Viaje a Patagonia

Hola todos,

This weekend I went on a trip with my program to Patagonia — the cold, southern region of South America. I saw lots of animals in Puerto Madryn and visited an espacio para la memoria (memorial space) in Trelew.

Our flight from Buenos Aires left at 4:00 am! It took about an hour. Once we got there and got settled in our hostel, we set out for our first activity: buceo (scuba diving!). We put on neoprenes — thick bodysuits to keep us warm in the freeeezing water — and went out in the Pacific in a speedboat to find some lobos del mar (sea wolves). I wasn't sure exactly what those were, but after a 20- or 30-minute boat ride, I found out! They are cute, brown, seal-looking things! I'll try to post a picture of them later.

I had a cold, and wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go swimming in that cold or put a snorkeling mask on. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so I did it! We went to an area where the sea wolves/sea lions hang out and swam with them for a while. They're cute, and like to play, brush past people, and be pet — a lot like dogs on land! I braved the water (cold as ice!) and pet a few of them. I got creeped out when one brushed past me, though. Their fins have spidery-looking fingers and their eyes are glassy brown. Cute, but fishy! lol. When we got back in the boat, we were all super-freezing and drank hot mate (a type of tea) and coffee to warm ourselves up and ate some alfajores (like Little Debbie cakes, except richer!). I took some pictures from the boat, but unfortunately my camera got a little wet and fizzled out. =/ I still have my cell phone camera, though, and Fede said I can use his camera if I want.

Later that day we went to a beach to watch some Franco-Austral whales. The water was really deep, and the whales were only about 20 feet away from the shore. They're huge and have big callouses on their skin. They didn't really do anything interesting — just swam back and forth. But it was surreal to see them, and nice to sit on the beach.

On Saturday we went to la Península Valdés to see more Franco-Austral whales from a boat. We watched a few hembras y sus crías (female animals and their offspring). The babies tried to copy what their mothers did — they turned upside down so that their tails popped out of the water, jumped, and swam under the boat. The whales are curious about humans, and like to watch us as much as we like watching them! =)

Later that day we saw some penguins. There were about 40 of them in the grass, grooming themselves and sleeping. When you see them up close, their feathers look spiky. They reminded me of hedgehogs!

For dinner me and some friends bought some pasta and sauce to make at the hostel. It was warm, cheap, delicious, and one of the highlights of the day! lol. My cold kept getting worse and worse as I spent more time out in the wind. =/ I got lots of sleep that night, though, which helped.

The next day we went to Punta Ninfas (Nymph Point) to see elefantes marinos (sea elephants). They are like giant white sea lions. To get to them we had to climb down a huge sandstone cliff and walk maybe a quarter of a mile on a rocky beach (I love beaches with rocks). It was exhausting for me — being sick — but worth it! We sat with some pregnant sea elephants on the beach and watched them and a few of their babies. They scooched along on their bellies, scratched themselves with their fins (which have five little fingers and claws), made burping noises, and fidgeted with their tails (which also look sort of like hands). They were bizarre and cool, lol.

I love the landscape in Patagonia. There are green shrubs for miles and miles, blue skies, and desert animals like hares and guanacos (orange llamas! — my favorite animals of the trip).

Our final mini-trip was to Trelew, where a famous prison break and a massacre took place. Hundreds of political prisoners were sent to the high-security prison in Trelew in the early 70's. The idea was to get them away from the big cities where they had a lot of support and influence. The guards were prepared for a prison break attempt, but expected it to come from the outside. Instead, though, the prisoners (with some support from people in the town of Trelew) planned a fuga (a prison break) from the inside. They made fake guns and military uniforms, got themselves punished on purpose in order to see more of the prison and construct more detailed maps, got a prison guard to cooperate, and arranged for trucks to pick them up. The escape was partly successful, but because of one misinterpretation of a signal, some of the trucks didn't come. The most important leaders left the prison in a car, and the others, when the trucks they had planned for didn't come, called taxis!

The first group got onto a plane with their military uniforms and told the passengers that they were drilling responses to terrorist attacks. They stalled for as long as they could to wait for the others, but it wasn't long enough. Only 6 of the 25 people that escaped from the prison successfully made it onto the plane and safely into Chile. The 19 that arrived to the airport in taxis but missed the plane were captured, tortured, and massacred by the marines. After almost 40 years, the guilty parties are in the process of being punished right now. Many of them had escaped to the US, where one of them still lives (and works for the Pentagon).

If you're interested in this topic, I recommend the documentary "Trelew," which is what we watched at the espacio de memoria (in the airport where the prisoners escaped).

Today is a holiday — el Día del estudiante, Student Day — so I don't have class! I'm going to los Bosques de Palermo/Palermo Forests with some friends. I'm still kind of sick, but I've never been to these forests, and it should be fun. =)

Hasta luego!
Kaeli