You Got's to Know When To Hold'em or Fold'em!

The last night in Puerto Madryn we entered a Texas Hold'em poker competition at the casino. Four tables of ten were narrowed down to two tables of ten and then narrowed to one table of ten and then by some miracle, I was in the last four. Eventually, it was just two of us. Yours truly came second and cashed in a nice US$800 prize, so I was well chuffed.

I won the annual poker comp back in my last year of college and the family likes to play cards ( a lot!) so I have some experience but I still think the exhaustion of late nights, and early morning fishing and fighting the big salmon till my arms were droppin' off (see previous post) was the best preface to a perfect poker face. No emotion - No tell tale twitches - Just yawning, even when I had my top hand to throw off the competition! - ALL IN - I BET THE WHOLE POT!!!.....ha ha Suckers!

Photo: Last 4 standing! (not Photoshop'd - I swear!)




.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Read more...

Gone Fishing!

Puerto Madryn, Peninsula Valdes, Patagonia, Argenina

Photo: Big MoFo Fish

Point your mouse over the slideshow and Click the little chat bubble on the left of the slideshow to see the photo captions

It was a early start at 7:15am after a late night. I am not a social person before midday - EVER! Two fishermen arrived at the hostel and we were driven an hour out of town to a quiet beach. The maté drink (packed with caffeine) was the only saving grace.

Photo: Traditional Maté Drink

Myself and the wee bro probably wouldn't be considered the most hardy fisherman types, but since our guides were kitted out in several layers of fleece, rain gear and hats and we only had very light layers, we knew we were in for a cold ride. Truth be told, as soon as we were out on the beach it was 'freeze the balls off a brass monkey' cold!

From a total of about 3 hours freezin' our arses out on the boat, most of the fish action happened in the first 15 minutes and between us we caught about ten fish including a 10kg white salmon (photo above). I did a little fishing as a kid but rarely caught anything bigger than a goldfish, so this was a real bonus, in fact an absolute thrill!

I once got literally hooked myself as my older bro cast back and hooked me in the side of the head when we were fishing back home in Old Head in County Mayo. I had to walk 3 miles with a spinner & hook hanging outta my head to the nearest town, Louisburg and got a single stitch (probably to make sure I came back to pay later). Time to queue - Kylie Minogue music "I can't Get You Outta My Head!"

Anyway - It took about 15 minutes to reel the big blighter fish in and my arms were so tired and cramping so badly, I could barely pose for the photo, but the exhibitionist in me somehow prevailed!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Read more...

JAWS! - Orcas (Killer Whales) Punta Norte

Photo: Dinner Time!

Photo: Dessert!

Apart from sea lions, penguins, dolphins, elephant seals and guanacas, the main attraction in Peninsula Valdes this time of year (March to early April) is the amazing spectacle of Orcas (killer whales) coming into the shallow waters in La Ernistina, Punta Norte and gobbling up sea lions. They literally almost beach themselves in doing this - it's quite amazing as the above pics/videos demonstrate. Unfortunately, the orcas weren't being as cooperative (as pics above) the day we were there and I'm sad to say this is as close as we got!

Photo: Orca comes close but not too close!

We did get to see orcas, sea lions, guanacos, huge elephant seals and lots of Magellan penguins so it wasn't a 10 hour trip in vain. It basically boils down to luck and weather conditions to be able to see the great spectacle of the orcas coming onto the beach. Ah well maybe next time - Thank God for Youtube!

Tune in next post for the biggest fish I've ever caught!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Read more...

Operation Desert Storm - Puerto Madryn

I'm just back from 5 days exploring Puerto Madryn, Peninsula Valdes in beautiful Patagonia with my brother who was visiting Argentina for 2 weeks. The first day of the trip, we rented bikes and headed on a cycle, 16kms out of town to look at sea lions and 16kms back. For people who aren't overly active, it wasn't going to be that easy and in retrospect, given the gale force winds was probably a little ambitious.

After some navigation problems were worked out, we were on our way. The terrain on the way out started on asphalt but eventually became rough with lots of stones, dirt, hills and sand, so wasn't that easy. Also, we hadn't exactly done our homework on the availability of water, so were only able to source a small bottle between us which didn't last very long. Ninelty five minutes later, we arrived at the sea lion reserve and paid the park entrance fee but there wasn't a shop or vending machine in sight - Argh! Cupped hands under the tap in a public toilet was going to have to suffice to quench the thirst. Here's the view of the sea lions which slouch around motionless and make me, the king of couch potatoes look hyper active!

The outbound cycle was with the wind but the journey home was straight into a head wind, with sand blasting into your eyes and where even a downhill stretch took serious pedaling energy. As we set off back to town, I noticed my bro had a puncture so, with wind, fatigue, dehydration, hunger, bad terrain and the hot sun, this was clearly becoming torture session. After 3 hours battling the elements, resorting to lots of walking and a 'pump up the tyre routine' every ten minutes, we were finally back near civilisation and saw a few beach front cafe's with 7UP and Coke signs but this ended up being just a tease, as the cafes were closed - Bloody low season! We were seriously parched and seriously pissed off! Finally we got to a kiosko that was open, but when I asked for a drink, my mouth was so dry and lips were so chapped, I couldn't speak. I reverted to sign language and grunting which was greeted with amusement and puzzlement at the same time. After downing a 1.5 litre bottle of 7UP in about 60 seconds, I was feeling somewhat human again.

Photos: Wee Bro on the Bike

Lessons learnt: 1.) Exercise is WAY overrated. 2.) Sea Lions aren't very exciting creatures and certainly not worth cycling 32kms to see. 3.) Water is precious even from a public toilet!

Tune in next post for Huge Orcas eating seal lions! Is not a joke!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Read more...