Weekend in Patagonia: Seals and Sea Lions

The seals and sea lions were present all along the coastline. One evening we caught a small colony just outside Puerto Piramides while watching the sun go down into the sea. The next day at Punta Norte we were welcomed again by lots of them chilling on the beach or having a relaxed swim along the shoreline. Fortunately for them, the orcas were not around while we were there.

Weekend in Patagonia: Penguins

Next on the list were the 'pinguinos'. On Valdes Peninsula we found a great spot where they could be observed from very close. Nina & Stasiu spent about two minutes watching them and then changed their attention to collecting small pebbles which they found much more interesting. Later on our trip we went to Punta Tombo where the largest colony of Magellanic penguins in South America can be found. Thousands of penguins come to mate and nest in this area from September to April. They were literallly all around us, protecting their nest with little ones or eggs, waddling around, sunbathing, relaxing. Again very impressive and some great photo opportunities!

And yes.....that's a llama in the background.

Weekend in Patagonia: Whales

From Puerto Piramides we took a boat trip to watch the Southern Right Whales (ballena franca austral). It was the end of the breeding season but we were promised that there would still be whales around to watch. Together with a group of about 25 we set out to sea and we were not disappointed: almost straight away a mother & baby showed up for their 'audience'. They were so close, sometimes as close as less than two meters or even under the boat. It was impressive! We spotted three or four mother/baby pairs during the 1.5 hour trip and went back contently.

Weekend in Patagonia: Valdes Peninsula

We decided to use the long immaculate conception weekend to explore more of Argentina's nature. We booked a flight with Aerolineas Argentinas to Trelew where we rented a car to drive to Puerto Piramides on Peninsula Valdes national park.
Despite all the bad stories we read about the national carrier, our flight left (and arrived) without delays. On the list were: whales, penguins, sea lions/elephants and orca's. We only missed the orca's so we got 3 out of our big 4 and enjoyed the vast scenery of this northern part of Patagonia.

Sinterklaas 2011

This year again, with much anticipation and excitement, Sinterklaas came to Buenos Aires. After watching the 'Sinterklaasjournaal' almost every day, leaving carrots and water for Amerigo at the door with their shoes and singing lots of Sinterklaas songs, it was time again to meet him and his helpers. Stasiu had no reserves and was the first to greet Sinterklaas when he arrived at the Sinterklaas party of the Dutch club in Buenos Aires. Nina was a little more modest :) Of course there were pepernoten and other sweet and, most importantly, presents. At night there was another big surprise, when they found that Piet had left another big bag with presents for them at the front door. Thank you Sinterklaas!

Nina's first swimming lesson

With summer only just around the corner, it's pool time! Good reason to make Nina feel comfortable in the water and teach her how to swim. Together with a little amiga from school, she's now learning how to be a little mermaid :)

Babu & Dziadek in Buenos Aires Part 2

A nice outdoor birthday lunch in Puerto Madero BA and parilla later in the week at home featuring Anita as asadora!

Babu & Dziadek in Buenos Aires part 1

When KLM announced that they were going to resume their non-stop flights to Buenos Aires, Babu & Dziadek booked straight away to come and see us in Argentina. Nina got to welcome them with daddy at Ezeiza airport as a surprise. After that; it was zoo, ice-cream, dining out, sight-seeing, Rosetta Stone and a lot of play time together. Nina & Stasiu thorougly enjoyed all time they got to spend with the grandparents in their own environment. The weather cooperated immensely so the parilla was lighted on more than one occasion to sample the great Argentine meat and eat outside in (officially still) springtime.

An afternoon in the park: Stasiu loves Disney, Nina loves.......

Ballet

After weeks of anticipation, last Friday was the big evening for Nina: a real ballet show in a real theater. Babu and Dziadek already went to see the general repetition 2 weeks ago but did not reveal any of the show's secrets.

After a thorough makeup session at home it was time to go to the Armenian theater a few blocks away. Nina disappeared into the changing rooms and a bit later, when the curtains opened, the public was treated to a group of adoring little dancing mice....

Nina received flowers like a real star and watched the remainder of the show with her proud little brother.