Penguins, Penguins, Penguins...
We went on "The Penguin Experience" in Porto Tombo yesterday. It was a fair drive of about 180 ks south of the port. The last 100 ks were on on dirt roads, good but dirt.
We are now in the area that is known as Patagonia. The area we have seen varies from flat semi-arid scrub lands to rolling hills of very short grass like up around Ashcroft, BC. I have no idea of the total area involved but it is vast. We passed one small river that seems to be a hub of development that has built up around it. In that area there were attempts to develop the land by Welsh immigrants that came over about 1865. Their efforts are still visible in the land improvements but have been hampered by the lack of water. Patagonia gets somewhere around 4 - 8 inches of rain, depending where, and which guide is talking.
The penguins are very interesting creatures. There are about 150,000 "Magellanic" penguins in the colony. The Magellans are about 18" tall. They breed and raise their young there and then take off up to Brazil, returning each year. The park has taken great care to protect these interesting little creatures but also allows us to walk in their midst except in some protected areas. No touching is allowed. The colony smells like a cross between fish and bird droppings, which is exactly what it is. The parents take turns going to sea to bring back food for the young. Predator gulls hang around menancingly for eggs and young chicks.
Along the way to and on the beach near the colony there are Llama like animals called Guanacos, a little difficult to get a good picture of though. They travel in small groups, a male and his harem and their young, like Impalla antelope in Africa but Guanaco groups don't get much bigger than 8 to 10.
The only drawback to the trip is the long journey there and back. As a result, we never got to walk the streets of Puerto Madryn. Apparently that is no loss, but I like to form my own opinions. It is a small city, rather simple and country-like. The weather right now is great, a bit windy but pleasant. As I said, lack of water is the main issue in this area. That theme seems to be heard around the world lately doesn't it?
Bus, or coach travel, is sometimes a bit trying for me. We are fortunate that we are still very mobile. We usually go to near the rear of the coach to allow those that are less mobile less difficulty in navigating to the back of the vehicle. In South America they do not seem to have coaches with rear doors. The result is that disembarking can be a frustrating and time consuming experience for those in the rear, as the physically challenged struggle to get off.
To top off the experience that day, there was a minor bus accident while down there. Our bus was attempting to "tow" another bus out of soft gravel, with full loads of passengers on each bus [?], when there was a miscalculation in distance and we, the towing bus, backed into our tow. The situation was made worse as a result. Fortunately they bring along a "spare" bus just for such eventualities!
Sometimes there is no alternative to bus travel, but renting cabs or arranging your own tour is beginning to look pretty attractive to me.
Two sea days and then to the last stop in south America.
posted by Doug and Fellette @ 12:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home