Puerto Madryn, Argentina – The Patagonian Desert

My mind conjured an image of Patagonia. Snow covered mountains, pristine lakes and massive glaciers.  Those features are part of the region, but not the in the area that I visited this week.  Patagonia is vast!  Located in the southern most part of South America it spans roughly 260,000 square miles, encompassing parts of both Chili and Argentina.  The region is home to roughly 2 million people making it one of the most sparsely populated regions on the planet. 

As it turns out, most of Patagonia is a barren, cold desert.  The high mountains to the east trap moisture and humidity leaving the western side a desolate steppe where temperatures rarely reach above the mid 70’s in the summer and drop to the low 30’s in winter.  This isn't immediately apparent when arriving from the sea. The beachside town of Puerto Madryn can only be described as charming.  It was early morning when I arrived. The tide was high and the beach largely deserted.  The street next to the beach was lined with small, modern looking shops and restaurants set back from a wide sidewalk.  It looked like what you would expect from a tiny, out of the way resort town.

As we traveled up the main road, our guide introduced us to the town.  The population is just over half a million and the inhabitants are primarily the descendants of 19th-century Welsh immigrants.  The influence is apparent everywhere and you will likely see the Welsh flag flying along side of the flags from Argentina and the providence of Chubut.

As we travel outside of town, the paved, treelined streets give way to a dry and dusty landscape. As the bus bumped along I gazed out the window now covered with a thin layer of dirt. I never imagined that I would find beauty in such a wasteland, but there is a wild splendor in the endless expanse.  It feels untouched, unspoiled, and oddly out of time. 

Before traveling to the Estancia, we made a stop at an overlook to catch a glimpse of some of the non-human inhabitants. We disembarked on the edge of an impressive bluff to gaze on the sea lions sunning themselves on the beach below.  Their singing sounds echoed up and while the adult males with their thick manes exuded a sense of protectiveness, the females primarily lazed in the sunshine while the babies bobbled about the beach flopping in and out of the water having a joyous time.

It's impossible to observe sea lions without smiling.  Their sounds are funny and the way they move is adorable. 

After spending time with the sea lions we headed further inland to San Guillermo Estancia, a working sheep ranch.  In the late 19th and early 20th century sheep farming was a major industry in Patagonia.  The sheep originally came to the region with the British settlers and while it took some time to take hold, by the 1950’s over 20 million sheep roamed the land.  Since then the numbers have dwindled for a variety of reasons including the declining price of wool, the emergence of the oil industry in the Straight of Magellan, and periods of social unrest.  The industry still exists today but in a different form and a number of smaller Estancias have integrated tourism into ranch work giving visitors an a small taste of life on the steppe. 

Visiting San Guillermo felt like stepping into another world.  Despite the modern buildings and equipment, it maintained a feeling of another time and different sort of life.  It felt peaceful and quiet. A place to wander about slowly while looking at sheep, goats, chickens, and dogs.  There was even a bright peacock preening about.  We were able to view a sheep shearing demonstration and learn more about the animals, how they were cared for and how the wool from different parts of the body was separated and used for different products.  At first the shearing seemed like it must be uncomfortable for the animal but the male in questions seemed pretty cool with the whole process, just like he was getting a much-needed haircut.  I have no idea why it was so interesting to watch, but it was strangely satisfying.

After a couple of hours, we boarded the bus to head back to the pier. Once again there was the opportunity to view the endless landscape.  In some ways it reminded me of west Texas or maybe certain parts of Arizona, but neither of those comparisons it quite right.  It brought to mind a movie I had seen back in the 1990's, "The House of the Spirits." I remember that the story took place in Chile, and while I'm not certain in it was Patagonia, the land, buildings and lifestyle of the more modern characters seemed to mirror this place.

I wish I had more time to spend in the area, but that is one of the downsides of cruising, you get a small sample of a place and then it’s time to move on.   Fortunately, there is still more of Patagonia that I will get to see and I can't wait!

You can find more photos from my time in Central Patagonia on my Instagram at 3rdquarterexplorer.