Whale Adventure

Sunday, July 19th

We had to wake up really early to make it to the bus adventure! After getting dressed, I sat down for some yummy bread slices with dulce de leche. That plus a cup of coffee, and I was rolling. I seriously can’t stuff my face that much with anything but dulce de leche. I just can’t say no to that stuff!

They announced that the bus had arrived (hostel pickup) and Rebe and I took our time getting down, officially solidifying our status as “those kids” who hold up the bus. Everyone was on, so we took the two seats at the very front. It was still dark outside, either 6:45 or 7:45, I don’t remember.

Mauricio the goofy was our guide and Eduardo the silent was our driver. Mauricio just kept talk talk talking, and while I’m sure I was getting my moneys worth, it was early and I wouldn’t have minded if he had just let us sleep. It was interesting picking up the vocabulary pertaining to the sea and the animals.

When we arrived at the park entrance, we of course had to pay the foreigner fee. Mauricio collected everyone’s money and went in. Then they came out to the van to doublecheck we hadn’t lied. When we were at the entrance, there was a little building to stop, use the restroom, and see some of the history. They had an awesome whale bone skeleton there as well. I vividly remember the blown-up picture of men back in the day massacring the sea lions – they’re just so helpless!

When we got back on the bus, it was about an hour ride until the whale site! We all got off and headed to the store where we were gifted with a pancho and life jacket. That, plus the massive layers and Patagonian jackets Martin had lent me, I was HUGE. Rebe and I got some funny pictures like sumo wrestlers as we chestbumped, etc.

After that, we headed to the boat. It was pretty large, holding about 20 people. We were on the beach, and a tractor hauled us into the ocean on a rig. It reminded me of a bigger contraption than the one we use to bale hay. Our boatguide seriously looked like a sailman, with the perpetually sunburnt skin, a little rough lookin, shaggy dirty brown hair tangled by the wind, and of course one earring. I was a little enamored by his look.

As we set out, it was basically a game of sitting, wishing, waiting. The boat steerer would see a whale from afar, and we would speed over. It was crazy to me that they weren’t frightened of the boats, but most of the time if they moved away it was just really slowly. We never got close enough to touch, but we were pretty close. The whales are actually kind of ugly on their heads – it looks like they have barnacles or something. But the sheer size was astonishing. I understood why the hostel guy told us we couldn’t get very close in kayaks – they could easily tip you over.

We hung out near the shallow waters a bit, and there we saw lots of mom’s with their kids. The kids were really cute – they would flop over their mom’s backs. We saw one who’s back was a little torn up, and he said that the birds pecked at the poor baby. There was also a pattern. When the mom would come up for air, the baby would surface a little bit later. We also saw some pinguinos…pues, they were very similar to penguins, and some of the sea lions that haven’t migrated. He also pointed out some birds to us, but everyone was trying to see the whales so no one really paid attention.

At one point, we saw a whale jumping from afar. It was so cool! By the time we zoomed over it had stopped, but I saw it from afar. Such a huge splash! After about an hour and half though, I was freezing, and I was fine when we started heading back.

Back at the site, we joyfully ate our peanut butter sandwiches and drank our water which we had packed. There was something lovely about our homemade lunches. Just can’t put a word to it. We also ate the free chocolate we had received from the chocolate shop last night.

After that, we walked around for a bit. This is on a peninsula, and the town is really not much. I don’t know what you would do for a weekend after seeing the whales. However, it was really natural, and I enjoyed my 30 minute walk. It was also interesting because I walked to the edge of this cliff to see the water, the whole time thinking that in the States the cliff would’ve been marked off with a fence or something. It was such a natural experience.

Back on our bus, Mauricio’s eyes were literally PEELED for animals. I’ve never seen someone stare that hard at his surroundings. Rebe and I marveled at some of his mannerisms which reminded us of John, my brother, especially the spastickness. He and Eduardo were really buddy buddy, and that also served to crack us up. It was also nice because they were actually playing Spanish music in the bus. Rebe kept getting childhood flashbacks.

Our next stop was a beautiful cliff which sometimes has sea lions. We didn’t see any, but the cliff view was still gorgeous. Next, we walked down and saw some sea lions just lazing around. I named them (oh, I named the whales I saw as well) and that made them a little more entertaining. However, in general they’re very stagnant animals. On the way back, we took a “nature walk” with Darwin, which was basically just a walk through a Patagonian hill. Nothing can be done with the land here – except raise sheep.

Back on the bus, I attempted to converse with Eduardo, pulling la gringa, but he was having none of it. So I gave up. After that, it was just pretty much dozing off as we returned back to town. In town, they dropped everyone off at their respective hostels. We almost wrecked, and I gasped, and Eduardo finally acknowledged me, laughing at my response. I got a picture with Mauricio when they dropped us off though.

I was really tired, so showered and chilled. We also ate some of the leftover cheese and cookies the other girls from the hostel had left us. We held out for a bit, but didn’t make it until 9, before heading to the restaurant – El Nautico – which the hostel dude recommended to us. When we walked in, we asked for a table, and they were like, where can we put dos chicas sin reservacion. Welllll excuse me! but they did seat us. I wanted to try something new, so I asked the waiter what he recommended. I don’t remember the name of it right now, but it was good. The sauce was really lemony, which isn’t my favorite, but I had a coke to wash it down. The chocolate store was closed when we left, so we made a note to stop by tomorrow.

After that, I attempted to Skype, but my lame-o family wasn’t online. Haha, j/k, love you guys! Plus their internet can’t support a skype connection anyways. Then, I fell asleep to Michael Hanna.