now, into the mayhem known as driving in a foreign country. so many of the roads here are one ways, but it’s quite difficult to tell which ones actually are --- signs are never in the same place and seemingly always different between the various cities. added fun: most intersections do not have signals or signs. it’s just kind of a free-for-all. somehow, it works well for the locals; in many ways, it’s like a roundabout that keeps traffic moving, but slowly and mostly safely.
from puerto madryn, we headed south to trelew and further south another 60+kms to punta tombo – the penguin colony. we bought the entrance passes, used overly posh restrooms, and boarded a van for a grueling (/sarcasm) 1km drive down to where the penguins like to roll.
the first penguin you see, you’re taking a bunch of pictures, even if they’re not very good. by the time the day is over, you’re much more selective. i think they said 50,000 penguins live there. easily.
funny little buggers. half the time they stand still, staring skyward, trying to cool themselves off (or just look like statues). other times, they honk at you, sneeze, or poop this funky green and white concoction. the remaining 30% of the time is spent either waddling to and fro (for no apparent purpose) or scratching themselves.
after the penguins, we headed back north towards gaiman, a welsh-founded town just W of trelew, via a 60km long all gravel road, so rutted we bottomed out the poor rental car a few times. a super helpful tourist center person got us on our way. despite feeling like we were more remote in our city-travels, it seemed like a city that was built with care. nice roads, even sidewalks, and a lot of little house with their unique kind of charm.
we even found the casa de te (house of tea). somehow, i was talked into it. and somehow, i drank my first caffeine in nearly 9 years. i quite literally felt drunk. the 6 (each) torts we had – all very sugary – probably didn’t help the cause. in all, it was a fun experience, but perhaps my last time in a casa de te.
charged up with sugar and caffeine, we headed north back towards puerto madryn where we struggled to get gasoline. weird thing we’ve noticed in argentina: long lines for gas. everywhere. we’re not sure if it’s because you have to wait for the gas station attendant to fill your tank (country law?) or because there are so few stations. similarly, it’s difficult to tell where to go exactly. even though they may have a sign on the sidewalk advertising four different types of gasoline, they likely don’t have them. eventually, we succeeded and pushed on.
past midnight now, we pull into puerto piramides in search of our free camping spots per the book. supposedly, there are some behind the police station and one other area. checked with the cops: nothing there. but, they did point us towards the other one. as we roll down the hill and find the “camp” area, we find three streets, none of which had functional buildings, and a slew of tents and RVs on either side of the street. hundreds of them, meaning most of the spots were taken.
as we’re driving and searching, we’re finding nothing “ideal.” suddenly, we’re stuck in the sand – literally. apparently beach sand is a good idea for roads??? i get out to push and two guys come over and help --- tent town is far from asleep at this time of night. phew. we find a good spot, set up camp, and fall quickly asleep to the soft sounds of music, drinking, and laughter.
average costs:
rental car: 400 pesos/day ($90)
house of tea meal and drink: 75 pesos ($17)
camping: free
all photographs: https://picasaweb.google.com/mlh4480/HoneymoonDia2402
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment