Up on time because we have another tour today. We gather at a quarter past 8, so first, breakfast and then change our clothes twice because suddenly the weather is very nice. As we're gathering our things for today, Kevin announces that it's going to be 22 - 28 degrees today. Bring it on! We're heading to a peninsula, and hopefully, it's just as nice there. Just in case, we'll bring a jacket/sweater along.
Today, no tenders as we are docked at the pier in Puerto Madryn. The buses are waiting there, so it's straight from the boat to the bus. Our tour guide is 113, sounds like she downed a bottle of whiskey yesterday, a bit of a slurred speech, and has a strong Spanish accent. Very difficult to understand. Sometimes she thinks she's quite amusing. In hindsight, it wasn't all that bad. Not the accent, but she did her best to make something of it in her own way.
It turns out to be a 2.5-hour drive to the Valdes Peninsula, and we immediately get Ushuaia associations. Fortunately, it's not as bad as we thought because once we leave the city, we take the highway to the National Park where Clara, the one from 113, buys entrance tickets. And then we see the first llamas and the bus stops for a photo. We can't get out, but it's already 100% better than last time. By the way, they're not llamas but guanaco's, the largest of the two wild llama species. Which family do llamas actually belong to? Are they deer, goats, or failed sheep? No idea. The internet has taught me that they belong to the camel family.
Further down the road, we stop again, and the next stop is at the visitor center where we can also get out for a while. It's not big, but it's quite nice. There's a complete skeleton of a whale on display.
 |
| This was the floor in the lookout tower |
 |
| also |
 |
| Baleen of a whale |
Everyone back on the bus on our way to Puerto Pyramides. Here we have a slightly longer stop because Javier, the driver, is picking up the lunchboxes. It's a tiny fishing village and beach resort, and it looks charming. The weather is lovely, so we take a short stroll. After about half an hour, we continue to our main destination: Punta Norte where the sea lions and elephant seals are located.
 |
| The entire rock is composed of tightly packed shells |
 |
like this
|
We have an hour to walk around Punta Norte. It's a beautiful area with rolling hills behind us, dotted with low yellow-flowering shrubs and other sparse vegetation, much like the landscape we've seen along the way. It reminded me a bit of the American high desert, with the distant lamas resembling pronghorn, as long as they keep their heads down.
The sea here is also stunningly blue. With the tide out, the vibrant green-covered rocks are exposed. On the beach in front of us, to the far left, are the elephant seals. Unfortunately, they are only females and lack the characteristic trunk of the males. Moreover, they seem to be very lazy, showing little to no movement.
 |
| The little mermaid |
Right in front of us and to the right, there is a boardwalk running along the entire width of the beach, with a vast number of sea lions of all ages lying there. There is occasional tumult all around. They hobble back and forth, squabble, and also lounge around. There are quite a few hefty males and, naturally, many more females. The pups, which are plentiful, are black and look adorable. It does seem risky when such a heavy male, weighing a few tons, ambles back and forth without paying attention to whether there are any little ones around. It's a joy to be here, and we would have liked to stay much longer than an hour, perhaps until high tide, in the hope of seeing orcas, which reside here year-round.
In the bus, we receive our lunchbox. A real box in this case. It contains a sandwich with ham and cheese, a delicious fresh, ripe nectarine, a granola bar, and a bottle of water. Not very generous, but we already indulge enough on board, so it's not a big deal. Just as we were about to drive off, Clara spots a hairy armadillo walking in the parking lot. Everyone stands up to take a photo, but then it disappears under a car, so everyone sits back down to eat. We remain alert, and it comes out again. I ask if I can get out for a moment, which is allowed. I somewhat jump out of the bus and manage to take a few nice photos. After me, others follow, and unfortunately, one gentleman is too late to get back on board. Clara didn't count again, so he's out of luck. Now there are more tour buses from our ship, so it's not a complete disaster, but it's still sloppy, on both ends.
On the way back, we stop once more because there are 3 rheas, large birds similar to ostriches, under a big bush. Where? people ask. Well, over there, by those two bushes. Uh, there are thousands of them. Near that big tree. There aren't any trees, but one bush is slightly taller than the rest. It's quite far, so the photo doesn't provide a clear view of what they are.
The final stop is once again at the visitor center for a quick restroom break. The gentleman who was late re-joins us with his belongings. We immediately slip to the left because there are two guanacos nearby, and now we can take a photo without the bus window in between.
A little later, we turn back onto the main road and stop once more. Apparently, it's possible to do that here. It turns out there's an ostrich walking around. Cool. So today, we've managed to check off a few more boxes. The photo may not be great, but it's unmistakably an ostrich.
At 4 o'clock, we're back at the boat, and since the weather is lovely, around 24 degrees Celsius, we settle down with a beer and our book on the deck chairs on the aft deck. Life is tough, isn't it?
At 5 o'clock, we set sail, and as we turn, the wind hits the deck, making it chilly, so we retreat to our own balcony. When we entered the cabin, we found our Antarctica certificates.
These certificates state that we embarked on an exploration expedition and showed enough courage to visit the Exploration's Central, venture outside to the bow and open decks of the Oosterdam to behold the most magnificent sights of this part of the world. Just as Sir Ernest Shackleton and Captain Frank Worsley did aboard the Endurance on January 14, 1915. It also lists the dates we were there and proclaims that during this journey, we rounded Cape Horn and reached certain latitudes and longitudes.
Signed by Captain Rens van Eerten, Master, Oosterdam, and Captain Johannes Mateboer, Master Mariner, Ice Pilot.
On our balcony, we bask in the sun and sheltered from the wind for a while, and when it gets too warm, we move inside. I upload the photos to the laptop and send some home, then we watch an episode of Poldark. After that, we shower and slowly get ready for dinner.
In the Lido Market, there's a South American theme today. We enjoy the meal and then head to Meagan and Gabe's second show.
When they have a break, we head to the Rolling Stone Lounge, where the Orange Party has just started. The idea was for everyone to wear something orange, but they should have mentioned that before we packed our suitcases. Still, quite a few people had something orange on. Probably experienced cruisers, and even the staff, who were quite present, had an orange tie or scarf or something. Apparently, they were allowed to join in for a while because after half an hour, the place started to empty out again. The band had somewhat adhered to the color code too, and the guitarist, who we guessed might have a touch of ADHD, really got into it. They seemed to be enjoying themselves this time, this makeshift band, and it showed. At half past ten, a song came on that we didn't like, so we went back to the cabin.
With a book, we head to bed.
