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Océano Patagonia - Puerto Piramídes, Argentina

Every day at Océano Patagonia is wildly different. At this eco-friendly boutique hotel in coastal Patagonia, I meet guests from all over the world and get to experience new things every day. Océano Patagonia sits right on the beach in Puerto Pirámides, a small town on the Valdes Peninsula of Argentina (and the only town on this peninsula). Nestled on the Patagonian steppe, Puerto Pirámides is known as one of the best places in the world to see whales. And lucky for me, I am here during whale watching season as starting in June Southern Right Whales travel from the Antarctic region to spend months breeding in the calm waters of the Valdes Peninsula. Seeing whales from hotel windows or up close during whale watching tours is majestic. These giant creatures move with grace and you can even feel their breaths as they blow to one another. 

Working in a hotel in a remote town with a population of 400 people and expansive wildlife has been a strong contrast from working in the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. Puerto Pirámides certainly is worlds apart from the sprawling Parisian streets and infinite busy cafes of cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. The majority of my internship with Océano Patagonia has taken place in Buenos Aires and has been spent working with the owners of the hotel to strategize business development and control the company's finances. During my time working in Puerto Pirámides I have noticed how the smallness of this town results in a sense of intimacy that seeps into everything in the town, including the hospitality and work culture. At our boutique hotel we know all of our guests by name and by the end of their stays we know them like friends. Guests from all over the world have shared with me their life stories. Many have given me their phone number and invited me to have a meal in their home whenever I am in their corner of the globe. During work, our team is like family. Everyone chats constantly and drinks tea out of the same shared mate gourd. The stray cat we call Mangi, Argentine slang for beggar, is our hotel pet. We feed Mangi and he spends every day sleeping inside the hotel lobby. After work, Gustavo, the hotel manager, and his family and his friends each often invite me to their respective homes for dinner and cook traditional choripan and empanadas for me. 

This intimate, welcoming culture flows into every aspect of living and working in Puerto Pirámides, making it an amazing place to experience being part of the hospitality and travel industry.