Saturday, February 23

Puerto Madryn


Feb 4
A beautiful small town that next to the ocean that in 15 years, sadly, is going to be built up and touristy. Sad for me, not for the residents. The first day that we arrived, we fell asleep on the beach for an hour and all got sunburnt. The atlantic ocean, however, was great. A little cold, but great. I love the sea. We went to an eco-center to learn about the marine animals that were there. A poem that Pablo Neruda wrote about the albatross was there, its awesome. Read it.
Feb 5
We went to Penisula Valdes, an nature reserve with a private guide and Brazilian named Bruno. Bruno was coming around patagonia and doing the circuit in the opposite direction. He was interesting and opinionated, but fine for a day of travel. Animals I saw were: sea lions, guanacos, sheep, patagonian foxes, armadillos, Magellanic penguins and elephant seals. All the area is almost desert like, no trees and little vegetation because of the lack of rain and the great winds.
Feb 6
Went on a 34km bike ride with Rona along the coast. Great. The road to turned to gravel about 4 km into the ride. Not little rocks with a hard surface underneath, but all little rocks. It was tough biking. There was a mini vacant sand dune that did not compare to michigan, but it was still cool. We wondered how long it would take our footprints to disapear from the sand. Ah time. Continuing on, to my left there was the sea and to my right there was a tundra-like field. And trash. Makes you think "The U.S. has much more waste, we are just better at hiding it." I guess that counts for something though. Taking the bus further south, the hills start rolling and it reminds me of eastern Washington the way the Cascades make it so treeless.
On the bus, we watch terrible movies. I hate ben stiller, I have seen everyone of his movies except zoolander here. But we do get to watch 80's music videos in between. If you like great things from the 80's do yourself a favor and watch Bonnie Tyler's music video for total eclipse of the heart. The end is amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55nTwg5NIPM

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I watched that music video. it's ridiculous.
lei el poema de neruda. me gusta.
your comment about all the trash reminded me of guatemala. I went a ton of bus rides through gorgeous green mountains and i would look down and just see piles of trash all along the road. very weird.
i'm glad you're hanging out with chris and casey.
love you and miss you.