Backpacking South America

So, we don’t actally have any Welsh roots, but we did spend some time in Trelew and Gaiman, two of the original welsh settlements in Argentina.

Cawsom hwyl!

Puerto Madryn is a quiet little town.  It’s touristy for the wildlife it offers, but there isn’t a whole lot to do there.  There is an ecological museum, which we visited and was very informative and then there’s the beach, which on a beautiful summer day is probably pretty amazing.  It’s a huge beach.  We’ve been told that a lot of Chileans come here in the summer because the water is warmer.  We had one day where it was pretty windy and cold – that was the day we decided to walk to the eco-center (abt. 3 miles, and back) – why?  Puerto Madryn is also pretty famous for the Aluminum Plant located just outside the town, which was installed in 1971.  Prior to the Aluminum Plant there were roughly 6,000 inhabitants in this quiet beach town.  Now, the Aluminum Plant has brought over 80,000 inhabitants and is the leading producing of aluminum and largest factory in Argentina.  (Colin Powell used to be an owner.)   We ended up only staying in Puerto Madryn for 3 days. 

After that it was time to move on.  So, we caught a bus to Trelew, which is one of the little Welsh communities, about an hour from Puerto Madryn.  We stayed for a night in this old hotel, The Touring Club, which has been there for many years and is probably a trademark of the town.  It was always pretty busy in there too.  While there, we visited several museums, primarily they have a pretty decent museum of paleontology.  They have an old Community Center, which is now used for Bingo, but unfortunately it wasn’t open the day we were there.  The night we were there we had an amazing dinner in this Old Mill.  Jared had a steak in a Malbec reduction sauce and Carra took the prize with a steak with a Roquefort sauce and grilled pears. 

We considered going back to Trelew just for dinner there again.  From here, we caught our ride to Punta Tombo to visit the largest colony of penguins anywhere.

We decided we needed to take a break from our vacation and studies to explore a different part of Argentina.  After studying Spanish in Buenos Aires for 4 weeks, our heads felt like they were about to explode.  We decided it was the perfect opportunity to hit the shore and enjoy some wildlife. 

So we headed south (way south) to visit Península Valdés, a hotspot for seeing whales, elephant seals and penguins.  After an 18 hour bus ride, (our first and surprisingly comfortable bus ride), we arrived in Puerto Madryn, which is the closest town to the Peninsula.  The main attractions are the Southern Right Whales, which arrive in September to raise their babies in the waters in and around Península Valdés.   The whales are so close to the shore, that you can see them swimming, jumping and teaching their young how to swim from the shoreline.   It was one of the most amazing experiences. 

On the day we arrived, we took a stroll along the boardwalk and Carra said, “Do you think you can see whales from here?  I think I just saw one spray water.”  To which, Jared replied, “I doubt it, it’s so choppy and the whales are pretty far out.”  “Oh.”

So, we kept walking, it was a perfectly clear, but slightly cool day with a strong wind blowing off the water.  As we were walking, we found this amazing little hotdog stand with an indoor seating area that served super ponchos (which is actually two hot dogs) and fries (which were the best fries we’ve had so far – kind of like McDonald’s – perfectly salted) and soft serve twist ice-cream of vanilla and dulce de leche, of course.  We’ll save a dulce de leche post for another day, but to say the least, it is a national passion.  Regardless, it was a great little restaurant. 

Jared saw a whale.

Mmm...Super Pancho, Fries & 2 Cokes for $3.50.

It's a family trait.

As we were sitting eating our lunch, Jared said, “I think I just saw a whale.  I didn’t think you would be able to see them from the shore.”  Just another time that Jared dismisses what Carra says only to find out she was right…

Our reason for heading to Puerto Madryn and Península Valdés was that at this time of year the mothers bring in their young to teach them how to swim before migrating to the Antarctica.  We enjoyed watching the show from the shore.  It was so neat to see the mama’s tale flip up out of the water, and then you would see this smaller tale come out.  Or you would see a big fin come out, then a tiny little fin.  It was really unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. 

But it didn’t compare to what we saw the next day from Península Valdés– stay tuned for our next post…