Argentina

PRIOR TO EPIC ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE

I'd given up the idea of visiting Antarctica after the trip I was booked on in November 2020 was cancelled due to Covid. It was meant to be a 50th Birthday treat for myself. As you can imagine, it was hugely disappointing. With the future looking so uncertain at that time, especially being self-employed, I abandoned the idea of going because it was just so much money. I know there were many people that had cancelled holidays then, including Bob's son, Matt, who'd been due to visit Madagascar. In 2024, Matt was finally having that dream holiday and when we were having a meal out one evening he was talking about his impending trip. For the first time in ages, I mentioned my own disappointment and how it didn't seem likely I'd go to the Antarctic, especially as Bob didn't seem interested in going.

In a rather bizarre turn of events, later that same evening Matt received some information from Birdquest about a 50% discount on an Antarctic trip leaving in 6 weeks with Oceanwide Expeditions. I couldn't believe it! What's more, after reading about the trip and the dates, I realised it coincided with my mid term break in classes, and so it seemed entirely possible I could go. I'd have to extend my break from teaching to allow enough time to travel to/from South America and for the 21 days of the trip, but it seemed crazy not to take advantage of this amazing offer. I was keen to go, Bob was less so, and we took a weekend to think about it, look at all the costs involved, before making a decision. In that time, we nearly both talked ourselves out of going. For me, it was largely to do with whether I should go, considering the impact such a voyage has on the polar region and also my carbon footprint. After much deliberation, I decided it was such an amazing opportunity, I didn't want to pass it up. I needed to let go of any guilt in choosing to go and it was also important to me to find some balance - such as making a donation, sharing the photos and the experience not only in this blog, but by giving talks. This was in alignment with my greater purpose, which is to inspire people to care about nature and this planet and not just what's on our own doorstep, but all around the world.

I'd actually given up the hope that Bob would join me, but as we looked through the promotional photos for the trip, he suddenly said, 'Okay! Just book it!' I was so surprised, but thrilled he was going to join me. What an amazing experience we would have together. I quickly booked before he could change his mind and six weeks later we were flying out to Argentina to begin our epic adventure.

BUENOS AIRES

We had a fabulous overnight stay in the Palermo district in the gorgeous Duque Hotel Boutique and Spa. We were able to enjoy the spa facililities all to ourselves for an hour and also had time to relax beside the outside pool. The staff were super friendly and helpful. They went above and beyond to make our short stay the best it could be, helping us book our transfers and evening meal out.

The afternoon was warm and dry and we enjoyed a lovely walk heading for the nearby green spaces. Unfortunately, the Botanic Gardens were closed, but beyond there, near the zoo, we found a small park and were entertained for quite some time by all the birds we saw in this small area. Whilst the Red-headed Cardinal (above) stood out amongst the crowd with its stunning red head, I was also particularly taken with the Narrow-billed Woodcreeper. It reminded me of the Treecreepers we have back in the UK, with its long curved bill and the way it worked its way up the tree. It was stunning and I was really happy to get this shot.

Amongst the other species we photographed, there was the White-browed Mockingbird on the prowl for insects (above) and the Rufous-bellied Thrush (below). It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon and we were so relaxed and in our element. Unfortunately, the nice weather didn't last, as it was raining by the time we were walking back from the restaurant in the evening. Thankfully, the hotel loaned us an umbrella!

PUERTO MADRYN

The following day we flew from Buenos Aires to Trelew and took a group transfer to Puerto Madryn. I think we were the only overseas tourists amidst a group of Argentinian holiday makers on a very ancient looking bus. But we made it safely to our apartment and received a warm welcome from the owners, even though they spoke virtually no English. Communication was a challenge since we also spoke no Spanish. Thank goodness for Google Translate and WhatsApp!

Once in Puerto Madryn, I felt like I could properly relax and unwind after our long flights to South American and our connecting flight. I was ready to enjoy our two and a half days exploring the local area. The weather was lovely and warm and we felt properly chilled out. The only problem was we'd packed for the cold and had to wear our travel clothes during the day for the remainder of the week! At least we were both in the same boat!

