Puerto Madryn, Argentina

March 8^th, 2024

Penguins today!

We decided to take the ship’s tour to the Valdes peninsular. Not only would we get to see penguins, but there are also sea lions and elephant seals, so it had the promise of a good day of wild life viewing, my favorite type of excursion.

It was a long drive to the peninsula, but as soon as we got there we got to see guanacos,  llama like creatures, which are very cute.

There are also beautiful wild horses.

We stopped at the visitors’ center to learn all about the park, and had a good look at the landscape from the observation tower.

The peninsular is very flat.

Our next wildlife sighting was an armadillo in the parking lot, which was at extreme danger of getting run over by all of the tour buses.

Next stop was to see the penguins. We all climbed out of the bus with great expectations and looked over the cliff where they should have been, but there was not a penguin in sight. The only visible creatures were some sheep. I was so disappointed, but our guide said maybe they had gone away for a little while and they would be back later. So we all climbed back into the bus to go and see the elephant seals.

Luckily the elephant seals had not gone away, and we were able to watch them on the shore below us. Most were napping, but we did get to see some movement.

Our next stop was in Puerto Pyramides which is where the whale watching tours leave from during the season, but it was pretty deserted now. I am impressed by the beach.

At our final stop we saw the sea lions. We walked along the boardwalk to the viewing platforms. There were several youngsters, who seemed to be having a good time. We spent a long time just enjoying their antics.

On our way back to Puerto Madryn we stopped off at the penguin beach again, but there was still no sign of any penguins. So I guess, no penguins today alas.

The Sapphire Princess has won the award for having the best crew in the fleet based on passenger satisfaction scores, so there was the presentation of a cup and a check for the crew followed by a party at one of the pools attended by the passengers and crew members. It was a bit cool out on deck by the pool, but everyone seemed to be having a great time dancing.

The captain really does seem to appreciate the crew and frequently acknowledges how hard they all work, which is so nice to see. Although he doesn’t do the noon message (he officer of the watch does), whenever he does make an announcement it always sounds like he really cares about what he is saying.

I went to bed thinking that there are several things I really miss on Princess (great food, chocolates on my pillow, flowers on our table and attractively folded napkins at dinner, glass glasses and china plates in the buffet, and afternoon tea), the atmosphere and lay out of the Sapphire Princess are splendid, and I really am having a good time.

However, it would have been better if we got to see penguins……………