Pushing Pesos: Puerto Madryn, Patagonia

Top Tips for Puerto Madryn

If your in search for whales, bare in mind whale season is only between September and December. Check before you go, we were left dissapointed.
The best thing about this town is the chance to see Sea Lions in the wild and swim with them. It cost a whopping £100.00 pp but I would say its worth every penny.
Visit Punta Tumbo where you can see penquins in the wild. Tours are available but we rented a car which worked out around the same price.
Apart from the wildlife, Puerto Madryn does not have much to offer. See the wildlife and leave, pronto!

In truth it was quite nice to leave the hustle and bustle of BA. We took a bus from the Retiro, BAs bus station. We had a slight complication when it arrived to departure time and we still didnt see the bus, we then asked the woman and we reliased we were at gate 25 rather than 35. Michael had thought the seat number from the gate number. Its all in Spanish so we have to guess half the time. Luckily it was no problem, we got on the bus and we were off. The buses here are the main transport so they are made for long travel, the National Express is not a touch on these bad boys. We booked a semi cama which is like a really big sofa which goes back like a bed, its actually really comfortable. They also serve you food and drinks along the way, so save your money on buying sandwiches as you will be fed. The 20 hours went by suprisingly with not much trouble at all, we were there before you know it.

So here we are at Puerto Madryn, a small seaside town which attracts tourist with its promise of seeing diverse wildlife such as Penquins, Whales and Sea Lions etc. We walked from the main terminal to our hostel, its quite a small place so it only took 5 minutes. Our hostel is called `La Tosca` and we are greeted by the man on reception who looks a bit like Antonio Banderas. To be honest they all look like Antonio around here.

After checking in we dumped our bags and head to the main strip to hire a car. We ended up getting a banged up corsa for $500 pesos for 400km. Its so expensive in Argentina, the Lonely Planet prices are actually tripple what they have qouted. Speaking to the locals it seems that the current precident is responsible for this soaring inflation which has left many traveller flabergasted, everyone we have spoken to have found it so expensive. Its actually as expensive as England price wise, one place was charging $6.00 dollars for a coffee, crazy. It seems that the locals pay a normal cheap price and the foriegners get charged a price quadruple that!

So we drive away with this doggy corsa, my side has a massive crack along the windscreen.The door squeeks when you open it like its about to fall off, but we make do.Michael has to remember to drive on the right side of the road, very strange. We drive to Punta Tumbo which is a nature reserve that has one of Argentinas biggest penquin colony. We drive down a long cobbled track and get there about 2 hours before closing time. The entrance fee is $60.00 pesos each so that like 6 pounds a person which is England prices basically. It is well worth the money though, theres literally penguins everywhere. I have never seen penquins in the wild before, its like being in March of the Penquins, its so cool. There you can see them walking around in that funny toddle they do.We were told not to stop them in their tracks as they can get confused and end up in the wrong nest and the penguins start fighting each other. Its was interesting to see them in their natural habitat, observing their relationships with one another which can be strangely very human.

The next day we went swimming with Sea Lions. This has been without a doubt the best thing we have done in our travels so far. We booked this with a diving company and we were told to get there at 8am. We got into our wet suits and got taken out in the boat with 3 guides. It took about 20 minutes to get to the Sea Lion colony on a speed boat on a very choppy sea. I think I nearly took off when we went over some of the biggest waves. Just like the paragliding we had little to no safety guide, which is great, lets just crack on. Our guide Carlo said two things before we got in, 1) dont hug the sea lions as they will bite you, light petting only, 2) stay close to me. Off we went, now am not a great swimmer so took we a while to adjust and were given flippers which helped. Before you know it we were surrounded by five inquisitve Sea Lions, they were swimming close to you, ducking and diving. I am convinced one even winked at me. Brave old Michael even stroked one and was diving down playing with them. I on the other hand didnt take the chance of touching, I saw one open its mouth and saw two great sharps fangs and though better of it, arrgh! It would have been okay I bet, they were really friendly and playful. They were as curious of us as we were of them. You swim with them for about half an hour but it was long enough and truly spectacular, I would recommend this to anyone. Unfortunately, we were out of season for the whales which is a shame! The diving school showed us videos of the whales that come to Puerto Madryn and it was just amazing!

Apart from the wildlife Puerto Madryn is just a typical seaside town so we got out of there after 3 nights. The plan is to head to Ushuaia which is a 30 hours bus ride, wish us luck!