Ok, I just uploaded a load of new photos. There's a bunch from the last couple of places we stayed - Sierra de la Ventana, Puerto Madryn and Peninsula Valdes. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gibboniser should do the trick...
So anyway, after my bragging last time about having not seen any clouds for ages, you'll be relieved to hear that the very next day it pissed it down in righteous fashion. The downpour was accompanied by some of the most impressive lighteninig I've ever seen too. Thankfully, we were all packed up and on the bus to our next destination, Puerto Madryn, from where I write now.
Puerto Madryn (which, for some inexplicable reason takes me 4 or 5 attempts to type every time) is a reasonably pretty town some 1400km from Buenos Aires. We've been staying in the ACA campsite around half an hour's walk from the centre. The campsite has been... um... well, the best word for it is noisy. But hell, it's ok - I can't really complain given I'm on a 4-5 month holiday :P
We've managed to do more here than in our last stop at Sierra de la Ventana, due to the fact that the temperature is much more agreeable, being in the mid-20s. Well, I say we've managed to do more... in fact, all that we've done (other than a trip to Peninsula Valdes yesterday) is eat ice cream. If there's one thing that the Argentines know how to do well (other than beef - about which I know nothing what-so-ever) it's ice cream, and we've been eating loads of it. Somehow I've not got any photos yet, but when you see 'em, you'll know what I mean.
So yeah, Peninsula Valdes - our one excursion from the Puerto Madryn. I'm not gonna say too much (mostly 'cos I've been on the computer too long sorting out photos, hence I need a break) but this place was great. If we'd been here a couple of months earlier, we'd have stood a very good chance of seeing southern right whales - they breed in the gulfs to the north and south of the peninsula. But we didn't. Nor did we see orcas, which also inhabit the waters round here. Not quite on the same scale, but we did see penguins, sea lions, elephant seals and rheas, all of which were pretty damn cool. Penguins, in particular, I've wanted to see in the wild since I was a wee lad :D
Oh, no tea nor cake yet, but our next destination surely must deliver on this front - Gaiman, a small welsh settlement in the Chubut valley.
I've also failed to mention the delight I experience daily regarding the quality of the mullets here - they are everywhere!
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Friday 23 January 2009
Sierra de la Ventana
I was just wondering when the last time I actually saw a cloud was... Having left the UK a week ago today, my holiday-addled brain figured it must have been as I flew out of Heathrow. Then I remembered it pissed it down the first day I was in Buenos Aires. Still, it's nearly a week since then - not bad going if you ask me.
We've been in Sierra de la Ventana for 2 days. It's a small place - the guide books say the population is about 2000. Quite a change from the 10 million inhabitants of the city we left 2 days ago. The activities here are all physical. The Sierra is made up of a number of smallish mountains of around 1000m. I seem to remember reading they're the oldest in the country, but I might be imagining that. Either way, they provide a pretty backdrop when you're sat supping a cold Quilmes in the bar. Yep - that's as much as we've managed to do. The high temperatures (in the 30s at the moment) and inconveniently-timed buses mean getting out to the mountains ain't gonna happen. Still, it's been a nice opportunity to relax a bit. Even bumming around in this weather can be surprisingly tiring!
So tomorrow we're moving on again - taking the overnight bus to Puerto Madryn. This area promises to keep us pretty occupied for quite a few days - the nearby national park (Peninsula Valdes) has loads of interesting wildlife to see, although we've missed the season for whales, apparently. We'll also head to Trelew, which has a great dinosaur museum and lots of local Welsh-based history. Tea and cake is, I hope, well and truly on the cards.
Oh yeah, there's some photos online now too... lemme find the url. It's just some from Buenos Aires, none from round here yet. Oh, here it is: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gibboniser/FirstFewDaysInBuenosAires
Adios for now, prolly be some more in the next week or so!
We've been in Sierra de la Ventana for 2 days. It's a small place - the guide books say the population is about 2000. Quite a change from the 10 million inhabitants of the city we left 2 days ago. The activities here are all physical. The Sierra is made up of a number of smallish mountains of around 1000m. I seem to remember reading they're the oldest in the country, but I might be imagining that. Either way, they provide a pretty backdrop when you're sat supping a cold Quilmes in the bar. Yep - that's as much as we've managed to do. The high temperatures (in the 30s at the moment) and inconveniently-timed buses mean getting out to the mountains ain't gonna happen. Still, it's been a nice opportunity to relax a bit. Even bumming around in this weather can be surprisingly tiring!
So tomorrow we're moving on again - taking the overnight bus to Puerto Madryn. This area promises to keep us pretty occupied for quite a few days - the nearby national park (Peninsula Valdes) has loads of interesting wildlife to see, although we've missed the season for whales, apparently. We'll also head to Trelew, which has a great dinosaur museum and lots of local Welsh-based history. Tea and cake is, I hope, well and truly on the cards.
Oh yeah, there's some photos online now too... lemme find the url. It's just some from Buenos Aires, none from round here yet. Oh, here it is: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gibboniser/FirstFewDaysInBuenosAires
Adios for now, prolly be some more in the next week or so!
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