Author Archive
Posted on April 21, 2012 by jason
We chatted with one of the friendly (lonely?) rangers and he told us that all the action in the penguin colony was at sunset and at sunrise. We lucked out the first night and showed up when all the little guys were coming home from work and were making a big commotion.
So, we decided to come back at sunrise and see if the kerfuffle was any different.
It was – they were all pointed the other direction. At sunrise, all the penguin dads put on their suit and head off to work. They get on a penguin highway from their little hole all cruise the way to the sea. They hop in, flop around and get everything good and wet, then take off like a pack of porpoises. Jumping and diving in and out of the water as they head out to sea. You can see them splashing and sailing in a line all the way out to the horizon.
The ladies stay at home and take care of the nest. This doesn’t seem to entail much. This time of year, the adults are molting, so there is lots of preening and plucking. Later in the day, they start their unique family call (think donkey) so their mate knows where they are. When they get home, they trade places and the other goes out to fish for the afternoon.
At this time of year, the kids have already taken off. The newborns leave around February (at 4 months old) and head to Brazil by themselves. Mom and dad leave for warmer waters about now, so this is the end of the season here. Still, there are 9000 little pinguinos here to enjoy.
Posted on April 20, 2012 by jason
Cabos Dos Bahias. I don’t recall where we heard about it (Phil?), but it’s another little gem.
There is absolutely nothing out here except empty coastline, penguins, guanaco, skunks, armadillos, tumbleweeds and a few park rangers. No visitors. For two days, we had the entire reserve to ourselves. Cool wildlife, great camping… and it was all libre.
I have to wonder if the people that claim that this drive north is boring didn’t ever get off the highway. The main highway north is terrible – windy, full of trucks, and not much to look at. But, there is some seriously cool stuff out here if you get of the pavement.
fun facts:
-penguins mate for life
-skunks and armadillos love to eat penguin eggs
-penguins don’t give a damn about you or me
Posted on April 17, 2012 by jason
It was my lucky day:
needle.
haystack.
Posted on April 15, 2012 by jason
Dad, he followed me half-way home!
-Bode
Well, he turned out to be a she, and we’re not sure what happened with the other half of the way home, but QuickMutt™ was immediately welcomed into camp.
The municipal campsite in Puerto San Julian was so nice (even Wi-fi) and the weather so good, we stayed a few days and took it easy. QuickMutt™ endeared herself immediately and Bode was pleading to keep her despite the obvious allergy issues. Still, she was sleeping in the passenger seat each night and I was starting to think we could keep her too.
Bode didn’t seem too allergic. And, she seemed to stay in the front seat pretty well. We could go to a local vet and get all the shots and paperwork for crossing borders. Getting her back to the US could be an issue (the US government is afraid of foreign dogs too), but that minor detail could probably be worked out later. The lady at the campsite said she was a stray and came around now and then… she could use a home.
Eventually, the voice of reason stepped in. That would be Angela (this time anyway).
Simple things like going to the store or a museum would be a hassle. Getting into National Parks or campsites could be impossible. How would Patagonian Quickmutt™ handle a sweltering Brazilian summer… in an old VW? We once talked to an ‘overlanding’ couple who skipped seeing the Galapagos Islands because they “couldn’t leave the dog” – ridiculous, but a whole set of limitations started to appear. Besides, QuickMutt™ lived here in Puerto San Julian.
Hasta luego, Quickmutt™. You’re a damn good dog.
Posted on April 14, 2012 by jason
Our first day on the road north, we made it through the border crossing at San Sebastian (Chile) with no issues. But, the weather turned on us by early evening and we were driving through rain and mud. It didn’t help that this was probably the worst road that we have driven in all of Chile. Nothing but trucks, washboard and pot holes. Big ones.
We called it a night when we arrived at Cerro Sombrero. This is a trucking/company town (don’t know which one) and everything seemed to be prefabricated and dropped into place – nothing interesting here. We ended up sleeping behind the gas station. We’re glamorous travelers.
The next day we finally hit pavement again and took what will probably be our last ferry ride for a long time. This one costs about $20 USD and took us to the mainland. Adios, Tierra del Fuego. the Argentina border was only a few minutes up the road and another easy crossing.
Next on the destination list was Rio Gallegos. Not for any reason other than we didn’t have much energy and Simon wanted to go look for someone to repair his muffler. Simon and M.C. have a buyer for their bus in Osorno, Chile so we’re going to travel together a bit longer until they cut West. They’re cool folks and fun to travel with… and it doesn’t hurt to have a backup when your driving an old bus.
Rio Gallegos is a bigger town, but there’s not much worth mentioning here, either. We had heard that the stretch of road up to Buenos Aires is the most boring drive on the continent. We were hoping to prove it wrong, but so far it’s been pretty dull. And, there’s the wind. It’s not in any of our photos, but it’s one of the most memorable things about this part of the world. It can be unforgiving – like, the next day.
We started out to Puerto San Julian into a stiff headwind. Our max speed was under 40 mph with the pedal on the floor. The pop-top was going crazy with each big gust and then POOF! It went up. We quickly pulled over and realized the left bolt holding the front scissor hing sheared off. Just going out and inspecting was harrowing with the top flopping up and down in the gusts – Angela stayed inside and wrestled the pop top handle down with all her weight to prevent it from flying off and breaking the rest of the mechanism. I quickly put some bailing wire through the hole and called it good – Angela continued to hold the handle while we slowly crept along.
Ten minutes later and the next time a big truck passed… POOF. The bailing wire broke. Simon was quick to pull out a thick cotter pin and it did the trick… for a while.
Twenty minutes later and POOF! This time the front bolts held, but the brackets that hold the rubber tie-downs in the middle and back yielded and bent out of shape, releasing the tie downs. And, one of the tie downs was ripped.
This wasn’t fun.
I bent them back into place, but they were now weak and useless. Again, Simon came to the rescue with a big roll of duct tape. Duct tape went everywhere. I pulled out our trusty rope we’ve been carrying around since Bolivia and tied down the front section through the windows.
We drove… really slowly all the way to Puerto San Julian. The rope and duct tape held. Each time a truck passed, we slowed even more and pulled over to the shoulder. The double-decker buses were the worst.
Posted on April 6, 2012 by jason
Posted on April 5, 2012 by jason
We made it!
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
