Magellanic penguins
We stopped at Puerto Piramides to book ourselves a room before they all disappeared. We were in luck at the second hotel (Paradise Hotel) which was twice the price of the room the previous night but extremely modern, large and comfortable. The staff weren't as friendly or helpful though. After lunch we set off down dazzlingly white stoned roads to the various locations around the perimeter where we hoped to see wildlife. The surface was dry, dusty and the landscape extremely flat and apparently barren looking until you stopped the car and (when the dust cloud cleared) noticed small flowering bushes, grasses and cactus. Rhea pecked at bushes nearby, Guanaco (Llama like deer) pranced across the road, armadillos trotted between bushes, vultures circled overhead and lizards scuttled…..in between, the landscape stretched to the horizon beneath a huge sky. When the roads imperceptibly climbed we would catch the occasional glimpse of distant glistening salt flats, one of them 42m below sea level with a line of strolling Guanaco slashing a dark line across the centre . After 1 ½ hours we reached the coast and stopped to view elephant seals doing absolutely nothing .....if they could possibly help it. The activity peaked with a flipper twitch and disgruntled snort at a neighbour that accidentally lolled too close. They were molting and conserving their energy before returning to the sea to gorge on squid…the males and pups were already out there. We had a walk further up the coast and had our first glimpse of distant megellanic penguins and closer views of giant red spider wasps which, apparently, kill Patagonia’s largest spider, drag it into an underground chamber and lay eggs in it! We moved on and stopped at a penguin viewing point. With binoculars in hand, we headed to the fenced off cliff edge and, looking down to the beach below, discovered that the penguins were actually just 2’ away from our feet, stretching, preening and sunbathing. The chicks were still there as well, begging for food and generally bothering their weary parents who just wanted to be alone. All the penguins totally ignored us and went about their business, meeting friends, awkwardly walking up the steep cliff and standing, eyes closed, facing to the sun. We eventually dragged ourselves away and headed up to Punta Norte where we hoped to get a view of some sea lions. It was 6.30pm and there was just one other car in the car park when we arrived. The view from the low cliff onto the beach below was an incredible wildlife spectacle. Females giving birth to pups, males posturing and pestering the females (not worried about crushing any skinny black pup in the process) and young pups feeding or trying to escape the huge lumbering males! Albatross and gulls crowded the beach as soon as a pup had been born and fight over the bloody remains, faces and chests red with blood. The noises and smells were overwhelming….the pups bleated like lambs, the males growled and the females made noises like…sealions! The sun was going down and both the temperature and light was warm. We didn’t want to leave. On a notice board, at the rangers office, there was a daily count which indicated 350 pups (4 were born whilst we were there) and 300+ females. We enjoyed a coffee in an empty timber café and, whilst staring out of the window, watched a hairy Armadillo trot nonchalantly past. We eventually dragged ourselves away as there was long drive back on loose gravel roads into a setting sun. We enjoyed a really quiet drive with a lot more animals out close to the roadside. Back in the hotel we downloaded all our photos and looked back at the close up views of sea lions I managed to take through the eyepiece of some fixed binoculars for public use.
Tight squeeze
View through scope
The buses don't slow down!
Valdes Penisula
View from the visitors centre.
Sssshhhhh!