On our first full day, the owner of the apartment agreed to drop us off at Punta Loma. The plan was to walk back. As we drove further and further away from the city, passing an unchanging barren and dry landscape, I started to wonder if this had been such a good idea after all. It seemed a long way and no one else was walking along the track beside the road. I only saw a few mountain bikers.

The main draw to Punta Loma is to see the masses of American Sea Lions that are hauled up on the beach. Some were coming and going from the water, but mostly there was a lot of them just lying around doing nothing, except for grunting occasionally.

There were plenty of other animals for us to watch and photograph too including the Chimango Caracara and Giant Petrels flying above us and some smaller birds we weren't able to identify. I was particuarly drawn to the Rock Shags that were flying to/from the cliff walls with nesting material in their beaks. There was one just below the viewing platform perched on a tiny rocky outcrop. They're so striking looking with the red around their eyes and the base of the bill.

When we moved from one viewing point to another, I spotted this lizard to one side of the path. I only noticed it because it moved!

The one bird species we saw an awful lot of were the Rufous-collared Sparrows (above). At first, we stopped to admire and photograph them, noticing how different they are to our House Sparrows back home. But, after a while of walking along the dusty path heading back towards Puerto Madryn, it was a case of, 'There's another one!' and we didn't stop to photograph any more.

As anticipated, it was a long walk back. The first stretch was the toughest because you could see the long track stretching ahead of us and the coast seemed very far away. We didn't see much of anything, except of course for the Rufous-collared Sparrows. We kept our cameras out, just in case something of interest came into view, but there was little worth photograhing. Every now and then we had to shield ourselves and our gear when a vehicle drove passed and kicked up lots of dust.

Eventually, the path headed more directly towards the coast and we spotted an interesting large ground bird, lurking in amongst the scrub. However, it heard us coming and disappeared before we had a chance to see it, which was a shame. Anyway, soon after that, we reached the coast. It was a welcome relief to see the sea and have a change of scenery and wildlife.

We enjoyed our lunch break sitting on the beach before continuing on our journey back. I was pleased to see a Great Grebe on the water not too far out from the shoreline, enjoying the opportunity to photograph it.

On many occasions along the walk we spotted a large orange butterfly flying around. But it never settled close enough and we had such brief glimpses of each one, we never got to photograph and identify what the mystery butterfly was. That was, until we made it to the end of the beach. We found one nectaring on some flowers and finally took some photos. Later we learned it was a Western Painted Lady. Very smart looking with large blue spots on the back end of the hindwing compared with the ones we see in the UK.

As we neared the outskirts of Puerto Madryn we had some more interesting wildlife sightings. The stunning red breast of the Long-tailed Meadowlark was breathtaking. There were a pair of them on the ground, moving through the low scrub, but a few times one would perch on a higher branch and I grabbed the opportunity to photograph this amazing bird.

Bob spotted another lovely little butterfly, much smaller than the Western Painted Lady. He didn't know what it was and it ended up taking quite a bit of research after the trip to discover the species, with some help from another butterfly enthusiast. It turned out to be a female Strymon nivea. The underwing pattern is nothing like I've seen before and the irridescent colouration on the upperwing in the sunshine was beautiful.

Not long after seeing the butterfly we spotted this gorgeous little Cuis Chico - also known as Southern Mountain Cavy (Microcavia australis). It's a small tailless rodent found only in South America. It sat very still, so we were thrilled it posed so nicely for us.

All in all, we saw quite a lot of varied wildlife that day and despite the very long walk, which took us about seven hours (with stops), we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Of course, Google said it would only take three hours to walk, but I always double their estimate when we're taking photographs!

We were so shattered by the time we reached our apartment, we abandoned the idea of eating out for dinner. Instead, we bought a take away to eat in. This proved a good plan, because later that evening, the heavens opened! It was a proper torrential downpour with thunder and lightening. The street below us quickly became flooded. Amazingly, the next day it was blue sky again and most of the water had drained away, with only a few puddles remaining on the pavement.

