Thanks to our rental car, we were flexible enough to continue traveling to Puerto Madryn, where we took a nice beach walk in the afternoon.
Full of energy, we went to the Peninsula Valdés Nature Reserve the next day, where we had the chance to see penguins, sea lions, elephant seals, orcas, and whales 🐳, among others. Not to mention all the geckos 🦎, etc.
After reserving the whale tour, which was at risk of being cancelled again due to strong winds, we made our way to the viewpoints on the peninsula. It was about 400 torturous km on gravel roads. 😒 At the first hotspot, there were plenty of lazy sea lions and elephant seals, just as expected. After a few smaller viewpoints with penguins (much fewer and farther away than in Punta Tombo), we arrived at the middle hotspot, where you could sometimes see orcas. The day before, there were a proud 40...
So we enjoyed the view and waited patiently as long as possible to be back in time for the boat tour. And as always, just as we got back to the car, the excitement began: a sprint back to the platform, saw orcas from a greater distance ✅ (no proper photo 😢), and back to the car.
Now, we had to drive about 80 km on gravel roads in 60 min, with a maximum speed limit of 60 km/h. So, we arrived at the boathouse only about 8 min before the scheduled time... (I might become a rally driver 😎)
The boat tour was also a great success, we saw some familiar animals and then several whales 🐳! Wonderful!
Back in Puerto Madryn, we topped off the successful and amazing day with delicious craft beer 🍺! The unplanned stop in Trelew or Puerto Madryn was absolutely worth it and worth every euro!
