Peninsula Valdes Hotel Trelew Puerto Madryn

We have never been so dusty. Five days later, when we shower, it still smells like wet ceramic, dank and earthy. How this smell travelled in our hair from across the continent goes a bit like this: We left Buenos Aires unable to walk without a shuffle, a twist and a kick from so much tangoing. It gets in your legs, your hips, even when thereīs no music playing. Somehow we made it to the train, spinning, pausing, looking flashy, then to the bus, down the East coast of Argentina, across the cam...

Saturday 8th September - Thursday 13th September Caught an 14 hour overnight bus from Bariloche to Puerto Madryn, on the east coast of Argentina. Puerto Madryn is a coastal city close to the Peninsula Valdes, and the base for whale watching! We arrived at our hostel early on Sunday morning and as our room was not yet ready, we headed to the beach to find some breakfast. Amazed to find whales just 100m from the shore! Had breakfast in a cafe on the beach and watched the whales playing, then we...

Another horizon chasing endless Patagonian scrub while on a bus journey which took us from Rio Gallegos in Santa Cruz province up to Trelew and the heart of the "Welsh" settler collony of Argentina. One of our reasons for stopping off here was to experience the parts of Argentina where Welsh is still spoken and full high teas are found in many quaint "Cassa de Te" (tea houses). More specifically however this area of Argentina is renouned for itīs incredibly rich marine wild life and whale wat...

10th and 11th November

We were collected by Eliana and Lito (the driver) and driven to Punto Tomba a penquin colony.  Not a bad move as the children were all sad about leaving Bustamenta and especially Sol and Nicolas and Bahia the dog; it was a little while before the tears had stopped. 

The area was punctured with little holes and inside the holes sat one or two penguins on a couple of eggs.  The walkway takes you right beside some of the nests and then out to the beach w...

Puerto Madryn ===ABOUT THE SMALL TOWN=== A mecca for those wanting to visit the natural sites and fauna of the coast in the northern part of Patagonia. Here the early maritime mythologies come alive. The first conquistadors saw unattractive mermaids in the sea, and also believed that their ships were landing on scary sea creatures. In reality, they were spying some very large whales and a land that had not yet been added to their maps. When the tide is very low, the wide beach becomes dotted ...