Antarctic Cruise: Puerto Madryn (3.1.24)

Puerto Madryn is a dry, dusty city in Argentina's Patagonia.  Puerto Madryn is due east from Puerto Chacabuco, in Chile, which is lush and green. The Andes block much of the rain from this area.  Amazingly, there are colonies of penguins this far north.  On March 1, 2024, we spent a full day driving to a new national park to see penguins hiding in burrows, strutting along the dirt path, and surveying the ocean from the beach.

As we walked a mile to the beach, penguins followed behind us on the dirt path.

The bushes were riddled with their burrows.

When we reached the beach, I sat on a log and watched the penguins waddle along the rocks and look out to sea.

Dave and I are desert people, and we found the austere countryside beautiful.

The clouds over the sea were also beautiful.

We had a barbecued lamb lunch at an estancia near the penguin beach.

We watched the sunset and the lights turn on in Puerto Madryn from our ship.