Ushuaia, Argentina

Arrived to Ushuaia, the end of the world...claims to be the last city/town in the south!

We straight take a boat trip on the Beagle Channel to see the penguins, imperial cormorants, and of course usual sea lions. They are often seen having a nap on isolated small rocks emerged in the middle of the lagoon.

Now is time for camping, break from the hostels. Once the base camp is established we plan our treks in the National Park "Tierra del Fuego", a.k.a. "Terre de Feu" in French.

The weather is a mountain type one, often changing from rain to very sunny. Landscape looks like the Alps. Why have we come there ;-) ? Hi hi.

We test the hitch hiking experience and it is successful. First time we got picked up by a pickup truck which was a fun ride!

Anecdote: We leave the park at around 5:30 pm. However at that time, nearly everyone has already gone from the park... No cars to stop, no cars at all...! We were mentally preparing to walk 20km to the town... Thank God a car showed mercy and stopped (after initially passing us) and let us in... Worth to mention that the car was already loaded with 6 ppl so we ended up being 8,  was 5ppl ;) 

After one day hiking under rain and wind in the official National Park and some commuting time, we discovered that there was a trail straight from the camping up to the so-called Martial glacier. No entry fees to the National Park, direct access, and great views on Ushuaia lagoon; we had a picnic at the top behind a rock not covered by snow.

Anecdote: Because we are so good at planning (LOL), we anticipate to do food shopping for our first 5-day trek in Chile in advance so we are just ready to go once arrived. We got food for 5 days... But when sharing our so engenious plan with other fellow backpackers at the campsite, we learnt that one can't bring food into Chile, due to border restrictions. We got mega upset that ALL our stock especially fruits & vegs would be confiscated on the border! What a mess/loss/fuck-up! 

However after reading online we learnt that the restrictions are not so cruel ;) We managed to smuggle through x-rays: cheese, ham, sausages, alfajores (argentinian cookies-we got addicted to them), pasta, ravioli, tea & coffee, powder milk, marmalade, nuts!

We sadly lost about 3kg of apples, 1.5kg tomatoes, cucumbers and some bananas. Lesson learnt as long as originally packed it will go, but no fruits or vegeteables (seeds) allowed! 

We tried to diminish the loss by having fresh salad the night before but after 4 apples we got sick ;)

Coach Ushuaia - Puerto Natales 15hrs, c. 800km

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

We are very excited about diving in the Atlantic sea! Its rather cold - water temperature about 16 degrees. We got wet suit of 14mm (full 7mm + 7mm for the chest)

 - Playing with Sea Lions (lobos marinos). We played with them, they are mega cute, bite and swim around to play;

 - Diving by the ship wreck (fish boat). Boat was sank for divers to explore, very old.

We also went to see elephant seals that weight upto 4 tonnes - the machos, dive upto 1500m and keep breath for 2 hours! Their heart reverts in the chest to avoid the atmospheric underwater compression.

The second highlight in Puerto Madryn is to learn windsurfing! None of us tried that before, the highest time then!

In total we took 3 hours (classes), the second day with big waves and strong wind. 
Big time, we will keep practicing on the way and then by the time we move to CH we will be PRO!

Flight Puerto Madryn - Ushuaia 2hrs, xxxkm

Iguazú falls, Argentina

Iguazú falls ("i" for water & "guazú" for big in Guaraní language)

After 18hrs in a relatively luxury bus from Baires to Iguazu we arrived! The journey was filled with movies and loads of (crappy) food, they even served whisky! The price of 750 pesos (c. £38) was much more reasonable than the plane... So we decided to experience coach: coche-cama! 160 degrees bed... Not bad at all :)

 

After setting up in hostel we had a dip in the pool... amazing refreshment after long night...

Later we went to Iguazu falls that are just breathtaking! The quantity of water is just insane...the sites are nicely connected between each other by bridges.

Since 2012 Iguazú falls is confirmed as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

About 30 rivers join Río Iguazú and merged create massive river with wooded islets, in its widest reaching 4km.
Viewed from below the tumbling water looks astonishing in its setting with various plants, together with many birds, like parrots and butterflies.
The water hovers up to 30m high upon hitting the rock from c.70-80m falls.

Close to Iguazu there is a border of "tres fronteras":Argentina, Paraguay & Brasil divided by the river.

Coach Iguazu - Buenos Aires 20hr 30min, 1360km
Coach Buenos Aires - Puerto Madryn 21hr (coach engine belt broke down), 1330km

Buenos Aires, Argentina

After 18 hrs travel we arrive to BA! We get a cab and go to a hostel we found in our pdf book (2013 edition). Unfortunately when we arrived at the address we found out it has been closed down. Bad luck! We found next one in neighbourhood (Palermo) and hoped for the best, this one was fine so we got our bed.

We visit calle Florida as place to exchange the USD for local Peso. We browse around and chat with various currency dealers, we finally got the best rate  ($1=12.4 peso). We end up in a locked room on a 3rd floor with a dodgy dealer and his Tarzan Monkey pumped in the gym. That is quite scary if you let your imagination to play ...
We give our dollars and get the peso, when checking their notes for the fakes (very common in Argentina) we realise some look fake. We want to abort the deal, the guys get angry and violently kick us out! After couple of pushing we left... Completely furious!
We get another dealer...very nice and professional this time with same FX rate ($1=12.4 peso) and no fake notes...!

We have many walks around the Buenos Aires with many stops for coffee or empanadas to relax, plan our next moves and see what we want to do. We have seen: Palermo (where we stayed), Retiro, Recoleta (cementary like Pere Lachaise in Paris with Eva Peron), Puerto Madero, Plaza de Mayo and San Martin.

We also meet with Julieta! Finally seeing her in her home town, as its always her meeting us in various locations in Europe. Julieta shows us around Plaza Serrano and later we go for a parrillada in Las Cañitas.

Our last (3rd) vaccinations for Rabies, Hep A & B shots being still not done. We spend lots of time going through Institut Pasteur and public hospital. We eventually get it sorted in 15 min in pleasant Stamboulian private clinic.

As a must seen is a tango show, we are amazed by the beautiful dancers and skilled moves. We went to Piazzolla Tango, the venue is astonishing by a master piece of french architects and was built in 1913.

Coach Buenos Aires - Iguazu 17hr 30min, 1360km