PUERTO MADRYN!!!

This weekend was a long weekend in Argentina (Columbus Day) so I had a 4-day weekend (I don’t have classes on Fridays). I went to Puerto Madryn, Patagonia with Michelle and Becca. It was an amazing trip that got off to a rock start.

Thursday:
Our bus was set to leave at 7:30 pm. It was pouring rain all day in the city so there was SO much traffic. We were all running late because of the traffic, and we ended up missing the bus by like 3 minutes. These busses are the ONE and ONLY thing that leaves on time in this country.

One of the bus conductors told us to take a cab to another terminal, and we could catch our bus there. So we ran to catch a cab, in the pouring rain, and told him to GO! We said we’d pa more to get us there quickly… this was a dangerous request considering how scary cab drivers can be in the city… not this guy. We somehow got the slowest, most un-agressive driver in the city. We realized we weren’t going to make the 2nd bus so we went to Becca’s house cause it was only 2 blocks away (we hadn’t even made it ½ way through the city) Her host mom helped us call like every bus line to find another bus that night… there wasn’t one… we’d have to leave the next day. So we got dressed up to go out and started drinking. We went to my house for a minute and told my host parents what happened, and my host dad said (in Spanish) “sit down, relax, I’ll make you girls a drink…” That was the beginning and continuation of our night…

Friday:
We woke up early and found a new bus to take. We ran a few errands in the morning, and then got on the bus at 1:00… starting our 18-hour bus ride. It was pretty uneventful, except for our chips and salsa (that we found somewhere in the city ☺) and our powdered coffee. (Pictures below)

Saturday:
Our bus got in at like 7:15 and we got to the hostel at 7:30. We found out that the tour we wanted to go on left at 8. So we got ready really quick and ate breakfast. It was a guided tour with all the transportation included. We started with a boat ride to watch the dolphins (we saw sea lions too!) which was so cool cause there were dolphins everywhere, jumping and swimming and playing.

After that we had a 1½-hour ride to Punta Tombo where we saw the penguins. They were EVERYWHERE! They have their nests in little holes in the ground and under bushes… everywhere. We were just walking on a path, and they were all around us. I was like a foot away from them! We ended our tour going to a Welsh town and having high tea. This was the same teahouse Princess Diana went to. We had good tea, lots of little cakes and torts and finger sandwiches.

Our tour dropped us off in town, Puerto Madryn, after a 2-hour ride, and we went and watched the fútbol game with a group of four European girls. We went out to dinner together, then went to bed cause we had to be up early the next day.

Sunday:
I woke up at 6:30 and went for a run along the ocean. It was amazing, and reminded me how much I LOVE the water (and how much I miss Costa Rica). Our tour for the day left at 8 again. We started our trip to Peninsula Valdés, and on the way, our tour driver got a call that there were whales just off the shore, so we went and saw them. There were a few packs (is that what you call groups of whales??) with moms and babies. SO cool. We drove a little more and our guide got a call that there was one literally on shore. We stopped and took pictures.
Our next stop was elephant seals and their babies, on the beach. They were moving around and making noises, and throwing pebbles on themselves. They were really cute, but apparently they’re really aggressive, so we couldn’t get close to them like the penguins. We went on a whale watching boat tour later that day and it was awesome. There were whales everywhere.

That was the end of the tour for the day, but when we got back into town, the girls and I walked along the water, enjoying being out of the city. We bought calamari from a little stand on the sidewalk, and sat on the boardwalk with a bottle of wine, and enjoyed the best calamari EVER.

We had a good seafood dinner that night with Patagonian wine, then went to bed early-ish again for an even earlier morning.

Monday:
We got up early to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. It was so beautiful. I’ve never seen the sun rise over water before, just the sunset. Later we walked around town buying souvenirs and chocolate, and then enjoyed our last meal on the ocean (for this trip at least). Calamari, pizza and beer. Good stuff! We got on the bus (on time this time…) and began our 18-hour ride home. Awesome weekend... back (again) to the madness of the city.