I arrive at Puerto Madryn at 7am after my 20+ hour bus trip. On a map of Argentina on the east coast there's a peninsula that looks like a penguin shape and there's lots of wildlife around here. I don't hang about and drop my stuff off in the hostel room and get yet another bus as there's only one a day to Puerto Pyramides where you can go whale watching. It's 370pesos which is about 50quid so if I don't see some blubber I'm kicking off. I soon realise I didn't choose my outfit well as I've got orange in my top, orange zip up and coral shoes... So by the time they give me my orange life jacket I look like a giant carrot in a school play. Serves me right for getting dressed in the dark. Fashion fail. Anyway so I'm on a dinghy boat, I don't understand much of the tour guide but bothered because we only get about 400m off shore and I see an ACTUAL whale. Oh yes. This is like Free Willy!!!! Except these whales are no way as pretty. But they're huge. And up so close to the point I'm pretty bloody scared! It was class. Non stop whale fest. It finished and I had three hours to kill as there's only one bus back a day. I ask a tour guide what I can do and she tells me I can do a walk to a sea lion colony but it's 5km there. 5K pah!! I almost ask her to feel my calves then realise that would be inappropriate and say that's fine and get going. It starts off a path then it's a road and very sandy so it feels desert like. Right at the end I wander off amongst bush and rock get a bit lost. I can't find the road anywhere. I see a car! Hurrah, I can work out where the road is. It's a police car and a policeman gets out and walks towards me, he's not a happy bunny. Turns out you're not meant to wander off the road. I am a REBEL. AS IF he can tame my wild ways?!? Turns out he can and I turn very British and apologetic and walk back. I realise he had a fair point as if I'd fallen seagulls could've feasted on me for days before anyone would've found me.
Day 16- Sabado
Early start again, I'm off on a day tour to Punto Tumbo, a penguin colony! Now then, I did enjoy the penguins, there's around half a million there in October. That said, I feel bad saying this, but as my stepdad once said when my brother and I insisted on going to Monkey World years ago, "You've seen one monkey you've seen em all." I'm afraid that's how I felt about the penguins. Bear in mind I saw whales yesterday? Penguins, meh. I did it the wrong way round. I also couldn't relax all day as the tour was meant to finish at 5pm but thanks to bad organisation and a stop off to Guima, a welsh village, catching my 7pm 100quid bus to Buenos Aires was going to be tight. Given I live in pretty close vicinity to Wales funny enough I couldn't give a flying monkeys about visiting this place for tea and cakes. Despite me telling the tour guide ALL day I couldn't miss it he tells me at 5pm I probably won't make it?!? Luckily another tour bus is going back to Puerto Madryn, they let me jump in and I make my bus to BA in time! This came with a big cost though. Not money wise I just had to spend an hour and a half listening to a couple of 20year old American girls talk about their "spiritual journey". Oh Pleaaase give me strength. And a bucket.
Day 17 - Domingo
21 hours later and I'm back in Buenos Aires. And this time I have a friend! Whoop. Amandine, French girl I met last week, new BFF, lives in Buenos Aires in a nice area called Palermo. We meet up the afti and wander the shops and markets around Palermo. Its so nice and reminds me of Belsize park.. dulwich.. Marylebone high street in London with quirky posh shops with pretty but totally pointless things in that us girls love. We go to a lovely cafe too. No Greggs round here. In the evening we had drinks and food with her boyf and his mates. Fun night, I miss pubs already though, no other place do pubs like the UK and Ireland. I stay in an Eco hostel, supposedly sustainable, and notice absolutely jack all eco-friendly about it. There is a guy in my room who looks about 70 which is plain weird and I decide not to fall for any Eco marketing rubbish again.
Day 18 -Lunes
I've landed on my feet as its a public holiday so Amandine is off work so I have a friend to play with again! We went to the gym! Hell yes, I was in my element. Weird to see myself in a full length mirror. We went to the cinema after to see Ted and the audience got the jokes before me as they were reading the subtitles which was odd. Ashamed I had a total non tourist day but it was ace. But back to this travelling malarkey again, on another bus tonight, 21 hours north to Puerto Igauzu. Bring on the waterfalls and some sun!
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