Puerto Madryn and Rio Gallegos

Puerto Madryn

Day 1

After an exhausting bus ride of nearly 24 hours long (!) Angelo and I arrived in Puerto Madryn. When we got on the bus at 10:15 we received a small lunch package. A sandwich with ham and cheese, and some fruit drink. Luckily we brought some food of our own, as the next stop for food (dinner) was at midnight. They dropped us at a truck stop where we were served some pasta. Luckily we were able to get some sleep after dinner and arrived in Puerto Madryn with a two hour delay.

Puerto Madryn is a town with multiple faces. It is the main entry point for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Peninsula Valdés, including the protected gulf where the town is. Where one can see a wide variety of wildlife: penguins, sea lions, elephant seals, orcas (killer whales), and whales. It is also home the largest and only aluminum plant in Argentina.

It was a 15 minute walk from the bus terminal to our hostel: Hi! Patagonia Puerto Madryn. The hostel is just one block from the beach. We were received in the ‘reception’ area of the hostel. The hostel has a very homely feel to it. Our host during our stay was Gaston. The most friendly host one can imagine or ask for. Gaston told us about all the places we could visit in and near Puerto Madryn, the excursions we could book, and the best restaurants around town. After we got to our rooms, Angelo and I went to get some lunch (actually our breakfast) and explore the town. A 30 minute walk south along the beach brought us to Punta Cuevas. A site where the indigenous people used to live in cave homes near the ocean. Unfortunately the museum closed shop some years ago.

To save costs and stay within budget we decided to start cooking for ourselves. The kitchen facilities in the hostel were plenty. The amazing thing about cooking in the hostel was how easily you make social contacts. On the first day of our stay we met many nice people.

Day 2

The next morning we had to get up early to prepare for our day trip to the Peninsula Valdés. Together with the German couple we met the day before, we were picked up by our tour guide in a small Ford Fiesta at 8:00 AM. The Peninsula Valdés park entrance is about 100km north of Puerto Madryn. Our first stop on the peninsula was at the visitor center. A few rooms highlighted the flora and fauna that can be found on and around the peninsula. They even had a whale skeleton in one of the rooms. The stop at the visitor center was only brief. Not long after we left, the paved roads ended and we continued on gravel roads.

Another 100km drive took us to the small Magellanic penguin colony on the east side of the peninsula. The penguins have found shelter from the Atlantic Ocean due to the location of the caleta (stretch of water that gets filled by high tides and ’empties’ by low tides). During our visit there were even a few young penguins left, who still had to chance their feathers. The difference in movement speed of the penguins on land and sea is amazing. When in the water they look like torpedoes going really fast.

Around the caleta we visited a viewpoint for elephant seals. Unfortunately they were really far away. However, they lay next the the waterway that connects the caleta to the Atlantic Ocean. With the current tides we did see huge amounts of water flowing into the caleta. A bit further along the road, we got out to do a 30 minute hike to the viewpoint of the caleta. Whilst walking we bumped into an armadillo also.

From the caleta we traveled 50km north over badly maintained gravel roads. What a bumpy ride that was! It took about an hour to get to Punta Norte. On the beach we found a big sea lion colony, with plenty young sea lions. The Peninsula Valdés has an unique orca (killer whale) family that uses the surrounding waters as their hunting ground. When the young sea lions get into the water for the first time, the orcas beach themselves to hunt for the young sea lions. Unfortunately for Angelo and I we did not spot any orcas during our visit to the peninsula and Puerto Madryn.

With Punta Norte being our last stop, the tour guide took us back to the hostel. Because the road conditions were pretty good that day (and our guide drove 100km/h on gravel and 140km/h on the highway), we arrived at the hostel in less than 2 hours. We relaxed a bit that afternoon, and did some grocery shopping for dinner. We cooked for ourselves again in the hostel kitchen. We shared the dinner table once more with the people we met the day before in the hostel.

Day 3

After a long day trip yesterday, we decided to put some time aside to plan and book the next few hostels. We heard from quite a few travelers that finding accommodation in Ushuaia was going to be troublesome. And how right they were. After spending all morning looking for an available hostel, we ended up with just one possibility. We quickly booked it to be sure of our visit. With the long bus ride ahead we got to make a stop in Rio Gallegos also. Because Rio Gallegos is no tourist destination we found only a twin bed room in a hosteria in town. It was quite the coincidence that we crossed paths with the girl we met on the plane from Amsterdam here in Puerto Madryn. It was great to hear her travel experiences of the past few weeks.

