Chubut, stunning wild life reservoir

Puerto Madryn, Chubut (45,000 habs) is one of the most progressive cities in Patagonia. From here, it is possible to visit Valdes Peninsula and its awesome array of natural life. Sea lion sanctuaries at Puerto Piramides and elephant seals sanctuaries at Caleta Valdes combine well with the old lighthouse recycled into a Hotel in Punta Delgado. About 100 km from Pto.Madryn stands Punta Tombo crowded with penguins looking for their squads. (September through April being the best season to visit). For penguins the season is as follow: 1) arrival at reservoir in August, 2) October, laying eggs. 3) November, giving birth. 4) end of March move north to warmer waters. Best season to see sea elephants: October and for sea lions usually January/ February.

The Peninsula is "wrapped" around two gulfs, Golfo San Jose and Golfo Nuevo. It has about 360,000 hectares of pure raw marine mammals. Right at the entrance to the peninsula, visitors are encourage to stop at the "Centro interpretacion Ameghino y Museo Regional Fuerte San Jose where there are records of past decimation of the fauna (1958) including pictures of Puerto Piramide from 1920, at its glory. In the peninsula itself there are only 450 habitants who take care of tourists as well as manage about 150,000 sheep.

A lot has been said about the almost extinct southern right whale but many tourists come here to watch Orcas. They reside in these waters all year round looking to feed from baby sea lions. They can be spotted from the beaches, usually a dark fin coming out of the water in suspicious motion, the sign of a predator. They never swim alone and most likely before an attack they group together as much as 8 orcas at a time. Males may be as long as 10 mts and weight about 6 to 7 tons whereas the females are a bit smaller. It is very common to see them at Punta Norte hovering the area around APRIL, where they will wait just offshore for a *sloppy* sea lion. Punta Norte is also home for the LOBERIA where males settle disputes in bloody battles.

It's been said that inner peace exists independently from where we are, however, places like Puerto Piramide can deeply tune us into the harmony of nature. With only 300 habitants Puerto Piramides offers all the basic services needed and many more. It is a mandatory stop for those interested in whale watching as catamarans and special boats depart from here. The tours last about 1 hour and they are guided by experts in the subject. Puerto Piramide is in the southern part of the peninsula very close to the Loberia. There are numerous flyers with scientific information provided by the CENPAT on the spot. Only a few kms away visitors can also see sea lions from December to March (best season). These group of marine mammals bears a close connection to the ones in Viedma.

From May to December hundreds of whales can be watched procreating. Authorized boats can get very close to them. Boat companies licensed by the government (only 6) have proven to be quite responsible not to upset the natural habitat of the whales. During summer, dolphins can also be spotted. The "Ballena Austral" or southern right whale has been declared a natural monument by Federal Law. The biggest species are almost 25 mts in length weighing as much as 80 to 140 tons. There was a time when 100,000 whales populated these waters. Human slaughtering reduced that figure to only 4,000 today. The first whales usually show up in May peaking about September / October. To this date noone has been able to see an actual birth taking place.

Punta Tombo, also called 'pinguinera' is located in mainland south of Trelew / Rawson. This is a protected area by federal law since 1979. The pinguinera itself consists of a rock formation that extends for almost 3 km into the ocean and is about 600 mts wide. There are nests everywhere and it was here that the crew from Magellan voyages spotted penguins for the first time. Visitors can walk and mingle with penguins which will act as if nothing is going on. They can eat twice their weight in a day.