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Armadillo |
The Orcas – Peninsula Valdes – Obsession – Orca Watch. (Map this!)
Glued to our binoculars, we focus on a point far away on the beach where sea lions are basking in the sun. Some of the unsupervised pups are frolicking in the sea, oblivious to the Orcas a hair’s breadth away. We see the fins getting closer and closer and suddenly, one no, two whales are out of the water and on the beach. Although we can barely tell, one has a baby sea lion in its mouth. Yes, definitely, because the gulls and the petrels are starting to circle.
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An unfortunate in an Orca grip |
The Peninsula Valdes is a World Heritage Site known for its amazing whale watching. We are “accidentally” here in perfect time to watch the Orcas devour baby sea lions. People from all over the world come specially for this sight, we hear of a couple from the UK that stayed for 3 weeks until they saw a successful kill. National Geographic and the Discovery Channel have sent a whole team of photographers and videographers here; needless to say they are in a prime location some fifty feet away from the action.
Peninsula Valdes awakens obsession in people and they make drastic changes in their plans to visit the whales. Being on the windswept plains we too became obsessed with a pressing need of seeing an Orca kill. Weeks and months from now, I will be unable to recapture this evanescent drive. Maybe one day we will stumble upon this blog entry and remember and return, only this time armed with a telescope…
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Armadillo |
A Pod |
Danger |
Fox |
Meanwhile, us and twenty other folks are huddled against the cold Patagonian winds, united in our mission. We swap stories with our fellow hopefuls, eat salami and cheese when we remember lunch, listen faithfully to every braodcast on the park ranger’s radio reporting the movements of the orcas. We run from one end of the observation point to another, following them until a bend in the peninsula forces us to let them go. We will wait patiently until they return for the next kill…
Oh my goodness…amazing. Well Done pod mixed with oh man poor little pup. Man nature is just tough.
That is just amazing, how fortunate to see all this.
The pictures of Armadillo and fox are awesome. You are lucky to be there just in time to watch Orcas and the kill as well. The opportune time also coincides with Shreesh’s birthday. What better way to spend birthday than this!!. Shreesh, myself and Daddy wish you happy birthday and many many happy returns of the day.
Please try to call us if you can. It has been a long since we heard your voice.
Aai
Katherine –
It is an incredible and hypnotic. I do feel sad for the pups – they are so cute!
Aai –
Thanks for the birthday wishes
Wow – I had no idea you could get in such close proximity to orcas in Patagonia. Thanks for sharing! We just booked a kayaking expedition in Johnstone Strait for the sole purpose of seeing orcas. You definitely got the better deal since you saw them devour sea lions. Bonus!
Lily,
“Close proximity” is an overstatement. They were pretty far off. However, if you are really lucky, you can see attacks close by. It all depends on luck.