Trip to «The Galapagos» of Patagonia

For: Gerardo Bartolomé
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Faced with this strange triangular stone animatedly group ate in the camp while the sun set, makes it very late at this time of year in southern Patagonia. Each told stories of their long journey. A light-haired boy recounted his journey across the pampas with gauchos. Counted as an ostrich had hunted these American, an ostrich, bolas with its strange to eat at night. "I was told that Gauchos in Patagonia had other ostrich, a smaller one. Did you see anyone you?”. One of the officers responded: "Sure! Is what we are eating. "Immediately the light-haired boy stood up and started to get all the bones of the plate. While the rest of the group looked stunned, The boy went into the trash and recovered the animal's head and most of their large feathers. “¡Eureka!”, shouted with satisfaction.

That shot the idea of ​​Biogeography, key for the naturalist unraveled the mystery of mysteries: the origin of species by evolution

So, I guess, funny event occurred choique discovery, as currently called Patagonian ostrich, scientist whose first name was in honor of Rhea darwinii Charles Darwin, that young brown hair, on that Christmas Eve Puerto Deseado, determined that it was a distinct species of rhea pampeano. The discovery was far more important than the simple classification of a new species. The Patagonian ostrich, much like the pampas, woke the young Charles's concern why similar species living in contiguous territories. That shot the idea of ​​Biogeography, key for the naturalist unraveled the mystery of mysteries: the origin of species by evolution.

From the heights of the cliffs in the Deseado estuary watched the strange triangular stone that marked the place where the crew of the Beagle encamped in the afternoon of 1834. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The trickle, The grandly named Rio Deseado, ran between white sand encased in a deep valley of colored stones. Despite being more than twenty miles from the sea a couple of times a year brings a high tide seawater there. One of those rare lunar-solar alignments occur around Christmas and it was then that the crew of the Beagle could navigate inland, in their boats in search of drinking water than the incoming tide them farther and farther. In that place, now called "Viewpoints Darwin", the artist Beagle (Conrad Martens) drew the campsite including the strange triangular stone, why was I so sure of seeing the exact. "No I have never seen a place apart from the world that this rocky crevice in the wide plain", Darwin writes in his diary and this remains true today.

We remain on board our van towards the town of Puerto Deseado, where the river is wide and deep. In front of our hotel room we had another strange stone, This Y-shaped. “Britanny Rock” called Fitz Roy in a fit of patriotism, Today it is called Tufa Stone. In another drawing by Conrad Martens appears the crew hunting at the foot of this rock. In the picture are seen maras, or Patagonian hare, now hard to find since they were displaced by the introduced European free early twentieth century.

We remain on board our van towards the town of Puerto Deseado, where the river is wide and deep

While the crew of the Beagle and relieving this natural harbor mapeaba, our young naturalist collected specimens of the rich fauna. So much so that many know as "The Galapagos of Patagonia". Some young friends of mine created Darwin Expeditions, a venture tourism enthusiasts carrying tourists to know the beauties that the naturalist could appreciate one hundred and eighty years ago. One of the pearls is "the wall of cormorants". It is a stone wall where three species of cormorants nest safe from terrestrial predators. December to February are feeding their young, who quickly reach the size of their parents. As we approached, as quietly as he could, cormorants stood in front of their young guard signal. I got tired of not take pictures that will enhance the color of your eyes and plumage. Near some sea lions swam there and also spent some dolphins locally known as bottlenose dolphins.

The key is the abundance of large schools of fish to choose the shelter of the estuary to grow and multiply. There are marine mammal prey and cormorants dende easy to get the food they demanded their young.

Three days we were in the place, but there is so much that we decided to stop to see the ruins of the old Spanish settlement unfortunate for another chance.

Return to Puerto Deseado looking for more stories.

Contacto@GerardoBartolome.com
Gerardo Bartolomé traveler and writer is. To learn more about him and his work go to www.GerardoBartolome.com

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Comments (3)

  • Blas Cuevas

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    Great photos of animals, especially those of cormorants. The bird photos are one of my passions as an amateur, very fond, to photography.

    Answer

  • Lorena

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    Great story and amazing photos sr. BArtolome. Reading to me still more desire to come visit Patagonia. Is it safe to travel on your own by alli?

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  • Gerardo Bartolome

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    Lorena, Blas.Gracias for your feedback. I love photographing birds, I have already 250 Argentine species photographed.
    Regarding travel in Patagonia, is absolutely safe to do so. The distances are too great and the costs can be, so you should plan it well.
    I always think about organizing a tour so that tourists can get to know “my” Patagonia. Maybe I will in the 2012.
    Greetings from Argentina

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