Patagonia – Journey to the Edge of the Continent
The first stop of our new itinerary was Patagonia Austral in southern Argentina. Flying into El Calafate was a wonderous site with a clear view of Lago Argentino and the Andes Mountains on the horizon. Stepping off the airplane, we welcomed the much cooler weather compared to the sweltering heat we had come from in Buenos Aires. We were eager to start our journey across the south of Argentina.
After a delayed flight and a series of missteps, we arrived in El Calafate much later than expected. These unfortunate circumstances allowed us to dine as Argentinos receiving our meal at 9pm with the sun still burning bright in the sky. While we knew the days would be longer this far south, we were shocked to see that it was still light out at 11pm as we turned in for the night.
The next morning the sun rose early and we set out to explore the town. We drove without a route and stumbled across the Plaza de los Niños, where we were all immediately drawn to one of the coolest playgrounds we have come across. Custom constructed out of timber logs and planks, it provided both scenic lookouts for us and playground fun for the kids. After the distraction of the playground wore off, we walked to the adjacent boardwalk that bordered Lago Argentino. The shoreline was flush with birds, and to our surprise, wild flamingoes!
Driving through town, we noticed a stark contrast between the residential areas of the town and the main strip. The AirBnB where we stayed was more typical of the local homes with clay block construction and sheet metal roofs on gravel roads, while the main strip was very manicured on a cobblestone street, reminiscent of many mountain resort towns in the States. At the heart of the town there is a small museum we wandered through to gather some information. The focus of the museum was on Francisco Moreno, the explorer that recorded the Patagonian region in Argentina in the late 1800s and was influential in negotiating the border with Chile. We also learned about the glacier that bears his name, Perito Moreno Glacier, as well as the flora and fauna of the area.
After stocking up on essentials: water, snacks, and toilet paper just in case, we hit the road for our three hour drive to Rio Gallegos. The drive was easy on a paved two-lane highway through the Patagonian steppe. The steppe is arid, dusty and wind-blown, with scrub brush and calafate bushes dotting the landscape. The endless skies, rolling hills, and wildlife make the drive a visual pleasure with the occasional puffs of clouds or distant showers on the horizon. With the shrinking mountains in the rearview mirror, we enjoyed seeing herd after herd of wild guanacos, relatives of the llama, passively grazing at the side of the road. We also spotted several choiques, a large flightless bird and cousin of the emu. While the kids may not have appreciated the vistas the same way we did, we started the first of hopefully many audio books, The Hobbit, and it felt fitting as we were at the start of our journey.
Our hotel in Rio Gallegos was… cozy. We got a single room with 4 single beds and a bunk bed. We were all really glad this was not our quarantine location.
After bedtime, we had a sneaky, whispered discussion about our next day’s activity. Our itinerary through Patagonia was planned very quickly and we needed to check ourselves daily to make sure we were prepared to undertake our agenda as set. Our plan on paper was to visit Cabo Virgenes, the continental end of Southeast Argentina on the Magellan Strait. The drive included 115 km of rough, very lightly traveled, gravel road for a two and a half hour trip each way, in our compact Chevy. The stakes were raised even higher with the forecast calling for rain showers and the area being known to have high winds.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we decided to go for it. We loaded the kids in the car, explained that we were going to see the Strait of Magellan as well as a lighthouse. The first twenty kilometers of the gravel road felt like an eternity as we were testing the limits of our small rental car and checking our decision, but we marched on. The kids grumbled in the back as they asked us, “What’s a strait again? Are we going to just see the lighthouse and some ocean? Can we play at the beach?!?”
After a grueling 2.5-hour drive, we reached our destination with a clear view of the Magellan Strait. The kids missed the sign declaring, “Pingüinera,” or penguin sanctuary. We stifled our giggles as we rolled down the windows and waited for the kids to take notice. “What’s that smell? Wait is that… That’s a penguin! There’s another one! They’re all over!! This was totally worth it!!!!” We parked next to the only other two vehicles in the lot and hurriedly got out to explore. As we walked down the trail we were soon noticing that as far as the eye could see there were little black and white dots of penguins!
Cabo Virgenes is the home of the second largest Magellanic penguin colony in Argentina. There are around 146,000 reproductive pairs of penguins that nest in the area every year. The penguins arrive at the colony in September to get their nests ready, returning to the same nest as the year before with the same mate if nature allows. Each penguin hen lays two eggs in October and they hatch in December. The chicks grow fast and by February the babies are almost as big as their parents. April through August the penguins live at sea before they begin the cycle again. Fun fact, a group of penguins at sea is called a raft, and a group of penguins on land is called a waddle.
Click the photo for more penguin pictures.
The parents take turns venturing out for food and bring it back for the babies. Unbelievably, they will swim up to 50 km off shore and dive as deep as 80 meters in search of food. For a while we sat and watched the penguins cross our path to go from sea to home.
We stopped by the lighthouse on the way home. Despite showing up during the limited hours advertised on their gate, it was closed. No one was even disappointed.
The day trip had been a success and we looked forward to getting back to paved roads, civilization, and dinner. In the last hour of the trip we had to stop and kick the kids out of the car to burn some energy.
The following day, we were making our way to Puerto Santo Cruz, our home base for a visit to the Monte Leon National Park. We just needed to decide if we should take the side trip that would add a couple hours to our already long drive.