Penguins Are Cool!

Again we pack up our tents in the dark and hit the road. Long boring Patagonian roads of windswept nothingness. We drive until we reach Cabo Dos Bahias, a penguin colony. Penguins are cool! Okay, so they don't actually do that much on land, but they're really cool to watch. For the most part they look back at you, twisting their heads to view you from different angles. And when they waddle around the shore or to the sea... fantastic! They occasionally squawk and have a go at each other. Fight, fight, fight! But it doesn't last long, they soon give up. The other truckers, having spent all day yesterday watching penguins and sea lions get bored and soon head back. That left Nick and I gazing at these amusing creatures for longer than the others wanted. Penguin time was over when the truck started honking its horn. Boo. The best part about Cabo Dos Bahias is that it's off the beaten track, so apart from an old German couple we were the only people there.

I can't move on without mentioning Armadillos! I've seen real wild Armadillos! (Okay, so they didn't do much either, but still...)

On the way to the campsite I sit and chat with Safari Steve about Rally driving, Oil rigs and working in Amsterdam (which now grabs me as a really good idea). The "Party Truck" falls asleep as usual so I entertain myself by clambering around the truck and taking photos of dead people from obscure angles.

On arrival to the campsite a couple of people talk about climbing the hill next to us. I eagerly wait for the climb to begin but interest soon wains amongst the lethargic party people. Frustrated, I take it upon myself to peg it up the mountain on my own before it gets too dark, as the sun was already setting. There was a lot of scrambling on all fours to get up the sandy hill-side - but that just made it all the more fun to run back down! My photos from the top proved I still reined supreme. I rule, I rule! But no-one (in particular, the girls) were that impressed.

Posted by Steve Eynon