Gaiman
[[Gaiman - a small city with non-argentinian sounding name (I immediately thought of Neil Gaiman), was created in 19th century by welsh immigrants and it definitely influenced the local architecture and feeling of the city. You can walk around the town and enjoy a cup of tea and gorgeous looking pastry in one of Gaiman’s beautiful tearooms. We arrived very early and couldn’t decide which one to visit (and wait until they actually open), so we bought everything what we saw in a local bakery and enjoyed a picnic on the riverside. Gaiman is a calm and relaxed small town with a unique atmosphere and a joy to spend a few hours or days.///Gaiman - a small city with non-argentinian sounding name (I immediately thought of Neil Gaiman), was created in 19th century by welsh immigrants and it definitely influenced the local architecture and feeling of the city. You can walk around the town and enjoy a cup of tea and gorgeous looking pastry in one of Gaiman’s beautiful tearooms. We arrived very early and couldn’t decide which one to visit (and wait until they actually open), so we bought everything what we saw in a local bakery and enjoyed a picnic on the riverside. Gaiman is a calm and relaxed small town with a unique atmosphere and a joy to spend a few hours or days.///Mestečko Gaiman, ktorého názov neznie veľmi Argentínsky, bolo založené v 19. storočí waleskými imigrantami, ktoré sa podpísalo na architektúre ako aj na lokálnych atrakciách. Nájdete tu nádherné čajovne a pekárne plné vynikajúceho čajového pečiva, ktoré sa podáva aj v samotných čajovniach. My sme sa nevedeli rozhodnúť, do ktorej chceme ísť a nechcelo sa nám čakať do otvorenia, tak sme si nakúpili v pekárni a urobili si piknik pri rieke. Gaiman je kľudné a príjemné malé mestečko s jedinečnou atmosférou.]]
Península Valdés
[[On our long way north, the main point of interest and by far the most interesting place to visit on the east coast is Península Valdés (humbly called by themselves as The most beautiful bays of the world) - peninsula mostly known for many animals you can watch on its shore, including whale watching (southern right whale) from june till middle of december (so we obviously missed that). Depending on time of the year, you can also see killer whales, penguins and dolphins.///On our long way north, the main point of interest and by far the most interesting place to visit on the east coast is Península Valdés (humbly called by themselves as The most beautiful bays of the world) - peninsula mostly known for many animals you can watch on its shore, including whale watching (southern right whale) from june till middle of december (so we obviously missed that). Depending on time of the year, you can also see killer whales, penguins and dolphins.///Cestou sme nemohli nenavštíviť Península Valdés (veľmi skromne si dávajú prívlastok “najkrajšie zátoky sveta”), poloostrov známy možnosťou pozorovania veľrýb v období od júna do polky decembra, ktoré sme samozrejme v januári minuli, a troch druhov tuleňov. Zahliadnuť sa dajú aj kosatky medzi februárom až aprílom a tučniaky od októbra do marca a celoročne občas zahliadnete aj delfíny.]]
[[Before entering, once again we were unpleasantly surprised by the “4-way pricing”(locals,argentinians,mercosur,the rest). We absolutely understand and support that local people and Argentinians who pay taxes should pay less or even nothing… What we don’t get that they charge mercosur countries (most of South American countries - and they don’t have any sort of bilateral agreements with them about this) and other countries of the world. If they really are going to charge more than double that mercosur countries pay(and 4x as Argentinians), at least they should invest a few of these entrance fees and pay someone to do their english translations properly and not with spanglish(sorry, rant over). We carrived later afternoon and because the entry was about 20$/person/day and we didn’t want to rush, we found a nice free campspot on the beach a few kilometres before the park entrance.///Before entering, once again we were unpleasantly surprised by the “4-way pricing”(locals,argentinians,mercosur,the rest). We absolutely understand and support that local people and Argentinians who pay taxes should pay less or even nothing… What we don’t get that they charge mercosur countries (most of South American countries - and they don’t have any sort of bilateral agreements with them about this) and other countries of the world. If they really are going to charge more than double that mercosur countries pay(and 4x as Argentinians), at least they should invest a few of these entrance fees and pay someone to do their english translations properly and not with spanglish(sorry, rant over). We carrived later afternoon and because the entry was about 20$/person/day and we didn’t want to rush, we found a nice free campspot on the beach a few kilometres before the park entrance.///Ako prvé nás opäť nemilo prekvapilo cenové rozdelenie. Samozrejme chápeme, že lokálni z blízkej oblasti a samotní argentínčania, ktorí si na správu parku prispievajú z vlastných daní a vláda chce zároveň podporiť lokálny turizmus, čo nás však prekvapilo najviac boli ceny pre skupinu mercosur (väčšina krajín Južnej Ameriky, s ktorými nemajú žiadne bilaterálne dohody) a ostatných krajín. Keď už si pýtaju dvojnásobok ako pre mercosur krajiny a 4-násobok ako pre lokálnych, tak by naozaj mohli investovať aj do poriadnych anglických prekladov. Vstup je len na jeden deň s možnosťou predĺženia, ak máte dopredu zajednané ubytovanie. 260 ARS (takmer 20$) nás rozhodne prekvapilo. Takže sme sa noc rozhodli stráviť blízko pred vstupom do parku na pláži, aby sme sa ďalší deň nemuseli ponáhľať.]]
