Watching whales make out!

Having stopped playing cowboys and cowgirls it was time to head south and see if we could go whale watching down in the Peninsula Valdes. So after an over night bus from Buenos Aires we arrived in Puerto Madryn full of excitement. Puerto Madryn is the breeding ground for the southern right whale and they migrate here from June so hopefully they were already here and feeling frisky! As soon as we arrived we went for a walk out along the coast taking in the beach and fresh air, looking out to sea and thinking every wave crest might be a whale! As we walked back into the harbour though around 200 meters from the shore a whale was playing, popping his head up every now and then and once or twice jumping out of the water! Our first whale sighting and it was a cool one. The following day we headed out to the actual Peninsula for a quick tour of the area and a boat trip but the weather was too windy and the harbour was closed! So wanting to see them close up we decided to head back the next day and when we did we weren’t disappointed. Waiting in the harbour to board the boat we could see 5 or 6 whales just going about their daily whale business. We boarded the boat with lots of other people and within minutes we were treated to the sight of a whale surfacing inquisitively next to the boat – 8 meters long and weighing several tonnes he just checked us out for a few moments then disappeared into the darkness. A mother and her calf were playing in the distance so the boat glided over slowly to see them, instead of scaring them off they came closer to see us – not sure who's watching who now! It was a fantastic couple of hours and we saw lots of whales but as good as the boat was the drive back was even better. About 40km from town is a sheltered bay with beach all along it so we took a small detour to check it out. As we drove along you could see whales literally a stones throw from the shoreline. We pulled into a sand dune to get a closer look and it was amazing, a couple of whales were… how can I put this…making baby whales about 20 meters from where we stood! If we’d had a Barry White CD in the car I would have put it on! Further in the distance along the shore you could see other whale couples, this was obviously the place to come and make whale love! Having acted like voyeurs for an hour or so we let them have some privacy as the sun was setting and returned to town.