Pinguins at Punta Tombo

yesterday we went to visit the second biggets pinguin colony in world - 500,000 pinguins!
we got to stroll among them and got to see how they live during the summer time. now they are hatching their eggs and at the beginning of November the babies will be born.
each time - one of the parents goes to sea for 2-3 days to bring food for his family. they can go 600 km from home to bring anshovies or their favourite squid. the average dive of a pinguine lasts 1 minute and reaches the depth of 12 meters. when the pinguine that´s left to watch the children misses his/her partner or is hungry - they lift their head to the sky and scream the weirdest sound we´ve heard, to call their partner back home. so we heard lots of pinguins talk that day :)

The right whale

On the same day we sailed between whales which are called "the right whales".

they are very easily hunted due to a few disadvantages - they sail slowly, only 15 kph, and when they come up to breath (they once lived on the earth) they spray a v-shaped fountain of air and water and can be easily detected from a distance.

we sailed in the rain in an open tiny boat and froze our ass off (!) but we got to see those whales up close and personal :)

the average whale is in the size of a bus and weighs 80 tons, 18 meters long...

very impressive and beautiful, especially when they are in groups like a mother and a baby. we couldn´t stop taking video clips...

Pennisula valdez

Now we are in the east coast in a small town near several natural reserves with a lot of sea animals.

the first trip we took here was to the half island "Peninsula Valdez" where we took a boat trip to see whales and elephant seals.

an elephant seal weighs about 6 ton, and reaches up to 6.2 meters long. we also saw a female breastfeeding a baby...

a really heavy lazy animal :)

Bariloche - "capital" of Patagonia

now we are in Bariloche - the touristic

center of the area. It looks exactly like the pictures on puzzles - with a lot of lakes snowy mountains and small wooden houses.

except from how cold it is and the occasional rain everything here is nice. there are a lot of breathtaking views and attractions (yesterday we did "canopy" - sliding from trees...), good food (ice-cream, asados + a lot of chocolate) and a lot of israelis :)

Mendoza Park and the long road to Patagonia

On the last day at Mendoza
we went to the beutiful city
park. The city is in the middle
of a desert so the entire park
including the lake - are artificial.


On the same night we took the
bus to the land of the lakes - Patagonia.

A joyful 19 hrs ride with great scenary. the skies here are the widest in the world...
it's no wonder that so many movies were filmed in patagonia, even ones that aren't even about argentina (such as "7 years in tibet") .

Mendoza and "alto montania"

after a long night bus (12.5 hrs, but what a delux ride) we arrived at Mendoza - the captial of the wineries of argentina and the gate to the famous Andes.

After using the first (very chilly day) to rest the next day was a big WHOA. We took a trip called "alto montania".

This is a day trip from Mendoza to the Chile border passing through all major sceneries of the area - including a natural bridge made of minerals and a view to the highest mountain of the Andes (and all of the americas) - Aconcagua, where a UFO-like cloud makes it even a cooler sight

Next days in BA

the next two days were a bit rainy so we did our best to do what the city could offer us:

- a bit shopping in great malls they have

- we took a little stroll in the japapnese gardens

- we spent several (cold) hours at the old harbour which is now the most colourful place called La Boca

- we saw a beautiful sensual tango show

- and we ate... and then ate some more...