The windows of the bus are heavy with condensation this morning as I stare bleary-eyed at the scenery. Christi and I have crossed Argentina from west (the lakes and mountains of the Andes) to east (the vast plains that run down into the Atlantic Ocean). The major reason to visit this area is its wildlife and we quickly book ourselves onto two separate tours: whale watching and canoodling with penguins.
The whale watching trip scheduled for today is, however, canceled and as we begin to explore Puerto Madryn we can understand why. Gale force winds are sweeping across the town, kicking up sand which strafes our skin like a million nano-missiles. We have lunch at a pub called Mr. Jones, which is one of the few places open. Clearly, the locals don’t siesta here to avoid the sun, but to avoid the sand storms. Of course, being tourists, we ignore the inconvenience of a slight sandstorm to do what our LP guide suggests is a ‘pretty 3 km walk’ along the waterfront to the Ecocenter.
The Ecocenter is beautifully situated on a bluff overlooking the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Inside, the exhibits are interesting and informative and most of them have English translations (yay!). The theme is eco awareness: from the life cycle of the main marine animals (seals, sea lions, penguins, orcas, and the Southern Right Whale) to the damage man is inflicting on the marine environment. One display in particular leaves an indelible mark on me. It’s a satellite heat signature of a large city – only it’s not a large city it’s a massive concentration of factory boats in the rich (albeit dangerous) fishing grounds of the South Atlantic. Clearly, it’s only a matter of time until we deplete this incredible natural resource in the same way as we decimated the marine life in other parts of the world.
Nature is fighting back, though. And it mostly appears to be targeting Christi and I as we stagger back to town in the teeth of the ongoing sandstorm.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching tale
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