Patagonia Begins - Penguins, Dolphins & Glaciers

*Note: Our camera had a nervous breakdown, so thank you Saki, David & EsPat. We’ve been taking pictures the old fashion way… on film and on one of those mickey mouse disposable cameras.*

We left Bariloche on a journey to the mystifying region commonly known as Patagonia. I feel hopelessly inadequate to describe the magnificence of this region. From thousands of wild penguins living their lives all around you as you walk through their colony, to the unique and rare black and white dolphins leading your boat across a bay, sealions and seals showing off their “tricks” and playing a fool as you navigate through the beagle channel and not to mention the tones of guanacos, birds and other animals… and that’s just the wildlife…






Wild penguins at Punto Tumbo - the second largest penguin colony in the world.. the first being Antartica (which we're only 1000km away from right now in Ushuaia!)



Black & White dolphin watching near Puerto Madryn. It's amazing how different it is to watch them when they're in the ocean - wild & free, not bribed to entertain in a "lagoon."

The highlight (if we HAD to choose just one…) would be the Perito Moreno glacier in El Calafate. Having never seen a glacier, we had no idea what to expect. The first glimpse was breathtaking, the upclose view of the glacier with huge chunks just falling off was unbelievable, and actually scaling the glacier with our spiked crampons was the most unbelievably breathtaking and magical 2 hours we’ve ever spent. I wish I could describe the excitement of watching a huge block of sheer ice start cracking and falling 50meters into the water below… and then just a second later (due to delayed sound) hearing a thundering effect of what just happened. It’s like one of those defect movies where the voice doesn’t sync with the lips. It’s surreal. The icy cold chill from the massive river of ice radiates through your skin while the blazing sun tries to give you some sort of balance in temperature.





Trekking on and through the glacier made us feel like one of those Mount Everest climbers… only cooler.


One of the many blue streams/pools of water we drank from on Perito Moreno Glacier. The water is purer and better than EVIAN!


At the end of our hike, as we turned the corner, there was whisky on the rocks (fresh from the glacier!) waiting for us. Salud!

Next Stop: End of the World