Puerto Madryn is an important seaport of the Patagonia region of South America. Patagonia is a region encompassing the vast southernmost tip of South America and the Andes Mountains are the dividing line between Chile and Argentina. The Argentine side features arid steppes, grasslands and deserts. That is what we saw as we traveled about three hours south to visit the second largest penguin colony in the world--The Punta Tombo Rookery with an estimated 2 million Megellan penguins. Other reserves in the general area host sea birds, seals, black and white dolphins, sea lions and sea elephants. Whale season is March and April.
It was very interesting to us that Welsh immigrants settled the area of Trelew and Gamain. It took a hardy group to live in this arid land and they earned our respect especially when you consider the lush, green country they left behind. Our guide, a former English teacher, born in Chile, was excellent and she expressed great admiration for the Welsh people who are currently working hard to preserve their language and culture.
Visits to the penguin colonies are not inexpensive but we wanted to see one of them. We chose this one because while visitors are required to stay on the path, penguins are not required to avoid it so we really got to see them up close and personal. We loved this once in a lifetime experience.
Our guide took this picture as we entered the area. I forgot to remove my sunglasses. So this is my 6-eye version.
It was fun to see them enter the ocean in giant groups like waves. The adults feed and take food back to the toddlers.
We were shocked at how arid and dry the area is. They burrow in the holes and leave to waddle to the sea for food. I guess we always picture penguins surrounded by ice and snow. Not so.
There were a few ranch houses around the area. This was the best photo I could get through the window. They don't even have wells or plumbing. They haul their water. What a hard life!
We saw another animal which flourishes in this dry climate. It is a smaller cousin of the llama and alpaca and is called guanacos. They are wild animals. We saw quite a few of them but couldn't get any good photos.
When we arrived back in Puerto Madryn, we stopped at this viewpoint to see the view of the port and city. Note the Welsh flag flies beneath the Argentine flag. The Welsh are outstanding, hardworking citizens of the area.
These photos don't begin to capture the beauty of this city, it's bays and beaches.
Back on the ship, we sampled the lamb chops Patagonia is famous for. Sheep and beef industries are both big in Argentina.
The dessert buffet our last day at sea was spectacular! It looked better than it tasted, but we couldn't totally resist.
On February 2nd we celebrated my birthday in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay.
The reason the port waters look so brown is because the port is actually on the Silver River which dumps into the ocean below this point.
We enjoyed the city highlights tour and perused one of the indoor unairconditioned markets. They only use funs to move the air.
There were many produce booths inside the market. However, we noticed a couple of them were extremely popular with long lines to have the chance to purchase their produce at this particular stand.
These were fruits I didn't recognize at all. Perhaps they are a variety of plum. ???
Dulce is very popular in Uruguay and Argentina. Both countries sell alfajores which are little sandwich cookies often filled with dulce or frosting.
Football (our soccer) is VERY popular here as well as in Argentina!
This sign of Montevideo has become very famous. Everyone wants their photo taken in front of it.
When we arrived back at the Mercado del Puerto an indoor/outdoor market near the harbor, all the restaurants and shops were crowded as many people came to sample the famous grilled meats and the traditional parilla. accompanied with wine. Another very popular local custom is the drink mate, made by an infusion of dried leaves of yerba mate and is drunk from a gourd thru a metal straw called a bombilla. It is both a straw and a sieve. They reuse the leaves up to four times by adding fresh hot water.
There was a little plaza near the entrance to the harbor where children could play on marine replicas. We tried to capture it's unique ambiance with the anchor and the two ships in the background.
We spent a pleasant birthday for me in Uruguay and said "hello" and "goodbye" all in a day.
No comments:
Post a Comment