!!!) So we quickly grabbed our jackets, our money, passports and cameras, extra batteries, etc and had a quick bite to eat. Wore the same clothes, barely had time to comb our hair and brush our teeth, and off we went. All day everyone kept commenting how it was the perfect day to do this, so I'm glad we went. As we got underway, the guide explained that there is a national strike, and there may be some road blockages, but hopefully no problems. Sure enough, at a traffic circle on the edge of town, transportation workers had stopped all the freight trucks, and several busses. We were in a 12 person van. They come over and talked to the driver, and the whole time the tour guide looks ready to crawl out of his skin. He's rolling his eyes, and shaking his head and standing up, sitting, standing, shaking his head, sighing heavily, etc. He tells us "they say if we wait 20 mins, then we can go." and wants to know if this ever happens in our countries. He is clearly extremely irritated. While we wait, some guys walk over to the empty bus a few meters from us with 4x4 chunks of wood, and proceed to bash in the windows, tail lights and headlights of the bus!! I thought of taking some pictures, but really didn't want to antagonize these goons!! After maybe 10 minutes, they let us go, windows and lights intact. The guide looked very relieved. The whole day was so cool. We found out later that the guide had an agenda. He wanted to see Orcas, which are very uncommon here, and since the weather was so uncommonly good, he was crossing his fingers. I suspect he was a marine biologist. He was extremely knowledgeable about everything, and seemed to know the area and the animals so well. As we drove, he would tell the driver to stop, point out an eagle nest, and tell us all about when the babies were born, where the parents like to sit to guard the nest, what the predators are, etc. we learned so much, and had such a great time. He stopped and gave a few people heck for being out of their cars in a restricted area, or for trying to feed the wild animals. We showed interest in what he was saying, so he told us even more than the other people on the tour. We went out in a boat and saw several mother and baby whales, which was amazing!! Then we went to several places on the peninsula and saw sea lions, female elephant seals, penguins, rhea (ostrich like birds) alpacas, and an armadillo. Every time we stopped, the guide would look out over the ocean and say, "No Orcas." and shake his head. Finally in the last spot, we saw Orcas. He was sooooo excited! "the orcas, they are coming!!!" then he ran up to the coffee shop to tell everyone. He came back and explained to Sierra and I how they attack the seals on the beach, exactly where they have to swim to get past the rocky reef, etc. He said he has worked there for 5 years and only seen Orcas 6 times. There are only 7 individual Orcas in the world that hunt seals on the beach. This is the only known place that they do it. He has never seen it, and I think he might give away a limb if that might help him see it... It was a very entertaining day!!! We learned that Orcas drown the baby wright whales by swimming above them, and not letting them up for air. Then they eat only the tongue, jaw and flippers. The rest is too much blubber. Baby whales grow 6cm every day, and drink 200 kilos of milk each day. The mother spends 6 months there in the protected area of Peninsula Valdez giving birth to her baby and nursing it, and does not eat at all that whole time. There are no Krill here. Just protection. Alpacas are very good swimmers, and swim through the ocean to various islands all the time. The male Reas raise the babies, and are often seen with up to 40 chicks in their care at once. Lots of information. Good day. That evening I started getting all the symptoms of a sinus infection. I was snorting salt water, but it was getting worse fast. Pharmacias are all closed for the strike. Banks are also closed. Sierra and I decided we really weren't up for another 6 hours of driving on a cramped bus, leaving at the crack of dawn and getting back after dark, so since we saw a smattering of everything yesterday, we decided to cancel our next tour, and look after our health and financial matters. We slept in today, which was sooooo nice, and had fresh baked buns and actual coffee for breakfast at this hostel (lovely!). Sierra turned her head this morning and got a Charlie horse in the muscle on the side of her neck. So painful!!! We worked on that for awhile, and then went to the now open Pharmacia, and got antibiotics and muscle relaxants. Walked on the beach, until the flies drove us away (lol) and had some lunch. Sierra took a muscle relaxant and I took an Amoxacillan, and we are participating in siesta today. Im grateful that God tells us whether to go to the left or to the right and also where to stop and rest. : ) Tomorrow we leave for El Chalten and the southern mountains. We will need to take 3 different busses to get there, and there is little information about that process, so we aren't sure what to expect. The forecast is also for cool cloudy weather and some rain. Hopefully it won't be socked in the whole time, but God is in control, and has been preparing things ahead of us all along, so I know His plan is a good one whatever the weather!! this is the most remote area other than Bolivia that we will be going, and I'm not positive there will be wi fi. Don't worry if you don't hear from us. We met a guy who grew up in El Chalen while we were in Bariloche. He said he lived there when there were 30-40 people in the town. The town now has 7,000 people. He is only about 30 years old!! I'm curious to see this place!! One bank machine. No wonder they run out of money!! Wild. Love you all!!
- comments
Thelma It's good to know that God is taking care of you. Hope you are soon feeling better Love Ya Mom
Ed I checked out El Chalten on the net. WOW! It looks beautiful.
Hank Sounds like quite a tour guide you ended up with, interesting stuff!!