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4.00 arrived all to soon.
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In a sleepy haze we travelled to Jorge Newbery Airport which mainly handled Buenos Aires domestic travel and waited for our flight to take us to Trelew.
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During the journey we passed over a flat area of farm land that we assume is the Pampas. The land was divided up on a grid system of around 500m x 500m but each square was further divided in many different ways to create a unique pattern and form a patchwork quilt landscape.
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The flight was a round journey going first to Comodoro Rivadavia some 350km to the south of Trelew and then dropping us off on the return trip north. We were ferried by bus to our hotel at Puerto Madryn, on the way passing through miles and miles of scrub (we have since heard that some call this type of landscape Mamba Country - Miles And Miles of Bugger All!) which our local guide tried to convince us was a bonsai rain forest.
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Since leaving the UK we had spent over 20hrs in an aeroplane and only 12hrs in our beds so we were feeling a little tired, but we needed to get some food so set out to briefly explore the town before returning for a nap.
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At 3.45pm we set off to walk along the promenade to an Ecocentre about 4km away, it was a very bracing walk and we benefited from wearing a light fleece. The centre was most interesting providing information on the Valdés peninsular, the girl who showed us round was great, her knowledge and enthusiasm excellent and her English was very good, we really needed more than the hour we could spare before walking back along the beach which was now uncovered by the low tide, picking up some interesting shells on the way.
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Reach the hotel just in time for the briefing before walking out for our evening meal at a local restaurant.
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Visit to the nature reserve on Valdés peninsular with Hermando as our guide, very knowledgeable but with an unusual sense of humour that takes some getting used to.
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"It is a Wildlife and Nature sanctuary which has been declared a Human Heritage site by UNESCO.
Into its strange landscapes and impressive cliffs we could see a lot of animal species from a short distance: Sea Lions, Southern Sea Elephants, Sea Birds and the typical local Fauna.
From July to December a boat trip to watch Right Whales can be taken. We are sure you will have an unforgettable experience.
A boat trip is also available from December to the end of the season to watch Sea Lion colonies and a lot of sea Birds and if we are lucky, we will possibly see Dolphins too.
Without doubt it will be a long journey but a great experience.
You and nature in contact"
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First stop was at a museum, just after the entrance to the park. The exhibits were fine, its a pity we can't read Spanish.
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Sealions asleep Valdes Peninsula
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Following the coast around to the south we came to a point at which we could look down on a breeding colony of sea lions, males, females and pups. Frequent fights between the males were breaking out as one male attempted to take away a member of the other males harem of up to 50 females. Its a wonder he had the energy to fight back.
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Because it was still low tide, instead of going down to Puerto Pirámides for a boat trip, we by-passed it and headed out to Punta Delgada stopping on the way to observe the wildlife by a salt lake.
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Continuing north we stopped for lunch at a spot where we could sit at the top of a cliff and look down on basking sea lions and elephant seals. Then onto Punta Hercules to walk down to just above a beach where female elephant seals were sunning themselves.
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North again with the lagoon formed by the Caleta Valdés to our right before turning left on the RP52 and heading inland stopping on the way to photograph guanacos and an armadillo.
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Armadillo
Valdes Peninsula
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With time pressing and 139km from Puerto Madryn the driver put his foot down and went as fast as he could along un-metalled dirt roads to arrive back at the hotel in time for a quick clean up before going out for our evening meal.
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Valdes Peninsula - Salt flats 42m below sea level
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A great day out, except for a couple of seascape the views were flat and boring scrub but the wild life more than made up for it with sea lions, elephant seals, rhea, turkey vultures, black oyster-catchers and a number of birds whose names we don't know, guanaco which is the local species of llama, hares, foxes, armadillo, Mara which is a member of the guinea pig family and lizards.
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Another early start, up at 6.30am to be ready on the bus by 8.00am to start our visit to the penguin colony at Punta Tombo over 200km to the south.
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First of all the bus made its way up from sea level at Puerto Madryn to the Patagonia plateau which is around 100m above sea level and over 200km wide before it reaches another step rise. Journeyed down through the now familiar flat scrub to reach Punta Tombo at around 11.00am.
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"This is the largest Meguellanic Penguin colony in the Continent and one of the greatest spectacles of wildlife in the whole world.
More than 700,000 penguins and we will observe them from a short distance from us, walking around their nests. Punta Tombo is also a protected area for Cormorants and a lot of Sea Birds."
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The site is home to about 1/2 million Magellan penguins who return every year with the same mate to nest in the same burrow. The nesting sites are fenced off from visitors but we were able to wander over a large area and the penguins themselves took no notice of the fences so it was possible but not advisable to get up quite close.
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As well as the penguins we were able to watch sea gulls and cormorants diving, a pair of rare flightless steamer ducks, giant petrels, guanaco and even a small fox cub.
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Penguin pool - Punta Tombo
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Left at about 12.30pm and travelled back up the original dirt road that linked Buenos Aires with the south, it was superseded with a more modern road in 1945. Stopped off at Gaiman, a town founded by Welsh immigrants in the middle of the 19th century and which still holds an annual Eisteddfod.
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