2/22  I thought I would share some more tidbits of information.
1. They only have high temperature milk here. Ok on cereal or in coffee/tea. Not so good to drink
2. The ostrich like birds we see are called rheas
3.  Fast food is like in Germany... a full cooked meal. Last night we got back late so we decided to go to our new, favorite little market that had pre cooked food.  We had to wait 2 hours because none of the meat was ready until 10pm. Yup, that's when argentinians eat supper. We bought bbq lamb, potato, bean and rice salad. The lamb was super as were the salads.
4. All cars are stick. Good thing we can drive them or we would not have been able to rent a car. Ours was a VW Gol.
5. The only type of animal that can be raised in this area and further south is the merino sheep. There are ranches where you come across a dirt driveway every so often, super long, that looks like it doesn't go anywhere. They have to hand dig water wells 100m deep.
6.  This area is extremely windy when you get along the water and I guess that is true of the entire coast south of here in Patagonia.
7.  I am very happy that we brought this tablet for the internet. It is the only real way to make further plans.
8.  ALL argentininians drink mate (tea). It is a loose tea in all sorts of flavors, but somewhat bitter. The strange part is that they carry around a thermos of hot water and a special cup and straw(which has a strainer on the end) everywhere. In gas stations, stores, and the information centers at parks, etc. There are 20 gallon or larger hot water dispensers for free, so people can refill their thermoses. Neat, huh?
Guess that is it as far as information goes.  On to yesterday's activity.
We left pretty early and headed north to Penninsula Valdez. Again, nothing but deserty scrub brush, a few guanacos. and a couple of rheas to see. We drove about 200km on gravel roads. Yikes! At this point we were not so sure it was a good idea to rent a car. The gravel was really rough and we were just hoping nothing would fly up and chip/break the window or damage the paint.
At the end of the road, Punte Norte, the scenery was amazing again. We saw a seal colony of about 3000 seals. The pups had just been born about 2 weeks ago and were already in the water swimming around and playing. I could have stood there indefinitely watching. They sound just like babies. There seems to be one female who is sort of  "on the lookout" for a whole bunch of pups. Maybe like a nursery school. We saw a large male trying to approach a female, when all of a sudden the head male of this harem came after him trying to chase him away. They sure are big and can get very mean.  Each male has up to 130 females.
During our picnic lunch,  a small armadillo came around. I touched it. I thought it would feel leathery, but it felt more like indoor/outdoor carpeting. He was looking for some lunch leftovers.  After lunch we left there and continued to drive to the next lookout spot.
My biggest dilemma is this: to take a picture or to take a panoramic picture or to take a video or to take a picture with the tablet so G can put it on her blog OR to just look through my binoculars and enjoy the experience. I am finding that I am doing more and more of the looking through my binoculars.
This was another penguin colony, not nearly as big as the last one at Punta Tombo. This colony was located on a cliff. The penguins had to climb up from the beach to nest.  They are really amazing. I feel like I am using that word a lot , but what else can I say!
After this and more gravel roads, we stopped at a place where the sea elephants come to rest, mate and raise their young. Unfortunately, not many have returned from the 4 months at sea to feed. We did see some females and littler ones, but none  the large males with the trunk like nose.  These were very loud.  At this place there was a nice path along the top of the cliffs with signs explaining the plants and animals that are found in this arid climate. Seems strange to have a "desert" right next to the ocean. At the end of the path, we stopped for a cup of coffee/tea and some cookies. Sure tasted good as we were kind of cold. The wind off the water was very chilly and quite strong, yet our backs were hot from the sun. Weird sensation.
It was time to leave the park. On the way back we passed a salt flat. There are 3 on the penninsula. One is 42m below sea level, the lowest point on the South American continent. We made an additional stop where more sea lions are suppose to hang out. Wow, what a road. Very steep dirt road down with a landscape similar to our badlands. Turns out a good choice. There were lots of seals and we could really see them good.
Once back on the paved road, we all sighed in relief. It was a good decision to rent the car: less than half the cost and we got to go at our own pace.
I forgot to mention that all along both the paved road and the gravel roads, there are holes dug out of the hard mud "walls/piles"  that lined the roads. These are the homes of armadillos like the one we saw at lunch.
The day's list of wildlife:  guanacos, rheas, penguins, sea lions, sea elephants, eagle, stork, gray fox, merino sheep, cattle, horses, quail like birds and armadillos. Not a bad day.
I already explained our dinner - the fast food... We had enough left over for lunch today.
2/22 It is raining today, so we are sitting around blogging, playing cards, reading and chatting with other backpackers. G and I went earlier to find 2 plastic water bottles fot B and G. None to be found in his town. We have one more place to look, but can't go until 5...siesta time from 1 to 5. G and I stopped in a little cafe and had a cup of tea and a croissant. Yummy. We will shower and then head toward the bus station. Our sleeper bus leaves at 9:30pm for el Bolson, our next stop. We were going to go to el Bariloche, but this town is in the same area, but smaller. We think we will have a much more "local" experience there.  Since we splurged on the fully reclining seats, I hope I will be able to sleep ok. Another new adventure... wish us luck!