Puerto Madryn, Argentina, South America

I had talked to Gaston from the hostel yesterday about my different options for today, but after I told him that I had been to the Galapagos Islands and I’m on my way to Antarctica, he recommended that I just chill by the beach today. The main things to do in Puerto Madryn are to see whales, penguins, sea lions and dolphins. I’ve already seen sea lions, and I’m going to see whales and penguins in Antarctica, so it would have been a waste of money to see them here as well.

I took his advice and just had a chill day today. I walked down by the beach. Had lunch at a different restaurant by the beach. Caught up on some picture organizing for the blog, and just relaxed. It was really nice. The french guys and Gerbrand all left today, so I got a new roommate in my dorm. She is a really nice Aussie girl named Emily, and she’s down here for a three month trip. She’s been to some of the same places as me, so that was fun to talk about. It’s her first time traveling on her own so I was able to give her some tips and recommendations. I like being able to help out other travelers. That’s how I learned most of what I know now, is from the experiences of other people.

I went out for dinner with Emily and Jonas at a restaurant called Lizard Pizza Cafe. We each had a pizza which was pretty good, and then headed back to the hostel. I just chilled in the room chatting with Emily for the rest of the night, and got a chance to Skype with Melissa as well. It’s going to be weird not being able to talk to Melissa or my family for ten days while I’m on the cruise, but there’s just not going to be an option. I thought I was going to be cut off from the outside world when I went to Easter Island, but that was nothing. This is going to be real isolation!