Puerto Deseado

Puerto Deseado sits on a ría, a river valley drowned by the sea, where the Atlantic pushes some forty kilometres inland along the old course of the Deseado river, creating a sheltered corridor of cliffs, islands and tidal water. That corridor is exceptionally rich: Commerson's dolphins live in it year-round, rock cormorants, steamer ducks and two species of penguin - Magellanic and southern rockhopper - use its islands, and sea lions breed on the rocks. Boat trips run up the ría and out to Isla Pingüino. The town itself keeps traces of an unusual history, including a wagon from the old railway, the wreck of the Swift, an eighteenth-century British corvette sunk in the ría in 1770, and links to Darwin's visit aboard the Beagle, which anchored here in 1833.

History

The harbour, nearly 32 kilometres long, was found in 1520 by the Magellan-Elcano expedition on the first voyage round the world, and other Spanish expeditions followed, among them Loaísa's in 1525 and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa's in 1579. On 17 December 1586 the English privateer Thomas Cavendish sailed in on his own voyage round the world and named it Port Desire after his flagship, the Desire; Tehuelche archers wounded some of his crew, and the point at the harbour mouth is still called Punta Cavendish. Ships of his second expedition, of 1591, later took refuge here, and the few survivors, driven by a storm on the way home, probably made the first sighting of the Falkland Islands; the British sloop HMS Swift sank in the port in 1770, and its wreck was found in 1982 (Wikipedia, Puerto Deseado).

What's there

• The ría - the drowned valley with cliffs, islands and tidal currents.
• Commerson's dolphins - resident black-and-white dolphins in the estuary.
• The bird islands - cormorants, penguins and seabird colonies on the reserve islands.
• The town's relics - old railway remains and maritime history on the waterfront.

When to go

October to March for boat trips and nesting seabirds; rockhopper penguins on Isla Pingüino are present roughly October to April. Winter trips are rare. Wind cancels sailings regularly at any time of year.

What to expect

The town is remote, a long detour from the RN3, and its services are basic. Boat operators are few and trips depend on weather and minimum numbers. The water is cold and the wind almost constant.

Nearby

Isla Pingüino lies offshore; Jaramillo's petrified forest is inland to the northwest.

Key facts