Whale of a Goodtime
Sunday, October 19th, 2008Day 205
Sometimes when you travel you get to a point when you realize you don’t have to see everything listed in the guidebook. The Roughguide, LonelyPlanet or Footprint tells us somewhere is a must see and we go, no other thought to it. Just outside Puerto Madryn is the Peninsula Valdes. The waters around the peninsula contain an extraordinary array of marine life. Whales, Orcas, sea lions and seals to name a few. On land are guanacos, rheas and several other land animals. It reads like a must see attraction, problem is its also priced as such.
We arrived in Puerto Madryn late yesterday afternoon, just in time for an excellent seafood dinner. The town is a pleasant place and walking along the beach front in the cool evening air is a nice change from the plains of Patagonia. We looked around the town for tours or even renting a car to get out and see the peninsula tomorrow. The tours were just under $100 each and renting a car was about $100 for the day. We took a long walk down the beach and tried to decide what to do. In addition to the tour price we would also have to pay $15 each to just enter the peninsula. So in the end we were looking at a few days budget for a one day tour. Our final decision was to pass on the tour, we have already seen almost all the animals and marine life that we would see. Plus we soon discovered the bay.
“Look out there, uhhh I think…wow it is a whale!” I shouted to Jordana as we walked along Puerto Madryn’s waterfront. Not just one but several, at least 15 southern right whales were in view in the harbour. They were so close to shore as well. Some had to be no more than 30 meters off the beach. We walked out on the long pier that juts out into the harbour for a better look. We’ve been whale watching before and this was better than that, and free. Not only did we see the whales but one swam right up to the pier. Others were constantly slapping their tails. We saw a baby leap right out of the water and finally saw a full grown whale breach, creating a huge splash and commotion amongst the camera touting tourists on the pier.
Seeing this display right here in town for free and speaking to some people who had gone whale watching we were confident we made the right decision by missing out on the tour. Puerto Madryn was a relaxing stop for 3 nights, our last official stop in Patagonia. Up next was our last South American bus trip. An 18 hour journey to Buenos Aires. One that we decided to go out in style on and bought super cama seats. We have heard about these buses but have never been able to find one. Finally we have, our seats will fold flat into beds!
Michael Coroneos