On our second full day, we spent our time walking along the beach locally. We started close to the pier where there was a high concentration of birds. The highlights included a Southern Lapwing walking across the sand, a Brown-hooded Gull at the water's edge and the long legged Black-necked Stilt. I'd never seen a Stilt before. It was very elegant and impressive.

From the pier, we walked south along the beach. At lunchtime, we stopped at a lovely beachside restaurant sitting outside in the shade with beautiful views out to sea. At one point, I suddenly spotted a whale and like a typical tourist I called out spontaneously, 'Whale!' Various heads turned, and a few other people seemed as excited as me. But, I understand this is a common occurrence, so the locals were less so! It turned out to be a Southern Right Whale. It breached several times and then dived down. In the second photo, you can really appreciate how big it was compared to the boat nearby - what a view they must have had - plus how close it was to the beach. Amazing! That was one of the best memories from the trip.

Continuing along the beach to the furthest end, away from the beach goers, we came across some more interesting birds. We spotted some South American Terns very close to the water's edge (bottom photo). We waited patiently for the tide to push them closer towards us. I was thrilled to get the photo of several flying. It looks like one bird and several images superimposed onto each other, but it was four birds taking off together.

We also saw a pair of American Oystercatchers, which are particularly stunning, with their red bill, yellow eye and eye ring. Unlike the ones we see in the UK, they don't have red legs, but instead are much paler. Their long bill is ideal for probing the sand for food when the tide is low. They're very similar to the Magellanic Oystercatchers, which we would also have a chance of seeing, but the white wraps around the shoulder wing with the American species.

We'd been teased with a brief glimpse of a Great Kiskadee in Buenos Aires a few days before, but neither one of us had been able to get a photo that time. So, we were thrilled when we saw this one at the beach.

The biggest suprise for me and one of my highlights was seeing some Chilean Flamingoes. There were about a dozen or so on the beach and they looked like juveniles as they were paler in colour. When we began our return walk much later in the day, when the sun was lower in the sky, we saw a larger group of adult flamingoes flying. The blue sky and evening light shining on them was stunning and we stopped to watch them for quite some time, as they glided and turned together. Fabulous!

As we retraced our steps along the beach, we spotted a few flocks of Baird's Sandpipers along the waterline.

We were pretty shattered after two long days of walking, but we'd enjoyed ourselves immensely.

On our final day in Puerto Madryn, we didn't do a huge amount. We ambled around, took a few photos, and chilled out mostly. We were killing time waiting to join our boat and start our amazing trp to the Antarctic. There was just one final new bird species we enjoyed photographing before we left, down on the beach - a solitary Austral negrito.

The Plancius, which would be our home for the next 21 days, was docked next to the pier and we could see it from where we were staying. All day, we had the reminder of what lay ahead of us. We also saw other tourists milling around. We were sure many of them were doing the same as us and were no doubt would be heading south with us.

Finally it was time to queue at the end of the pier with our luggage alongside our fellow travelling companions. It took a while for us all to get through passport control as there were just over 90 of us leaving on this voyage. The large majority of our group were driven down the length of the pier in shuttle buses, but we decided to walk rather than wait for the bus to return, along with a handful of other passengers. I'm glad we did, otherwise we might have missed seeing a mass of South American Terns perched on one of the ropes and a seal and grebe that were in the water near the pier.

As you'd expect, there was quite a bit of excitment in the air, with lots of people chatting and posing for photos with the boat. As we embarked on the vessel we received a warm welcome from the staff and found our cabin. We were super lucky with where it was positioned - it was the second cabin from the front (aft) on the left (port) side and level with the main deck, which would give us quick easy access when we wanted to be out on deck.

I was super excited about what lay ahead of us. I didn't really know what to expect, I just knew we'd see lots of amazing wildlife, I hoped for some good weather and crossed my fingers for fairly calm seas. I knew we'd have a wonderful time no matter what we experienced.

Next post in series: Travelling to the Falkland Islands