THE GUANACOS OF PATAGONIA

We were on our way to Peninsula Valdes, a nature reserve in Argentina listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, to see a colony of Magellanic penguins, sea lions and seals when our tour guide started pointing at these llama looking animals with the face of a camel. We were driving through the grasslands of the Patagonia so there was barely any obstruction to our view of these beautiful creatures. They’re called guanacos and they are close relatives to the camels, vicunas, llamas and alpacas. Unfortunately, we were on a scheduled tour so the bus didn’t stop to allow us to take photographs. All these photos were taken from inside a moving tour bus. I had to adjust the settings on my DSLR for sharper images. Thankfully, I had my zoom lens on my camera which allowed me to photograph them from a distance.

PENINSULA VALDES

In the northeast region of the Chubut Province in Argentina is a peninsula extending out to the Atlantic Ocean hosting diverse ecosystems unique to that part of the world. The Peninsula Valdes is home to the guanacos, rheas and maras while it’s shorelines are littered with sea lions, seals and the adorable Magellanic penguins. The land meanwhile varies from rocky cliffs and beaches to mudflats, sand dunes and expansive grasslands. This dynamic ecosystem was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1999 and was one of the places to explore when my cruise docked at the nearby town of Puerto Madryn. I took hundreds of photographs of the interesting flora and fauna and will feature them in groups on succeeding posts. The photographs in this post were taken at one of the lookout points for elephant seals and whales and I thought the flat and arid terrain was really interesting especially for someone who lived around palm trees all his life. I love the colors of the grasses and shrubs, a beautiful combination of brown, yellow and green, carpeting the flat terrain as far as my eyes can see. Argentina is such a beautiful country that I wish I had more time to explore and photograph it. Maybe someday fate will allow me for another visit.

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