Wildlife watching in Patagoina

After days of driving across the arid Patagonian Stepp, witch sits in the Andean rain shadow, we were very excited to make it to the southern Atlantic coast. We chose to head to the small town of Puerto Deseado to do some wildlife watching. The area, not visited as heavily as Peninsula Valdes to the north, is truly a hidden treasure for wildlife and ecology enthusiasts. The town itself has a population of about 10,000 people. But it its setting and animal inhabitants that really make it stand out. Ria Deseado, once a river that carried a much greater volume of fresh water, is infiltrated by the tides of the Atlantic Ocean. As the fresh water flow from the river decreases, seawater pushes further and further inland, creating new islands and animal rich habitats. The estuary runs 40 kilometers inland, and was a safe harbor for Magellan in 1520. In 1834 Charles Darwin conducted biological surveys of the estuary, as did Perito Morreno in 1876. We are sure they were all as amazed as we were! We were blessed with an abundance of fauna. Birds included Black oyster catchers, two different species of gulls, Snowy sheathbills, South American turns, the giant Southern Grey petrel, the rare Blue Eyed cormorant, the Imperial cormorant (some of whom fed their young right before us), and of coarse Magellanic penguins. On our tour we were beached at Isla de los Penguinos and spent a sunny afternoon in howling winds surrounded by 30,000 friendly little guys! Our adventure also included a visit to a sea lion colony, where large males lazily sunned themselves surrounded by dozens of smaller females - what a life! Our boat trip was topped off by a playful group of Commerson's dolphins engaging the wake of our vessel. What an experience! A highlight of our time in South America to be sure.