We read an article about Bahia Bustamante, the “poor man’s Galapagos”, seven years ago in “The New York Times” and we were hooked. We saved the article and placed Bahia Bustamante near the top of our “places to go” list. It took a long time – mostly due to its location in faraway Patagonia – but we finally made it!
What’s so special? Bahia Bustamante is remote, reachable by a half hour’s drive down a gravel road. No cell phone access and forget wifi. It’s huge (200,000 acres ) and pristine landscape with many animals and birds – and no evidence of people apart from the handful of staff and guests.
The white-rumped sandpiper on a beach at Bahia Bustamante in Patagonia.
Who does live here? On the land we might see rhea, armadillo, grey fox, mara, and guanaco. We also were certain to see some of the 25,000 sheep at Bahia Busamante.
Large breeding colonies of Magellanic penguins (60,000 in breeding season) and lion seals (3,500 in breeding season) are two of the marine inhabitants.
And there’s a lot more, too, but the most important is a 60-million year old petrified forest.
There are only a handful of cottages for guests who are well-fed in a quaint dining room looking out to the Bustamante Bay. Excursions are planned for the guests each day.
This what we knew before we came. We planned an extravagant 6-day stay at the end of our 7-month trip to South America. It was a true vacation for us!
We took a boat ride on Malaspina Bay to see islands teeming with sea lions, gulls, cormorants and ducks. Another day we drove in Land Rovers to see the Petrified Forest.
On a sunny day we walked along a beach, hiked up a short hill, and then back down through sand to “Toboggan Beach”, a perfect place to swim (if you don’t mind cold water).
We stopped to see a pilot whale that died on the beach five years ago, confused by a fishing vessel’s radar.
Afternoons were spent taking walks and a few photos, napping, and reading.
On one walk we almost missed this little flower because it was just a few inches tall. Due to the harsh conditions, many plants are on the small size.
Did Bahia Bustamante live up to our expectations? Actually, it exceeded them!
To be continued…
November 2016
simpletravelourway 
Pingback: remembrance of travel past | simpletravelourway
Wonderful! Never heard of it, sounds great – looking forward to the next part (and the whale skeleton is an unusual and unique sight)
Fantastic. Looking forward to seeing the petrified forest.