Lobo Larsen is a diving outfitter (beginner to advanced) in addition to offering a unique excursion:  The opportunity to swim with “Los Lobos del Mar,” or Sea Lions.

Weeks earlier I had stumbled upon their video, watched for about 15 seconds, and decidedly closed it before immediately sending them an email with my dates in Patagonia.   Unlike most activities I plan out to the letter, I wanted to be as surprised as was possible.

Upon arrival we suited up for our combination sea lion adventure and dive trip.  We hopped aboard a jeep and rode about 10 miles around the rocky coast to a boat on a small dock.  While boating out about a mile we saw a few groups of sea lions on the rocky shore.  Their flapping around and groaning reminded me of a similar boat ride eight years earlier, watching whales, puffins and glaciers in Alaska’s Resurrection Bay, while the boat captain with two prosthetic arms pointed out groups of sea lions and jokingly muttered how noisy and smelly they were. (He was paid by the state to do population counts during his trips.)   Now here I was, again in a small town during the off season, but almost to the geographic end of the opposite hemisphere – and this time about to go swimming with these big noisy guys.

A minute after we donned the snorkels and masks they were around us.  I had assumed that to “swim with the sea lions” meant we would see them in very close proximity.  However I had no idea the experience would be so immensely interactive. Imagine going to the park and 10 friendly dogs scramble up to you frolicking, licking and begging to play.  Now imagine you and all the dogs are in the water, and the pups are giants and weigh 250 pounds with huge brown saucer size eyes and foot long whiskers.  Just writing that months later makes me smile.

“Los lobos” rolled and bobbed around our small group for as long as we were in the water, constantly nudging us, thumping into us ascenting from their dives, and even nuzzling up to our faces, studying us for a moment and swimming away.  One playfully gnawed at my arm – thankfully their mouths and teeth are small in relation to their bodies.  They were so animated and friendly that by the end of our time in the water we could pick out some of the individual and most playful pups.

It was exhilarating.

This area of Patagonia is one of the few places in the world where people can actually swim with sea lions, since other locales are populated by sharks that prey on the little guys.  Note to families:  There’s a small museum in Puerto Madryn.  It has an excellent marine and fauna exhibits, but also a video showing the sharks’ sadistic predatory behavior to the sea lion pups.   After a sea lion swim I recommend skipping it and pretending nothing brutal ever happens in nature.

After our swim, which lasted about 34-45 minutes, we cruised to another part of the ocean and each of the 10 or so people in our group did a quick scuba dive.  Having done diving in the Caribbean, off the Yucatan coast, the murky Atlantic wasn’t at all comparable, and since I wasn’t certified the folks at Lobo Larsen didn’t want me diving solo.   (Conversely in Mexico so long as I prove I don’t freak out and know the signals many operators will let me dive and just follow me around ensuring myself and my gear stay safe.)

The dive was an enjoyable experience nonetheless, and after my dive I chose to relax and sit in the ocean outside the boat.  I figured I don’t often get to just float around in the Atlantic, much less stare are the rugged coast of Patagonia from the ocean.

The staff is among the friendliest people in Argentina I’ve met. Passionate about their work and knowledgeable.  I can’t think of anything more exciting and different to do if visiting Puerto Madryn, well maybe one other thing.

Doing it:    Puerto Madryn is two hours south of Buenos Aires by plane.  Aerolineas Argentinas flies to Trelew, about 30 miles away.  Tour companies are plentiful but I recommend a car.  We used Budget, located at the Trelew airport.

Avenida Roca 885, Local 2  Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

Lobolarsen.com

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I was on an afternoon walk passing the facility, and decided to give myself a self guided tour. As usual if you walk with a purpose, appear professional, and act like you belong somewhere you’re less likely to be questioned. Sometimes you can even attend White House parties.

I walked into the front door at Canal 7, past a cluster of folks standing by the door, and wandered around unimpeded for about a half hour. A couple of these pictures aren’t as clear as I’d like, since I took them as I was walking.

Above – one of the main hallways. “E6″ means “Estudio 6″ (Studio 6)

Below – an editing room

Above – a feed from President Christina Kirshner. I wasn’t sure if this is live or being edited, by chances are it was live since her frequent speeches are carried live.

Below – lighting and video control room

Above – news editing room

Above – Easily accessible floor. Kind of looks like the Buenos Aires sidewalks!

Below – studio for a sports show

Above – an old camera on display in the lobby

Below- company bulletin board in the cafeteria

When I read about Omni Hotel’s  “Discover Argentina” package I skeptically thought, “yeah as authentic as a visit to a gated Mexican time share.”  But I checked out the details and menu and it actually looks quite interesting.  Is it possible for U.S. chefs to recreate the culinary experiences of Argentina?  If you’re looking for a weekend getaway in or near your home check out your nearest Omni.  It may be the best place topside of the equator for tasty meat filled empanada. 

The packages start at $329 a night and runs through January 19th.  Omnihotels.com has details, locations, and menu.  

If anyone has experienced this package or has plans to I’d love a review.

In September approximately 40 of Omni’s executive chefs and food and beverage professionals visited Buenos Aires and Mendoza to learn the traditions of Argentinean cooking, wine and culture.  Omni Hotels’ professionals visited more than 14 wineries in Argentina to gain first-hand knowledge from grape growers and wine makers and then hand selected the wines guests would experience as part of the program.  The Sumptuous Flavors of Argentina was arranged in partnership with Wines of Argentina, a body that works with more than 100 wineries spread across every region of the country and that represents 95 percent of Argentinean wine exports.  This marks the fifth in an annual series of Omni Hotels’ Flavors of the World programs, designed to expose its chefs to various world cuisines in order to create unique global offerings for its guests.  Past Flavors of the World programs included foods and wines from Spain, Chile and Italy.  

Parque Iguazu National Park – Border of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil

Some friends

En route to waterfalls

Parana River by air.   Huge A330 at the tiny Puerto Iguazu airport.