Entry #7:

20th January 2009

After several long days of travel, we are unexpectedly staying on Route 3 at a new motel on a service area, miles from the nearest habitation. We were to have visited the Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados (petrified tree fossils) but circumstances prevented this and so we are a little further tonight and rather earlier stopping than we had anticipated.

River demonstrates the Patagonian wind strength

However to pick up the story from where the last entry was written I will go back to Puerto Madryn and the excursion to Peninsula Valdes. We were picked up from the hotel and joined four Argentinians on a bus tour. This went to the northernmost point and down the seaward side of the peninsula. At the first stop after more than 50 Kms were a colony of sea lions.

Males, females and pups on the beach

We moved on to see a colony of elephant seals, fewer in number and sleepy in the hot noon sun.

Elephant seals basking on Peninsula Valdes

Several other places were visited and we ended up in the impressive interpretation centre

Flowers in the dunes of Peninsula Valdes

Johny not paying attention to the Peninsula Valdes map!

The tour was a great success and we certainly enjoyed the impressive wildlife.

Male sea lion Peninsula Valdes

Cormorants Peninsula Valdes

The following morning we made a fairly leisurely start and drove to the “welsh villages” around Trelew. They proved to be a little less like we had imagined and a rather more modern and industrial. We did get a very nice tea in Gaiman and managed to do justice to a mountain of cakes and sandwiches and lashings of very good tea.

River explains our journey to some people of Dolovan, where we had stopped for coffee and to view a flour mill. This is a not untypical scene at most places we stop.

Is that teapot very close or is Stan very small?

Our campsite for the night was fairly close and on arrival proved to be a very welcoming one. The campsite owner who is Italian by descent, offered to produce hand made pasta, sauce and chicken for us, which was extremely good.

On the following day we visited the largest continental Magellan penguin rookery, at Punto Tombo, which was stunning. We saw there Mayas, a hare like creature, Guanaco like a lama and of course Magellan penguins

An adult male and female chick, the adult is braying prior to regurgitating food for the chick. The male can travel up to 600kms away to bring back food.

P-p-pick up a penguin, Mr Leek

Basking

The penguins nest up to a mile from the shore in burrows under bushes

Diana and River in the colony

A guanaco

The last 22Kms of the road into Punto Tumbo was ripio or unmet led and in places caused slow progress. We retraced our steps the 22Kms and turned onto the road (ripio) towards our destination for the day Camarones about 120Kms away, all of it loose gravel and in places rock. We had many miles to cover when a misfire, which all the cars had been suffering, probably due to poor or dirty fuel, became serious enough to investigate on “Rusty”. Two hours later after a decoke and adjustment of points we were able to resume, albeit now about 17.00 and still nearly 80 miles over stony tracks to complete.

Rusty gets its bits felt in deepest Patagonia

Expert opinion was always on hand

At least the problem had been resolved and nothing serious was going to hold us up. The repair had been carried out in a hostile environment, without water or shelter and had been successful in its conclusion.

A few miles further on we passed the latitude of the midway point between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia and stopped for a commemorative photo four abreast on the track.

Ripio tracks to Camarones

We arrived finally at Camarones after 20.30 and pitched camp in the falling light. Fortunately food was available on the site and after a supper “White Atlantic Salmon” for which the town is the centre of production we crashed out to the sound of the town generator lulling us to sleep.

Sunset over Camarones as we arrived at the campsite

The following morning we stopped at the bank for money and were spotted by the Mayor in his office next door. We were plied with calendars, bookmarks and eventually persuaded to stop for coffee in his office.

Diana, Chris and Stan in the Mayors Parlour for morning coffee.

This lead to the local newspaper reporter being summoned and we were also directed to visit the home of Juan Perone, who was born in the village. We left finally at 12.30 and faced a marathon journey into the face of a Patagonian breeze (minor gale) and uphill to Comodoro Rivadavia 167 miles away to the south.

River answers questions on the journey, Vince looks at family portraits of the Peron’s

Stan and Johny and a new friend! More Johny’s size

After several stops for minor adjustments and refuelling, we finally managed to overtake a lorry, albeit one that was descending a steep hill, but the thrill!!!!

Rusty burns past a large truck

We arrived in Comodoro Rividavia, a bustling oil town and found our hotel with its secure parking, feeling buffeted and tired. An early start was planned as we had many miles to cover.

One of the many ‘signature’ deposits left on departure from a hotel car park

The early start was made and we made good progress until the afternoon when the wind picked up.

A frequent occurrence when passing a police checkpoint is to be pulled over for papers, in reality a photo opportunity for the bored staff.

The spectacular but deserted beaches south of Rividavia

The source of local worth, oil exploited locally for the last one hundred years

Windswept and buffeted, the chummy battles on.

The wide open spaces, route 3 south of Caleta Olivia

We planned to visit the Petrified Forest, but as the day wore on the wind, which at first had been at our back, backed and as we turned onto the 50Km ripio track was now dead in our faces. After a mile or two after a group consultation a swift re-evaluation was made and we returned to Route 3 and made for Tres Cerros to check where we might accommodation. To our great delight, we found a new motel behind the service area and within minutes the decision was made to give in to fate gracefully.

Crusty was by now without a charge from the dynamo and this was changed, the chummy points adjusted and some minor adjustments made elsewhere to the fleet. We hope the wind might have dropped by tomorrow and we can continue to Puerto San Julian.

By this evening we have travelled a little more than 1,600 miles. The distances between towns grow larger and the countryside ever more sparse. Although in parts it can be interesting it is no doubt a desolate landscape, with its perpetual winds and in winter nothing to interrupt rain driven from the oceans, lashing the terrain.