Arriving in Puerto Madryn at 3pm in the afternoon, I was met by a team from the YWAM base who were expecting me. We climbed into the 4wd and took off out of the city to a place they call the "Quintas", about 6kms out on the top of a small hill. Here is where the YWAM base is located, on a large section of land with many trees a number of buildings and the essential football field.
Playing football with all of the staff.
It was 6pm that I turned around and left, two weeks later. The base in Madryn has such a refreshing feeling to it that it was easy to stay longer than expected. The family atmosphere, the pleasant temperatures, the gentle breezes, the green trees that cover the property, and the games of football, volleyball and tejo all helped.
Tejo is a game a little like bowls, but played with flat round discs that you throw at the puck. The person with the closest disc gains a point for every disc closer than his opposition until a winner is declared at 15 points.
Playing Tejo under the trees.
Most of my time was spent in the base with the other 14 staff members there, although at times we headed down together to the beach to simply hang out for a couple of hours. Mike's ute is very useful for this purpose, squeezing five or six inside, and the rest pile on the back for the ride down.
Being a protected port, there is no surf here, but rather the beach is part of a huge bay, and the sand slopes off gradually into the cold but not freezing water. On the beach we round up bunches of strangers and play a game of football (soccer) while others play tejo on the sand.
The beach of Puerto Madryn.
There are plenty of people on this beach, tourists and locals alike. After raining and being cold and overcast for much of the new year, the first good day of sun and warmth saw the beach packed to capacity with people. The following days, even though there were plenty of people around, it never seemed to be so busy again.
So after my relaxing time in the base of Madryn, I am now on the road again. A delayed bus from Puerto Madryn has left me late in Comodoro Rivadavia where I hope to catch the only bus for Chile that leaves at 7am in the morning.
The road through the Patagonia to Comodoro Rivadavia.
The office opens at 6am and since it is currently 3am I am undecided as to whether I should look around the city a little or head back and join the dozen or so other people sleeping on the floor of the terminal. Maybe I will be able to do both... there is still a little time left.
Time to look around.