After our windy walkabout in the Falkland Islands, we had a very welcome "sea day". The long hike in the wind combined with a little 12-24 hour bug that I caught had taken it's toll. I spent most of the day laying around the cabin. Thankfully, Beth didn't catch whatever I had, and my recovery was quick. When we arrived, we were ready to explore Puerto Madryn.
We had been traveling north since leaving Antartica. It was still cold in the Falklands, but we were greeted in Puerto Madryn with sunny skies and a temperature of around 70 degrees. It felt good to be back in shorts again!
Puerto Madryn is a city of around 100,000 people in the Patagonia region of Argentina. It was founded in 1865 by Welsh immigrants who arrived by boat. In recent years Puerto Madryn has experienced significant growth, thanks mainly to tourism. Tourists come to enjoy the combination of warm temperatures, low humidity, wide beaches, abundant wildlife and friendly people. During our one-day visit we enjoyed much of what the area has to offer and can see why it is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination.
The Oosterdam docked at the main pier, which was conveniently located near the city center. Additionally, there was a long waterfront promenade going in both directions. We opted to turn left as we exited the pier. A young lady in the tourism office gave us a few suggestions and we were soon on our way.
We enjoyed the walk along the promenade stopping at a beachside restaurant for breakfast. It's summer in South America and the beaches were busy with families as well as what seemed like thousands of kids who were attending various summer camps. We continued walk for a total of around 3 miles until we reached the Tehuelche Monument, which honors the indigenous people of eastern Patagonia. There is also a panoramic view of the city of Puerto Madryn from there.
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| Puerto Madryn from the Tehuelche Monument area |
On our way back towards the city center Beth flagged down a cab and that's when the fun really began. The cab driver had grown up in Puerto Madryn. His English was pretty good and his love for the area was off the charts. He took us about 10 miles out of town to Punta Loma where groups of sea lions, including numerous babies were enjoying both the sand and surf. He was a diver and shared with us stories of doing night dives around shipwrecks in the area. He showed us numerous pictures and YouTube videos of close up encounters he and others have had with whales, dolphins and sea lions in the area.
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| Punta Loma has a protected beach for sea lions. |
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| A bull male, watching over numerous females and their young. At certain times of the year there are orca whales in the area. The orca's will sometimes come up on the edge of the beach to try to catch an unsuspecting sea lion. |
Our taxi driver really entertained us when we came back into town and there was an anti-government protest going on. He shared with us that the country (which has struggled economically in recent years) had just elected a new leader. The protesters, which were mainly young people, were protesting that not enough change was happening quick enough. He told us "they're protesting because they had everything handed to them without working for it, and they want it now". He clearly isn't a big fan of the Gen Z crowd, however Beth and I quickly became fans of his, thanks to his knowledge, enthusiasm and entertaining narration. We ended our time with him only after he had taken us to one of his favorite empanada shops, which was located near the city center.
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| Even the lifeguards took part in the protest! |
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| Our friendly taxi driver. Our only regret was that we didn't get his name! |
Puerto Madryn was a great place to spend a day and certainly a place we would enjoy if our travels ever take us back to Argentina's Patagonia region.
