The Other Galapagos

I thought I had seen it all when I traveled to the Galapagos several years ago.  I sailed for several nights on a ship that visited almost all the islands.  I saw Sea Lions, Penguins, Iguanas, Blue Footed Boobies, Cormorants, and of course, George the Giant Tortoise.  It was totally amazing.   On the Peninsula Valdez in the northern part of Argentine Patagonia, the only missing species was the turtles.  It is also a haven for the Southern Right Whale and Orcas in season, both of which are not seen in the Galapagos.  Peninsula Valdez is more than amazing.     The Galapagos is visited by thousands of tourists every year.  Peninsula Valdez is visited by very few. I was the only living human in the Penguin Rookery at the north end of the Peninsula.  Here there can be more than 20,000 pairs of Magellanic Penguins during the mating season.  The day I was there, there were fewer than that, as the babies had already left the nests, but as far as the eye could see, there were nests of Penguins…..all cooing and making calls to their mates.   That same day, I walked a solitary beach with only me, my naturalist guide and over 100 sea lions.  We sat on a rocky outcrop within 20 feet of these huge animals as they played and learned adult male behavior.  The females had already gone to sea to begin their fishing and looking for food to store up for the next season of mating and producing pups for future breeding cycles.  Sea Lions are huge animals weighing more than 2 tons with a big furry mass of fat around their necks that adds to their bellows when they are mating.   Seals on the other hand, are more prolific. They are everywhere by the 1000’s.  They even swim beside our small skiff as we circled the island nearby our accommodations at the wonderful Bahia Bustamante.  These seals are real comedians as the chase our boat only to jump up and look inside (to see if we have any fish they can eat) or lope up the beach chasing all kinds of sea birds or baby seals that get in their way.   As in the Galapagos, the Cormorants and sea birds are gliding along for the ride, picking off fish that are left behind by the seals and Sea Lions and the barnacles on the Right Whales as they come up for air.  These are the largest mammals on earth and are on the endangered species list as less than 200 are left in the Atlantic Ocean.   Best of all in this secret Galapagos, there are no cruise ships, no yachts, and no hotels.  There are only the historic haciendas of willing families who have opened their homes to individuals who love the flora and fauna of this area.   Each night I was welcome to a way of life that has existed in Argentina for hundreds of years.  At Bahia Bustamante, the main business is the harvesting of the local seaweed to sell for export to make things like ice cream and cosmetics. They also have a petrified forest of ancient trees on their land that stretches for over 50 miles in any direction.   At the wonderful Ricon Chico, Augustine, the owner took me on an awesome trip up and over the sand dunes on his Estancia at sunset for some spectacular pictures.    His sheep farm that was owned by generations in his family is over 800,000 acres and he boasts that he has over 270 miles of fencing to keep up with during the year.   Keep in mind that in none of these places is there electricity during the day.  The generators are turned on at 7PM and run to 11PM, so if I needed to blow dry my hair, or charge my cameras….I had to plan ahead.   I got very used to this wonderful alternative and secret Galapagos.  Instead of the honking of cars back home, it was really special to go to sleep to the honking of Sea Lions and Penguins.  Even without electricity….I could get used to this.