After a good 30 hours travel from Ushuaia we finally made it to Puerto Madryn, the closes town to the Peninsula Valdés. There we meet again the beach, sun and warm weather which we kind of missed somehow!
We visited the peninsula for one day and it was worth the visit! We left early and dawn to make hate we would have enough time to enjoy the preserved area. After seeing one of the most beautiful sunrise I've seen so far, where the sky offered a beautiful show of evolving colours from light pink to dark red, orange to yellow, and even purple blue and green all within majestic clouds, we entered the national park majestically welcomed by a bunch of guanacos, the first animals before so many more. What a greet! After a whole month in Patagonia spending one day in a warm weather completely immersed in the nature away from tourists and within wildlife was something special and a beautiful feeling of freedom. Une journée en dehors du temps. |
|
Interesting facts about some of the species
The peninsula Valdés is a natural reserve withholding a variety of species should they be costal, maritime or terrestrial. From all be species one can see (about 30) we were luck to see Guanacos, ostriches, turkey vulture, seagulls, cormorants, grey fox, patagonian cavy, elegant crested-tinamou, larger hair armadillo, peregrine falcon, darwin's lizard, magallanic penguin, two-banded collar, southern elephant seal and sea lions. Unfortunately we couldn't sea whales as it was out of season, neither dolphins or orcas as they didn't show up.. :(
Southern elephant seals
The male (5 meters, 4000kg) is bigger than the female which weights 800kg and has a length of 3.5 meters. The calf, which has a dark colour as opposition to the silver colour of the parents, measures 1.3 meters and weighs 30 to 40kg (calves are fed for about 20-25 days during which they gain up to 300% of weight during this period). During the breeding season (middle august) lasting up to 90 days, males don’t eat and can lose up to 12kg per day. Dominant males get great activity since they have to copulate with all the females in the harem (up 130) to avoid males without a harem to reach their females. During the 19th century elephant seals were commercially exploited as fuel for oil lamps and seldom as food. |
Sea lions
Seal lions are called as such due to the appearance of their nose. Only adult males have it and it is a reference that they are sexually mature. Males measure 2.8 meters and weigh 340kg whereas females measure 1.9 meters with a weight of 140kg. The cub weights about 14kg and has a length of 0.84 meters at birth. The harem is constituted of one male and between 4 to 15 females. Harem property fights are regular and offer an aggressive and fearful show. The births (end of December) take between 20 and 30 minutes and can be spotted thanks to the activity of the birds looking for the leftovers of the placenta. |
Orca
Males have a length of 9.5 meters with a weight of 6000kg while females weigh 4000 meters for an 8 meter length and calves 2.5 meters for 200 kg. The gestation period lasts about 15 to 18 month and females give birth to one single offspring in average every 5.3 years. Orcas, being the largest of the dolphins, are considered super predators due to all the species they feed of and due to the fact that they have no natural enemies except for humans. They feed of an immense food supply chain (in the other from the bottom to the top of the supply chain: planktons, are producers, jellyfish and shrimp-like species are primary consumers, fishes secondary consumers, seals tertiary consumers, and orcas super predators), and their diet is based on a variety of species: penguins, fishes, dolphins, sharks, sea lions, seals and whales among others. Orcas hunt each species differently but always with a vicious and well thought plan; and mostly in cooperation. How can they hunt large whales? They do it in coordinated attacks across multiple individuals, where the prey is bitten repeatedly thrust and flaps pectoral and caudal, flanks, back and head, falling finally rendered by blood loss. Well with the same vicious and strategic way they chase any prey: in cooperation and by blocking them in a confined space where they cannot escape. You thoughts orcas were cute and adorable? Well so do I but apparently we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (and prey we don’t attacked by one one day...)!. |
Mara (Patagonian Cavy)
The cuis is a small rodent that lives under the bushes amongst the penguins. Cuis eat leaves and grass. The Mara or Patagonian hare is a rodent only found in Patagonia and differenced from the European hare by the white band around the rump and small ears. The hare is monogamous and raises their young in communal dens. |
Transport: a 30 hour trip from Ushuaia. A triple connexion Ushuaia - Rio Gallegos (11-12h; ARS 700 - 42€), Rio Gallegos - Trelew - Puerto Madryn (17h; ARS 1'701 - 102€).
Accommodation: a useful Couchsurfing a bloc form the main bus station and a free blocks away from the main activities.
F&B: good fish and seafood at the Bistro on the seaside. ARS 195 (about 12€) for a fish dish. For those needing to prepare sandwiches and pic nic Carrefour is close to the main square.
Activities: renting a car was cheaper than paying an agency for a day trip (which costs about ARS 1200-1400 (73-85€) per person). We paid ARS 1'400 (85€) for a car (at an agency called Rent A Car on the Main Street - avenida roca) almost across the info tourism point) and ARS 300 for the gas. The natural reserve charges ARS 330 (20€) per person and an additional ARS 20 (1,20€) for the car.
Accommodation: a useful Couchsurfing a bloc form the main bus station and a free blocks away from the main activities.
F&B: good fish and seafood at the Bistro on the seaside. ARS 195 (about 12€) for a fish dish. For those needing to prepare sandwiches and pic nic Carrefour is close to the main square.
Activities: renting a car was cheaper than paying an agency for a day trip (which costs about ARS 1200-1400 (73-85€) per person). We paid ARS 1'400 (85€) for a car (at an agency called Rent A Car on the Main Street - avenida roca) almost across the info tourism point) and ARS 300 for the gas. The natural reserve charges ARS 330 (20€) per person and an additional ARS 20 (1,20€) for the car.