Elephant seals and Magellanic penguins in Northern Patagonia
31 October- 2 November: A short excursion to Playa Escondida and Punta Tombo. The main aim of the trip was to visit the penguin colony in Punta Tombo but we discovered on the way, the beautiful Playa Escondida. We had no idea it was inhabited by elephant seals and, since it is not a protected area like the Valdes Peninsula, that we could actually get really CLOSE to the elephant seals!!
Playing on the beach and observing the curious or sleepy babies.
Suddenly towards the end of the afternoon: a big male arrives on the beach and defies the resident male. A short but intense fight starts, and ends up with the resident male being dislodged by the new one. As the resident male swims away, the new master of the beach heads directly to the females to copulate and ensure, in the blood, the next generation of elephant seals.
01 November: Visiting the penguin colony in Punta Tombo, one of the largest colonies in Argentina. Surprising to see the birds hanging around in the vegetation or even on the paths! The site is beautiful with a nice beach, plenty of guanacos, and some elephant seals.
02 November: Cleo is turning 12 today!! Starting the day with the elephant seals, before returning to Puerto Madryn to enjoy sushis and a horse riding course in the "big city". A nice and original way to spend the day :-)
