Punta Tombo, Puerto Madryn, Península Valdés (12/7-12/10)

Do you like penguins? I like penguins.

When you arrive at Punta Tombo you are welcomed with a big boardwalk and are bound to see a penguin right away. We saw this little guy coming our way and immediately got very excited! Both my mom and I love seeing live animals in their natural habitat and this reserve is the perfect way to do so.

That little penguin kept coming towards us! He was so cute!

Then his little foot got caught between two of the boards and he fell over flat on his stomach. He couldn’t really catch himself with his little penguin arms so he had to like force himself up and then just kept on waddling. I didn’t even know how to react! It was so adorable!

As you enter more of the reserve and head towards the ocean, it starts to look like the book “Holes.”

These little penguins dig themselves caves/nests in the sandy ground and they are super protective of their own little houses. They head out to the ocean to get food and then waddle back to rest and feed their babies. That’s right, babies!

WE SAW NEWBORN BABY PENGUINS!

We also saw penguins going fishing, basking in the sun, walking around…

And… a penguin biting my mom. Hahahah. This will definitely be one of my favorite memories of all time. She was posing for a picture and this little guy just started getting closer and closer until he bit her leg. Not hard – it didn’t break the skin or anything, But still totally hilarious.

After a beautiful afternoon in the sunny 70-degree weather surrounded by penguins we headed up to Puerto Madryn to find out hotel and relax. Puerto Madryn is a decent sized port city. There isn’t a ton to do but it’s right on the coast and makes a good stopping point to visit Punta Tombo and Península Valdés.

Península Valdés sticks off of Argentina and is known for one of the best places to see sea lions and whales.

Map that shows Puerto Madryn and the península

We were there at the very end of whale season and the winds were so high (40 MPH or more) that they weren’t doing any whale-watching boat tours. But we were able to see lots of sea lions and some cool landscapes on the peninsula.

The view when you arrive at the sea lion watching area!

Hahaha they were mad the big one jumped on top

Sea lion family – the little black thing is the baby!

So pretty!

The Puerto Madryn area is a must-see for anyone who loves to see unique landscapes and lots of animals in their natural habitat. They do a great job of making sure all the visitors respect the animals so that you can see them truly in their element. After three days we set off for the airport (yet again) to make our way to Iguazú – but not before a layover in Buenos Aires. Our first flight was delayed and so we were literally sprinting through the Buenos Aires airport. Our gate was closed but luckily an earlier flight to Iguazú on the same airline was SO DELAYED that we were able to make that one! We arrived in Iguazú only about an hour later than planned. We had no luggage. But at least we made it!