Puerto Madryn is a beautiful city on the East shore of Argentina. It is a popular beach town and whale watching destination in the summer. Unfortunately we were not there during peak wildlife watching season so we didn't have our hopes high to see anything. On our first day we took a stroll down to the pier and lucked out by seeing a bunch of penguins fishing and then a large sea lion chasing a duck. We watched them for awhile and continued down the large pretty beach. It was neat to see the difference in water level between low and high tide. During low tide the beach goes out for half a km but during high tide it is only a couple of meters wide.
After a 22 hr bus ride that went 3 hrs South from El Chalten to El Calafate then another 4 hrs Southeast to Rio Gallegos, then a 4 hour layover and another 17 hr ride North to Puerto Madryn we finally arrived! Courtney wasn't feeling well so we took a couple of days resting and researching the next few months of the trip. With the decent internet and calm atmosphere we got a lot accomplished. Puerto Madryn is a beautiful city on the East shore of Argentina. It is a popular beach town and whale watching destination in the summer. Unfortunately we were not there during peak wildlife watching season so we didn't have our hopes high to see anything. On our first day we took a stroll down to the pier and lucked out by seeing a bunch of penguins fishing and then a large sea lion chasing a duck. We watched them for awhile and continued down the large pretty beach. It was neat to see the difference in water level between low and high tide. During low tide the beach goes out for half a km but during high tide it is only a couple of meters wide. Our second day we headed out in the evening and were accompanied by three street dogs. We were surprised that they were following us as we weren't initially encouraging them. We thought it was humorous because whenever we went inside a store they were there lying at the door step waiting for us. They followed us around for several hours "protecting" us from any other dogs! Our third day the weather was very windy and cloudy so we decided to not rent bikes but to walk along the coast to the Ecocentro (a local museum and cultural heritage center) to view a National Geographic Photo Gallery. The winds were so strong that in some areas we could lean back and let the gusts support our weight! When we rounded the last bend before the centre we saw the same three dogs tear-assing towards us. They were so happy to see us and greeted us with huge smiles. We were happy to be reunited with our little friends once again! The centre was closed for their Siesta so we went for lunch at a restaurant on the beach and ate Menu del Dia which ended with delicious Dulce de Leche crepes YUM!. Of course our friends waited patiently for us until we were finished. The third day in Puerto Madryn Andrew went on a day bike trip with two English guys we had met at the hostel. Courtney stayed at the hostel to rest as she still wasn’t feeling well. Andrew, Joe, and Max rode to El Doradillo (pronounced el door-a-dee-show), a popular place to see whales in high season. The bike ride to El Doradillo was long and dusty but the beach was beautiful. We sat around and had a giant beer each and waited for any marine animals to pass by. We lucked out as a couple of southern right whales swam past us about 200m away from shore but they weren't interested in sticking around or entertaining us with jumps or flips. In fact we were so excited to see them that we didn't bother trying to take pictures. The whales were also far enough away that our pictures would have looked like black blobs floating out at sea. A bit later we noticed that as the tide lowered some cool caves along the point at the far side of the beach were revealed so we head over to do a little exploring. On our last day we decided we’d walked to the beach and play Frisbee. We started heading down the block when we saw our three street friends waiting outside our hostel. They accompanied us to the bus station to buy tickets, then to the beach. It was hilarious as they had no idea how to play fetch let alone frisbee and never once became interested in it. Two of them fell dead asleep as the third ate sea shells while we played. When we left the beach, to get food, the shaggy one stayed sleeping. We felt bad for leaving him behind but he looked like he needed some rest. After 40 minutes or so just when we were wondering if they would find each other again we saw him crossing the road towards us! The two other ladies became really excited that they were all reunited and started rubbing and jumping on one another. After their little reunion party stopped we all continued to the grocery store. They laid down outside the store as they knew they were not welcome inside. When we were finished in the store we were sad to see they had left (probably found other tourists more willing to feed them). We spoiled them with love and affection but did not give them anything to eat the whole three days. We understand street dogs can be a nuisance to locals because they chase cars, can become territorial or dangerous and spread disease; however, we really enjoyed their company! In June we have decided to volunteer at an animal rescue in Mendoza, Argentina. We found the placement on workaway.org. We think it will be a great experience and know we will love working with the animals!
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