Argentina
Trips

Visit the whales from
Peninsula Valdez

Visitajes, Ballenas Francas / Visit the whales

Mother whale in a bay of Peninsula Valdez. November 2002.
Photo by the editor © Rob Nuijten, Amsterdam. Torito PasionArte.

Instead of making the day-tour from Puerto Madryn (airport and costal town) and visit the peninsula, the whales, the penguins, sea eliphants, orca's all in one day and at the end of it, be brought back to Puerto Madryn, I decided to do the day tour but have me dropped off at Puerto Piramides, at the peninsula, and check into a cheap room. The day-tour guide and driver would pick me up after 3 days, at the end of on one of their next tours.
This way I could stay at the peninsula and hang around at the bay in which the whales bring up their young. Every day I made an 'avistaje', an organised boat trip towards the whales and every time we saw a few. Sometimes as close as the one on the photo above, one times even closer, when a big whale dived under our boat and calmly swam to the other side. The closest encounter was with a baby whale (as big as an elephant), who swam to our boat to take a close look at the strange creatures with the bright orange vestst in it.
The water is very cold and mostly only the locals manage to swim in it. Swimming with the whales is not allowed here. It's a nature reserve and mosts boats come already closer than ever was meant to be. Puerto Piramides has also scuba diving facilities. One could be scuba diving with a whale swimming at 50 mtrs distance, as I experienced myself. Swimming towards the whales however, is not allowed. The park watchers may have you and your instructor be thrown in prison for it.

To the peninsula, there's little public transport facilities. Some days even none.

 Rob Nuijten, editor of Go Tango Worldwide.

In English (Still being edited) 

http://www.patagonia-argentina.com

http://www.trekshare.com/

http://www.ballyhea.net/weblog/

http://www.tango-tour.com.ar/

http://www.whalesargentina.com.ar/

http://www.traveladventures.org/

http://www.kmxkm.com.ar/

http://www.vacationstogo.com/

http://www.latitudsur.org.ar/

Sites in spanish (castellano)
En castellano

(Still being edited)

http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi98/
Ballena-Franca-Austral/alimento.htm

http://www.patagonia.com.ar/chubut/puertomadryn/maraustral.php

http://www.intertournet.com.ar/parquesnacionales/
monnatballenafrancaaustral.htm

http://www.argentinianexplorer.com/espanol/glaciares_condiciones.asp

http://www.eco2site.com/patagonia/monu%20nacion%20ballenas.asp

http://www.medioambiente.gov.ar/faq/especies_cites/mamiferos/
ballena_franca.htm

http://www.puntaballena.com.ar/ballena-franca.html

http://www.fnaweb.com.ar/BALLENAfrancaFRERS.htm

http://www.ecoportal.net/articulos/ballena.htm

http://www.icb.org.ar/programa.htm

http://famdiver.com.ar/pmadryn.htm

http://www.argentrip.com/valdes/dervaldesballfranca.htm

http://famdiver.com.ar/f119.htm

http://www.ubp.edu.ar/todoambiente/ecoturismo/areas_protegidas/
ballena_franca.html

http://www.patrian.com.ar/foto/ballena.shtml

http://www.laargentina.com.ar/
VerItem.asp?idNota=5090&localidad=00002

http://www.webmadryn.com.ar/rg.htm

http://www.todo-argentina.net/ecologia/animales_en_peligro/
ballena_austral.htm

http://www.icbargentina.com.ar/template.asp?op=4

http://www.anima.org.ar/movimientos/legislacion/leynacional_23094.htm

http://www.patrian.com.ar/productos/posters.shtml

http://www.todo-argentina.net/Geografia/Parques/animales/
ballena_franca_o_austral.htm

http://www.ripioturismo.com.ar/pmyplavald.htm

http://www.chubutur.gov.ar/galerias/fotos-fauna-ballena-franca.html

http://www.aonikenk.com.ar/DESTINOS/Puerto%20Madryn/fotos.htm

http://www.turismosurlanus.com.ar/argentina
TurismoSur/fotosdata/destinos/ptomadryn/fotos.html

http://www.fnaweb.com.ar/Sumario1.htm

http://www.trelewpatagonia.gov.ar/avaldes.htm

http://www.proterra.com.ar/site/proterra/sections/
proyectoProterra/index-chubut.ihtml

http://www.interpatagonia.com/puertomadryn/fotos_i.html