Leaving Christmas Night for Buenos Aires, Argentina
Our trip to South America Patagonia began on Christmas night, Sunday, December 25, 2011, leaving 10:02pm on United flight #847 from Washington Dulles Airport to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport, landing at 10:40am on Monday, December 26th.
After clearing Immigration and Customs we traveled by taxi to the Marriott Plaza Hotel in downtown Buenos Aires for one night. We were able to walk around the shops on Florida Avenue for a few hours in the early afternoon before retiring.
See the map of South America - Courtsey of the Central Intelligence Agency. Highlighted in light red are Buenos Aires and the areas of Patagonia in Argentina and Chile that we visited which will be discussed in the trip report below.
Buenos Aires, Argentina to Patagonia
On Tuesday morning, December 27, we left Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport on Aerolineas Argentinas flight #1892 at 8:35am (left an hour late) and flew to El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina arriving around 11:45am. We gathered our luggage, picked up our Avis rental car and began the drive from El Calafate on National Route 40 and Provincial Route 5 to Rio Gallegos to catch National Route 3 northward to Penninsula Valdes in Chubut Province, Argentina. Passing through Guer Aike, Argentina placed us the southern most we have been on planet earth to date, at Latitude 51°38' 60" South. We drove around 12 hours that afternoon and evening, finally checking into Hotel Robert in Caleta Olivia around 1:00am in the morning. After sleeping for about 4 hours we drove the rest of the way on Wednesday, December 28 to Puerto Piramide on Peninsula Valdes arriving around 4pm. We had our first taste of gasoline shortages and lines while filling up in the Trelew area. We had to wait about 45 minutes to fill up the gas tank. It seems some of the YPF refinery workers were striking and causing shortages of gasoline through various areas of Argentina.
Our trip was broken up into three general areas, with the first area being Peninsula Valdes, Punta Loma and Punta Tombo, Argentina on the Atlantic coast.
See the map of Chubut Province Argentina - Courtsey of Mapa Proyeccion Conforme de Gauss, Copyright Instituto Geografico Militar. Highlighted in light red are the three areas we visited - Peninsula Valdes, Punta Loma and Punta Tombo.
Peninsula Valdes - Southern Sea Lions
We spent the next three nights in the Del Nomade Hosteria Ecologica in Puerto Piramide. After we arrived on Wednesday, December 28, we explored the town and visited the Southern Sea Lions at Punta Piramide, just a few kilometers outside of town. Here is a photograph of Southern Sea Lions at Punta Piramide.
Punta Cero - Magellanic Penguins
The next two days we explored Peninsula Valdes. On Thursday, December 29th we drove north on Route 3, then east on Route 52 to visit the Magellanic Penguin colony at Punta Cero. The Penguins at Punta Cero were great to watch and the weather remained partly cloudy so photography was good. Then we headed north on Route 45 to Punta Norte to visit the Southern Sea Lion colony. The sun had come out in full force and the made the photography a real challenge. Later in the day we returned back to Puerto Piramide via Route 3. Here is a Magellanic Penguin photograph from Punta Cero.
Punta Cero - Magellanic Penguins
On Friday, December 30th, we drove north on Route 3, then east on Route 52 to again visit the Magellanic Penguin colony at Punta Cero, then headed south on Route 46 stopping at Punta Cantor for a few remaining young Southern Elephant Seals hanging around the Caleta Valdes. Then we continued south on Route 47 to Punta Delgada and followed Route 2 past the Salina Chica and Salinas Grandes dry salt lakes, returning back to Puerto Piramide. Here is a Magellanic Penguin photograph from Punta Cero.
Punta Tombo - Magellanic Penguins
On Saturday, December 31st we left Puerto Piramide and visited Punta Tombo. To be able to walk thru a rookery of over 500,000 Magellanic Penguins was a very powerful experience. It was only a question of where to aim the camera, and there was a steady stream of Penguins coming from and going to the ocean feeding their chicks. We stayed the night in Trelew at the Hotel Libertador. Here is a Magellanic Penguin with a Chick photograph from Punta Tombo.
Punta Tombo - Magellanic Penguins
Here another photograph from Punta Tombo, showing the masses of Magellanic Penguins entering and leaving the ocean to forage for food for their chicks.
Punta Loma - Southern Sea Lions
On Sunday, January 1, 2012 we visited Punta Loma and Puerto Madryn. Punta Loma looks down on a large Southern Sea Lion colony where we observed a number of Bulls trying to control their harems. We were able to photograph several Bull fights. Puerto Madryn was out of gasoline, however we were able to fill up near Trelew. We stayed the night again in Trelew at the Hotel Libertador. Here is a photograph of two Southern Sea Lion Bulls fighting for harems.
Driving to El Chalten & Los Glaciares National Park
On Monday, January 2nd we began our drive back to El Calafate driving to Rio Gallegos that night and staying in the Costa Rio Hotel. On Tuesday, January 3rd we headed to El Chalten to begin the second part of our trip which included both El Chalten and El Calafate, Argentina in the Mountains. We stayed the next three nights in the El Chalten Los Cerros Hotel in Los Glaciares National Park.
See the map of Santa Cruz Province Argentina, courtesy of Mapa Proyeccion Conforme de Gauss, Copyright Instituto Geografico Militar. Highlighted in light red are the areas we visited - El Chalten, El Calafate, Los Glaciares National Park and Perito Moreno Glacier.
Cascada del Salto
In the afternoon, after arriving at El Chalten, we hiked to Cascada del Salto, a beautiful water fall just a few miles from town, as shown in the photograph.
Lago Capri Hike
On Wednesday, January 4th we hiked the Lago Capri trail up into Los Glaciares National Park. Here is a photograph of Mt Fitz Roy taken from the shores of Lago Capri. Although Mt Fitz Roy did not totally clear, we were able to get multiple photographs of the clearing summit.
Lago Capri Hike
Here is another photograph of Mt Fitz Roy from the shores of Lago Capri.