Now we have the accommodations booked for the week ahead we got to the bus terminal to buy tickets. We thought we could find the bus terminal easily again, but how wrong we were. We spend half an hour longer walking before we finally found the terminal. Luckily for us we knew which tickets we wanted to buy. We bought two tickets to Rio Gallegos with semi cama service. The cama service (fully reclining and spacious seats) were all taken. On our way back to the hostel we stopped at a panadería (bakery) to get two pieces of cake for lunch.

In the afternoon we rented two bikes from the hostel. Our destination: Punta Loma, a 15km south of Puerto Madryn. We cycled past Punta Cuevas and followed the road. It was quite windy that afternoon. On our way we found a couple of sand dunes with a great panoramic overview of the city. Angelo walked to the top of one of the dunes for a photo opportunity, but he got almost blown off by the hard wind. We continued our way and found a pebble beach a couple of kilometers further: Playa Naraná. Just off the beach there was a stranded ship, visible just above the water surface due to the tides. It was quite a popular fishing destination for the locals. The wind picked up after reaching the beach, thus we decided to go back to the hostel instead of cycling further.

That evening we organized our own asado (barbecue), as was suggested the day before at dinner. We got two bottles of red wine (Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon), vegetables, and 600 grams of amazing meat. The meat came from the butcher’s shop just across the street. The butcher owns his own herd of cows just 100km from the city. At the time we returned to the hostel, our host Gaston had already prepared the fire. Together with three Dutchmen, two Belgians, two Germans, and two Englishmen we enjoyed an amazing barbecue. The small get together is a new highlight of our trip through South America. The people you meet are a big part of your travel experiences.

Day 4

The last full day we stayed in Puerto Madryn. We enjoyed the breakfast and relaxed some in the morning. You don’t get any free time in the evenings, as dinner usually is not before 21:00. The time off allowed us to write for our blogs and in our travel journals. And get in touch with our families at home. At noon we got invited to join a bike trip to a beach that afternoon. For lunch we went to the panadería again to get some more cakes for lunch. This time I went for one with chocolate and dulce de leche (caramel and milk spread).

Together with a Dutch girl, English girl and French guy we got on the bicycles and headed north of town. We passed the aluminum plant, and had to cycle a short while on the highway. In Patagonia the highways are just two lanes, and often the only road that is paved outside of towns and cities. We got off the highway fairly quickly and ended up on a gravel road alongside the coast. It took half an hour on the bumpy road to get to our destination: a secluded pebble beach, hidden between cliffs. Unfortunately we were not the only visitors. An Argentine couple arrived shortly before us and set up their fishing equipment. We did a short swim in the Atlantic Ocean, and relaxed and chatted for the better part of the afternoon. Just around the corner of one of the cliffs we found a small seagoing bird colony.

Eventually it got cold due to the winds coming from the ocean. We cycled back to the hostel, taking a different road following the coastline this time. We ended up in what looked like a local garbage dump. A huge mess, including dead animals (mostly dogs) just laying around. We quickly got back to the main road… Back at the hostel we took a shower and got dressed to get something to eat with the group. We went to the fish restaurant recommended by Gaston. The restaurant is located just across the (fishing) harbor of Puerto Madryn. We got some nice pieces of fish to enjoy. The freshness made the fish delicious!

Day 5

Today was the day we had to leave Puerto Madryn. The bus would leave at 6 PM. Hence, we had a full day left in Puerto Madryn. All the people we met the past few days had either already left the hostel, or left the hostel on this day. We end up being the last ones left from the group of people we met. The hostel is almost deserted. To kill some time we get a 1/4 liter bucket of ice cream each, and go on one last walk on the beach. Once at the bus terminal we learn that our bus is delayed by a lot. In the end the bus leaves at 8 PM, two hours later than planned! This is just one of the things you have to deal with when traveling by bus through South America.

Rio Gallegos

After a bus ride of more or less 18 hours, and of course the two hour delay of yesterday, we finally arrive in Rio Gallegos. This was the worst bus ride we had so far. Not only were the semi-cama seats too small for us, we were also seated in front of a family with young children. The children were stuck in the bus for way too long, and had to get all their energy out in a rather annoying way. Once we were at the bus terminal we took a taxi cab to get to the hosteria, where we shared a twin bed room for one night.

The city of Rio Gallegos has nothing to offer to tourists. It is, however, an important travel hub for south Patagonia. Due to the bus schedules we were forced to stay one night here. The city is the capital of the Santa Cruz province in Argentina. It is an important harbor and army base, but that is all. We relaxed a bit and got some waffles and pizza to kill the time. Gone to bed early, the bus to Ushuaia leaves at 9 in the morning…