[[During the night, we watched a spectacular lightning storm above the peninsula.///During the night, we watched a spectacular lightning storm above the peninsula.///Nad poloostrovom sa večer spustila riadna búrka.]]
[[The whole peninsula is quite large(4000 square km) - the northern point where you can watch the penguins and killer whales is 79km from the beginning.///The whole peninsula is quite large(4000 square km) - the northern point where you can watch the penguins and killer whales is 79km from the beginning.///Celý poloostrov je rozsiahly (4000km2), severný bod, odkiaľ sa dajú pozorovať okrem tuleňov aj kosatky, je vzdialený 79 km od prvého rázcestia.]]
[[Punta Pirámide is the first stop after the information center, just 25km further. There are south american sea lions and also whales during their period of reproduction. Right next to this ploace is Puerto Pirámides, which is a port and a place to catch a boat to do some more whale watching(september to december). There’s also a gas station and the only official campground, which is often full, so you have to book ahead. There are some wild spots to camp on the peninsula, but it’s prohibited… so it’s up to you if you want to risk it or not. 75km east from there is Punta Delgada - a beach with a large cliff, home to a large colony of elephant seals. A little bit more north is Punta Cantor where you can also watch elephant seals on the beach. With so many options and quite large distances, we first went to the tourist center to ask where to go during this time of the year and also read a bit about the animals and learn their proper names in english and spanish, because in so many languages, it was a bit confusing.///Punta Pirámide is the first stop after the information center, just 25km further. There are south american sea lions and also whales during their period of reproduction. Right next to this ploace is Puerto Pirámides, which is a port and a place to catch a boat to do some more whale watching(september to december). There’s also a gas station and the only official campground, which is often full, so you have to book ahead. There are some wild spots to camp on the peninsula, but it’s prohibited… so it’s up to you if you want to risk it or not. 75km east from there is Punta Delgada - a beach with a large cliff, home to a large colony of elephant seals. A little bit more north is Punta Cantor where you can also watch elephant seals on the beach. With so many options and quite large distances, we first went to the tourist center to ask where to go during this time of the year and also read a bit about the animals and learn their proper names in english and spanish, because in so many languages, it was a bit confusing.///Punta Pirámide je prvá zastavka od informačného centra, od ktorého je vzdialená 25 km. Nájdete tu tuleňov hrivnatých (South American sea lion) ale aj veľryby v obdobi reprodukcie. Hneď vedľa sa nachádza Puerto Pirámides odkiaľ odchádzajú lode s možnosťou sledovania veľrýb (Souther Right Whale) od júna do decembra. Nachádza sa tu aj čerpacia stanica a jediný kemping, ktorý zvykne byť plný. Kempovanie je povolené jedine v Puerto Pirámides, inak je striktne zakázané, rovnako aj vstup so zvieratami. Ďalších 75 km východne je Punta Delgada - pláž s útesom kde sa nachádza veľká kolónia tuleňov sloních (elephant seals). 42 km severne nad Punta Delgada sa nachádza Punta Cantor s možnosťou sledovania tuleňov sloních (elephant seal) na pláži. Naše prvé kroky viedli do turistického centra, kde nám poradili, kam sa máme vybrať, kde sa zrovna nachádzajú jednotlivé zvieratá a trošku sme si ujasnili terminológiu.]]
[[Quadrilingual section. Let's get the names right, because we were seriously confused what is what. :)///Quadrilingual section. Let's get the names right, because we were seriously confused what is what.///Štvorjazyčná časť - poďme si ujasniť čo je čo :)]]
Eubalaena australis = southern right whale = la ballena franca austral = veľryba južná [[(this was easy, the rest is a bit tricky, especialy in Slovak)///(this was easy, the rest is a bit tricky, especialy in Slovak)///Toto ešte bolo v pohode, no zvyšok nás trochu zmiatol]]
orcinus orca = killer whale = orca = kosatka dravá (not on the pictures)
mirounga leonina = southern elephant seal = elephante marino del sur = tuleň sloní
arctocephalus australis = South American fur seal = lobo marino de un pelo sudamericano = levovec medvedí
otaria flavescens = Patagonian sea lion = lobo marino de dos pelos sudamericano = tuleň hrivnatý
[[At the beginning of the peninsula, there’s also the “Bird Island”, that inspired Antoine de Saint Exupéry while writing his famous Little Prince. If you want to see the incredible amount of different birds on the island, I recommend getting yourself very good binoculars. We didn’t have them, so we could see that the island is almost covered with different types of birds, but it was too far away to distinguish the different species.///At the beginning of the peninsula, there’s also the “Bird Island”, that inspired Antoine de Saint Exupéry while writing his famous Little Prince. If you want to see the incredible amount of different birds on the island, I recommend getting yourself very good binoculars. We didn’t have them, so we could see that the island is almost covered with different types of birds, but it was too far away to distinguish the different species.///Pri začiatku rezervácie je Isla de los Pájaros (Ostrov papagájov), ktorým sa inšpiroval Antoine de Saint Exupéry pri písaní Malého Princa. Ak si chcete užiť pohľad na množstvo vtákov zblízka, odporúčam vám zohnať poriadny ďalekohľad. My sme skúsili jednotlivé druhy rozoznať, ale moc sa nám to nedarilo :). ]]
[[Next time - beach time, world's largest parrot colony and some other stuff, too.///Next time - beach time, world's largest parrot colony and some other stuff, too.///Nabudúce - trochu pláž a tak. A najväčšia kolónia papagájov na svete :)]]