Day 42 – Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Today we arrived in Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina. We disembarked at 8.30 and jumped straight on a coach which took us directly to the north east point of the Peninsula Valdes, Punta Norte, a rather long and uncomfortable drive over dirt roads once we had left town. After shuddering and bumping along for 2 hours, we finally arrived at the Punta Norte sea lion colony and oh my goodness, it was so worth it! We saw dozens, if not hundreds of sea lions all along the Atlantic shoreline with their babies. We watched as the adults played in the surf whilst the young ones and other adults called to each other, shuffled about jostling for position, or simply slept in the sun. Although we were not allowed close to them, for their protection, we could see them perfectly well through our binoculars from the viewing platform which runs for a very generous couple of hundred yards. And whilst the temperature has dropped significantly since Buenos Aires, it warmed to a very pleasant low twenties and the sun shone all day.

After this we were transported to Estancia San Lorenzo penguin colony. This is the biggest colony of Magellanic penguins in the world. The penguins arrive for breeding every September and remain until April, with peak numbers reaching an estimated 500,000. The penguins started nesting at Punta Norte 50 years ago and their numbers grow exponentially each year. In 1977 there were 93 pairs, and this year there were a quarter of a million. The males build a rough nest by burrowing under the ground, and then the ladies come along and select the nest they like best while the men stand hopefully by! The female will lay two eggs and the parents will endeavour to raise both chicks and often botch will survive. The parents take turns sitting on the eggs which hatch at 40 days and they also take turns fishing in order to feed the young every day. They are delightful little characters and you find yourself convinced you know what they are thinking! Luckily there were still lots of youngsters for us to croon over, although most are near fledging.

After this we went for lunch at The Estancia San Lorenzo, in their sheep shearing shed, before the bumpy ride home, arriving back at the ship at 5.00 pm after a long but utterly unforgettable day. ☺️🐧🦭