Valdes

Patagonian Pilgrimage Part Three (of three)

Our final stay in Argentina was on the Valdes Peninsula, which lies about half-way up the East coast - see map three posts down (for those who have seen the remarkable David Attenborough film of killer whales attacking young sea lions on a beach - it is there). Our accommodation was in the grounds of the Faro Punta Delgado, a lighthouse on the south-eastern point of the peninsula. The area was in the heart of the dry desert-like Patagonian Steppes which stretch for hundreds of miles towards the Andes.

Faro Punto Delgada

The location is very close to the spot where the first group of Welsh pioneers landed to found the Welsh Patagonian colony and there is a plaque to commemorate the event.

One of the first missions was to explore the coast for Elephant Seals and other wildlife. Almost upstaging them, however, was a cliff of eroded sedimentary rock strata packed full of fossil marine shellfish (oysters, clams, etc.) dating back to the Tertiary period (3 - 10 million years ago). These may well have been among the fossil deposits encountered by Darwin during his visit to Patagonia in 1832. The presence of these marine fossils (sometimes high above sea level in the interior) were his clue to the actual age of the Earth and the upheavals that occur in the Earth's crust.

Eroded fossil-bearing strata near Punto Delgado

Marine fossils exposed by erosion





Evidence of palaeo- lithic cultures abound in Patagonia






Wildlife of Patagonia

Here are some images of the wildlife of the area

Southern Right Whale with Kelp Gull

Guanaco

Elephant Seal (a young male)

Rock Cormorant













Darwin's Rhea












Mourning Finch








A pair of Mara, a rodent the size of a hare but related to the guinea-pig








Southern Sea Lion

Mole Cricket

Sand Lizard







The climax of our stay at Valdes was a trip to Punto Tombo, a headland to the south of Valdesthat supports thousands of breeding Magellanic Penguins.

Magellanic Penguins steal the show

These few pictures of course represent only a sample of the wonderful diverse wildlife to be found in Patagonia (I recorded 173 birds species alone). It was an eponymous "trip of a lifetime" and I must acknowledge the Travelling Naturalist for such excellent organisation. Thanks in particular our due to our leader Keith Grant and local guides Luis Segura and Marcelo. And finally, a hurrah to fellow group members who made the trip so much fun and so memorable.

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