Saturday Jan 28, 2023
Hi folks! Well today’s word of the day was once again Penguins! And sadly this is the last day we’ll see penguins on this trip. But our excursion today dispelled the rumor (some say propagated by Disney! Lol) that penguins must live in the cold and on ice. Today proved that was definitely not true. It was 85 degrees and the area we went to was almost desert like. Thank goodness we’re not doing that excursion tomorrow, since it’s going to be 107 degrees there! Summertime in Argentina!
The excursion we took today was really cool. It was a small private tour (only 12 people) and they took us by minivan to this private ranch or preserve called El Pedral Reserva (www.reservaelpedral.com). We were the only ones on this huge preserve of land by the ocean that had its own colony of Magellanic penguins as well as ostrich, llamas, horses, sheep and other animals (even the local Australian sheep dog named Rocky that rounded up the sheep!).
They first drove us to this old lighthouse and lookout point where we saw a couple elephant seals down on the beach. Then they took us to the trail head that lead to the beach where all the penguins were. We had to walk about a mile or so along this path where the penguins would nest amongst the shrubs for shade. We were literally inches away from them as we walked towards the beach. Then when we got to the beach there were hundreds of them standing along the shore and swimming in the water gathering fish for their young. It was so cool.
We then walked back and went to the hotel portion of the reserve to have lunch. They had an amazing spread of food for us. They had been cooking a whole lamb for over four hours as well as some chorizo sausage and salads, breads and drinks including wine and beer. They also served this Danish coffee cake for desert. Puerto Madryn was founded by the Welsh and that was a desert more traditional for them (of course we wanted chocolate! Lol).
We got back to the port just in time to get one of the last tender boats. After getting cleaned up (it was so dusty on the ranch!) we went to the Lido for a quick snack (we were still stuffed from lunch!) and then went to the show that was called “Evolution: Motown”. They were really good and played all the old Motown songs.
After the show they had an “Orange Party” in The Rolling Stones lounge and they asked those who had anything orange to wear it. Of course Kathy and I just so happened to have something “orangey” to wear so we were twinsies! They also had all orange colored liquor displayed. Holland America is a Dutch registered ship so they were giving a nod to the Royal Dutch Family, which is made up of members of the House of Orange. The dynasty dates back to 1544 when William of Orange inherited the estate and title at the age 11!
Tomorrow is a sea day so we can relax and sleep in. And be sad that we’re not going to see anymore penguins… until our next Antarctica cruise since we both agreed we shall return and possibly do an expedition trip where we land on Antarctica! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
PS: I’m going to try to post some pics later. Hope they come thru!
The Wandering Italian 