The Elephant Seal Chronicles.

Our hotel on Punta Delgado is conveniently located near a beach where a large herd of Elephant Seals like to hang out during the month of September. Our timing couldn’t be better! After breakfast, a guide from the hotel took us and the two other guests to the beach. It was incredibly beautiful: sands, bluffs, cliffs… and the elephant seals, of course. From our height they looked like big lumps in the sand. They were so still that it took us some time to recognize that they were the animals we had come to see.

After admiring the view and getting some photos, we climbed down the bluff to a ridge above the beach… a perfect natural viewing area. The elephant seals lay like slugs across the sand. These guys really weren’t made for land travel, so they mostly just sleep. When they wanted to move, it was with great effort… a sort of caterpillar hop forward (with blubber jiggling like Jell-O), and then a rest. Then maybe two more scoots. OK, time for a nap.

On the right side of the beach was a male elephant seal with his small harem of four females. The male weighed about five tons, and the females were each about one ton. The male was feeling frisky and had his sights on a lovely lady who just wasn’t buying what he was selling. She tried to escape (scoot, scoot, rest) and off he went, in hot pursuit (scoot, jiggle, rest). The whole drama unfolded in slow motion, then the male finally managed to hop up on the poor little thing and gave her a big bite in the neck to hold her in place. How romantic.  

In the middle of the beach was a dead elephant seal, partially decayed and smelling about as nice as you would expect. We moved past this and parked ourselves on the side of a sand dune above a large group of seals. The big blubbery alpha male here had about 30 or more females. There were many newborns lying near their moms, nursing, or flipping sand on their backs to protect from the sun. They were so tiny and cute! One little guy decided to make a break for it and was headed to the water, bleating loudly. His mom chased after him, roaring, “Get back here! You’re too little to swim! Get back here NOW.” It was amusing to watch, but I was worried about the determined little rebel.

On the fringes of the group, some smaller males waited, hoping to poach a female, and occasionally, a mini-fight would break out. The bigger guy always won, and the smaller one would scramble back to the water. Again, all this is in slow motion because they have to rest after they move even a little bit.   

Our guide pointed out two of the seals that were rolling crazily on the beach and rocking up and down. We were lucky enough to see seals in labor! Seagulls were standing close by, and when the first baby finally came out they squabbled over the placenta, flying off with pieces of it. Gross! We couldn’t get a good look at the newborn pup because his mom was blocking him from our view, but then I caught a glimpse of his tired little head, and I witnessed his first little yelps. Like a puppy barking! It was so exciting, and touching. I can't even describe how happy and sad it made me feel.

Steve and I watched the Elephant Seal Chronicles for about three hours in the morning, and then I returned in the afternoon for another hour. I had hoped to see the other baby being born during the second visit, but she seemed to have given up on labor and decided to sleep instead.  

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Later, I was in the room getting ready for our horseback ride, and Steve came storming in. “WHALES!!!!!”  I grabbed my camera (unfortunately I had changed the lens to a short one) and we ran, ran, ran to the lookout point. Boy, am I ever out of shape. But I eventually got there and sure enough, they were several whales at play, and one even jumped out of the water! Oh, I wished I had my zoom lens on at that point.

As if the day hadn’t been wonderful enough already, it was then time for horseback riding. Honestly, after 10 minutes on a horse I always feel the same way: like I really want to get OFF. But I am glad I stuck it out, though it was a long cold ride, because it was indescribably beautiful. We went along the coast (practically on the side of a cliff in fact), then across a huge field where we saw a skunk, and then along the other coast. The sun was setting as we came in and we were surrounded by yellow, orange and pink hues. The views of the water were breathtaking, and we could see a few of our Elephant Seal friends down below. Incredible. And just another day in Patagonia.