Saturday 4th August

Another fine, sunny morning to get our last views of the National Park as we head back across the border into Argentina to make our way north. Long drive today across the often desolate Patagonian steppe. We pulled off the road to camp just before dark. It was minus one already! The lamb curry made with the leftovers warmed us up!

Sunday 5th August

Another long drive heading north on the eastern side of South America. We passed many oil fields today and eventually met the Atlantic Ocean at Caleta Olivia. We camped on the beach a few km outside of town as the sun was setting. Great, its getting warmer - no sub zero temperatures tonight, but we still lit a fire on the beach.

Monday 6th August

Unbeknown to us, whilst David and I were cooking the porridge for breakfast, Clare was giving birth to our first grandchild - Isaac weighing 7lb 2 oz was born at 10.35 a.m. BST, two weeks early but all is well with Isaac and his very proud parents. He has a very strong cry and apparently looks like Mark! We can't wait to see them!

This afternoon we went to a Welsh Tea Shop in Gaiman. The area around Puerto Madryn was colonized by the Welsh in 1865 and many of their traditions continue today.

Tuesday 7th August

After walking along the beach in the bay of Puerto Madryn watching the whales performing as seen on "David Attenborough's footage", which was filmed here, we took the opportunity to phone home. That's when we discovered we were already grandparents! So we spent the next few hours celebrating with a fish lunch and a good Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc, watching the whales show their congratulations by making the most enormous splashes in the bay!

Love and best wishes to Clare, Damian and Isaac - see you all in 3 weeks.

Abuelo & Abuela