Puerto Madryn, Argentina (inc. Peninsula Valdes)

In retrospect 31 hours on the road went rather smoothly as we arrived in our new home for the next few days - Puerto Madryn. Although staying in the city, our reason for going there was actually one hour north in the form of Peninsula Valdes.

Our original plan was to stay in Puerto Madryn for one night before transferring to the peninsula's only hostel, from which we would walk/ride/drive/fly around to the various attractions. It seems Sam misjudged the scale of the peninsula as most attractions are approximately 100km apart by gravel road. Car hire was comparitively expensive with an immediate AR1000 charge if returned with a broken windscreen. It wasn't looking good.

Sam went into damage control while we reassessed the situation. After a quick consultation session with the tourist office we found a tour company that ran what we were after from Puerto Madryn. For future reference, we can thoroughly recommend Fugu-Tours. When we met with the owner at their office he took the time to show us photos from the peninsula and believed in what he was selling. The tour guides on the day were friendly yet informative and professional. 10/10.

The next day we set off on the tour. We had a stop at the town for a brief look around before heading out to Caleta Valdes to see penguins and apparently elephant seals that had since vacated. To our suprise we also saw a pod of five Orca's patrolling along the coast. While Orca's are known to be seen in this area at high tide it is more common to see them at Punto Norte, our next destination. For approximately 30 minutes we watched the four adults and one calf move along the coast before heading further north beyond our vantage point. Our tour guide mentioned that on occasions the adults can teach the calf the deliberate beaching/feeding technique we were keen to witness however we had no luck on this front.

With luck going our way we headed up to Punto Norte to the notorious Orca hunting ground. Here we could see four large Sea Lion colonies on the beach as well as a few obese Elephant Seals lounging in their own filth. We were hoping some of these Sea Lions would serve as dinner for an Orca. It wasn't to be unfortunately and we didn't even get a second view of the Orca's let alone see them feed. Disappointing but the chance to see Orca's is relatively small, and to see them feed on Sea Lions off the beach is apparently less than 5%. Our guide told us that when David Attenbrough filmed his documentary footage it was over a 5 year period. That's dedication.

As mentioned we didn't come to Puerto Madryn because it's a particularly 'cool' or 'happening' place, in fact, it's pretty dull. The executive decision was made to fit in one more Patagonia destination before heading back to Buenos Aires for the weekend. With Nick struck down by illness he opted to stay in Puerto Madryn for some R and R while Sam and I would head to Neuquen to the north-west before rendevouzing on Friday. On the way to the bus station to purchase tickets we stopped off at the Puerto Madryn Oceanic Museum which provided a historical account of the maritime town, and most interestingly, a very detailed outline of the Orca's history, hunting techniques etc. The tower of the museum could be accessed and provided a great view of the city. Above each window was a photo of the same outlook at the time of settlement which highlighted the changes that had taken place since.

In short the two and a half days we spent in Puerto Madryn was perfect, mainly because we were lucky enough to see the Orca's on the tour, otherwise I think the experience would have felt a bit unfulfilling. To the south of Puerto Madryn it is possible to go snorkelling with Sea Lions which we didn't do solely because it was AR500 per person, but it would be worth checking out if it's in your budget.