Puerto Madryn, Argentina - March 4, 2016

After a relaxing day at sea where we took in the enrichment lectures in preparation for Puerto Madryn, we docked at 8 am.  Puerto Madryn is a small coastal city which possesses many different personalities.  Not only is it known as Argentina's second largest fishing port and a home to beautiful beaches filled with summer homes, it's also a portal to a wild world of sea life, spectacular vistas and unforgettable adventures.

Our early morning arrival at Puerto Madryn

When we reflect on our entire trip, Puerto Madryn was the beginning of the rough, bleak, barren but beautiful landscape of the souther half of South America.

Every port has canons ....  please don't shoot the ship

Patagonia's history may have begun with Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed along the coast in 1520 but it wasn't conquistadors who established this small settlement on the shores of the wide bay called Golfo Nuevo, it was 150 colonists from Wales.  Seeking to escape from religious persecution in Britain they were lured by the Argentine government's promise to provide 100 square miles of land along the Chubut River.

When the settlers came ashore in 1865 they named their first settlement Port Madryn in honour of Baron Madryn of their native Wales.  Over time, the colonists founded other towns in the province but while they retained much of their Welsh heritage, only the street names remain in Puerto Madryn.

These 3 photos are taken from the beach.  Shows the bleak terrain.

Looking for sea lions, whales, penguins, rheas or any other creature that makes Patagonia their home? This is the right place!  It is known for its close proximity to the amazing wildlife that live in Patagonia's cool and inviting ocean waters and its stark, vast landscape.  Wildlife biologist and conservationists come from around the world to visit Punta Tombo Natural Reserve, the world's largest nesting colony for Magellanic penguins.

The Valdes Peninsula and its surrounding areas offer an unparalleled landscape of plateaus and rugged coastline.  A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it's one of the world's great wildlife preserves comprising over 1,500 square miles of headlands, salt water lakes, depressions and rocky cliffs.  Over half of the world's Southern right whale population frequents these waters, which are also home to major colonies of seals, sea lions and sea birds.

In town, the beach was lovely but as we were experiencing Fall, the 20 degree Celsius temperature was not conducive to swimming.  At a small indoor mall, we watching a couple dance the Tango.  We were able to videotape it, but cannot include it in the blog.

Along the beach park area were wooden carvings, very unusual in nature, carved right on the spot.

Some of the interesting carvings on the main street

This port was a geocaching failure .....  none!

We chose to not take a shore excursion here, as we knew we would be seeing more wales, penguins and birds.  It was a lovely sunny day we enjoyed walking the town.  The walk from the ship to shore was almost .5 km, but really enjoyable.  Of all our ports we visited, this one was our least favourite.