PUERTO MADRYN

Located on the south-eastern coast of Argentina's famous Patagonia region, Puero Madryn is a relatively recent development, founded in the mid-1800's by the Welsh, although the first humans made it here 10,000 years ago, and dinosaurs roamed the area 250 million years ago. The city has a population of 60,000 -- although our tour encountered only a few dozen in the 100-degree heat of the bush country. We headed for the Valdes Peninsula by mini-bus, across 75 miles of dusty, rock-bed road., We enjoyed a sumputuous lunch at the San Lorenzo sheep farm -- with cheese, wine, olive and sausage starter, tender lamb, Empenada meat pastries, more wine, and a carmel flan to die for ... then we witnessed the breeding grounds of about 200,000 Magellen Penguins; hidden in nests under shrubs, or learning to swim and fish near the beaches that stretch to infinity. Down the road apiece was a separate colony of sea elephants -- measuring up to 20 feet long and three tons, which is a mere morsel for a 10-ton Orca Killer Whale. Then photographed a baby Burrowing Owl on a fencepost, saw a pair of Patagonian Cavy -- a rodent, which looks like a super-sized jack rabbit, and wild llama's roaming all over the bush, sometimes in battle for a mate (photo).