BUENOS días AIRES: 03/01/2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Emerald Lagoon and Orange Forest

Despite a long night out - a feast on king crabs and a beer party (Tom succeeded in taking Judita & Darko to the Irish Pub, bravo!!) ...

... the start on Day 3 was early again. On the agenda: Laguna Esmeralda, a tiny greenish lake, just beneath the last Andean peaks before they fall into the sea. Morning colours called for quite some photo stops on the way, passing a couple of impressive beavers' dams, autumny colours reflecting in the ponds and rivers. The hike was rather easy but the muddy, watery marshlands slowed down our step, a test of the waterproofness of our shoes. But the the view at the emerald Esmeralda made the muddy struggle worthwhile. We wouldn't have minded some additional rays of sun bringing out its real colour but hey, who could complain about the rainless and windless Patagonia?

Special greetings to Frederique and Peter, our most faithful readers ...

An autumny picture postcard

Mirror, mirror on the pond ...

Beavers at work, impressive

Another splash of autumn colours

A hike up tha Esmerald river

Here we go again

Esmeralda, even without sunshine

A picknick place with a view

Kežman ladies need some rest

Some beaver acrobatics ...

... and exercise of keeping your balance

Who is the muddiest?

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Island Hopping in the Beagle Channel

A count-down to Easter: Ushuaia, Day 2

One cormorant, two cormorants, three cormorants, ... It would be a good exercise for Tom to learn to count in Slovene. First thing in the morning, cruising the Beagle Channel, we bumped into a tiny island where cormorants live in perfect symbiosis with sea lions. A countless bunch of them, undisturbed by "ah whau" sighs and "oh my god" looks of 26 tourists, moved by their zen ritual of yawning, relaxing, kissing, fighting, flying and flying again.

Next stop: Bird Island, full of sunbathing cormorants. A couple of miles further, another sea lion colony. It's like a zoo in real space, in real time ... so much fun. We reach the lighthouse "Les Eclaireurs", the furthest islet and thus the sea entrance to Ushuaia. The highlight of the trip is when - after a bumpy ride against the waves - we finally disembark on the Bridges Island where we peak into the history of the Land of Fire's indigenous people - yamanas, the southernmost peoples of the world! They used to be 3000. Today, there is only one woman left.

To get the bird's view of the Beagle Channel, we climbed up to the base of the Martial Glacier in the afternoon. It's funny to observe that the forest limit reaches no more than 600 m. Autumn colors are well spilt over the surrounding trees. The glacier has shrunk a lot but the view over the Ushuaia Bay and the Beagle Channel is amazing.

A busy day again, do we deserve a new XL portion of king size crabs?

Sea Lion Island, a spectacle without precedent

How many can you see?

Sea lions & cormorants, a full house

Fly baby fly

Mother & son

The proud father ...

... and two proud tourists

Cormorants' sunbathing ritual

Lighthouse "Les Eclaireurs", the French influence makes it as far as that

Leaving behind the Beagle Channel horizon

A happy sailor

Crazy lands

Trekking on the Bridges Island, a peek into the yamanas (indigenous) history

Inspired by a day of fresh air, strong wind, must-see animals and "oh whau" panoramas

Ushuaia Bay: bottom-up

Ushuaia Bay: top-down

An afternoon trekking to the Martial Glacier

Autumn-coloured Patagonia, ready for the first snow fall

Friday, March 29, 2013

Easter and the End of the World

Our Eastern VIP guests - mama & papa Kežman - got a special treatment, starting the week in Iguazu and rounding it up in Ushuaia, a 3500 km flight distance, a 5 hour flight from north to south, straight to the "End of the World", the kingdom of penguins, rainbows and centuries of dreams ... Mind you, Slovenia's extreme north-south distance amounts to 163 km :)

An early flight, a smooth arrival at the Posada del Fin del Mundo, a speedy visit to the supermarket (forget Coto and Disco, come to Ushuaia!), a 12 am departure to the National Park Tierra del Fuego, a 8 km hike along the coast, through a lengua forest, between islands and lakes, among cosy rays of sun, tiny raindrops, fluffy clouds and no fewer than three spectacular rainbows ... a landscape as dramatic as one expects at the end of the world.

Happy Kežman trekkers

Beagle Channel's Ensenada Bay

Alice in Wonderland Forest ...

... a Child's Playground

Rainbow Hunting

The End of the World Gives You Wings

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Wet and happy

Water scarcity is definitely not a problem in Argentina. The Brasilian Rio Iguazu that splashes more than 2 km of waterfalls onto the Argentine territory offers it water in a myriad of states: moist, mist, drizzle, rain, rivers ... and what rivers!

Iguazu and Patagonia have something in common: They exhibit the force of nature that you normally experience only on a ship in high seas. A peak into the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) leaves you speachless. A totally quiet, almost immobile river turns into an abrupt, merciless torrent of water in a matter of a second. Whau!

A visit at the Brasilian side is worthwhile to realize the falls' geographic dimensions. They spread across a seemingly endless horizon. But it is only at the Argentinian side where you can feel their real force. From above, from beneath, from left, from right ... each view is different and just as breathtaking as the others.

Crossing toucans, monkeys, coatis and crocodiles on the path is the cherry on the top. Colourful butterflies that accompany your step and omnipresent rainbows that pop out of the water mist put you in a trance in which even the masses of passing tourists don't disturb you.

It's unique.

By the way: You go to Iguazu to see Iguazu and Iguazu only. The neighbouring towns Puerto Iguazu and Foz do Iguazu are depressing, activities outside of the park mediocre. Restaurants and bars are basic. Carefull time planning is thus recommended.