BUENOS días AIRES: 04/01/2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Las Malvinas son argentinas!

Ushuaia, Day 5

How ignorant! It was only at 11 am when buying stamps in the kiosko and hearing the governer's solemn voice on the radio, we realized that we were at the right place at the right time: April 2 is devoted to the Malvinas (the Falklands in the UK vocabulary) and Ushuaia – the city closest to them - is the epicenter of Argentine rage against the British »occupators«.

We stopped at the memorial to have a glimpse at what is supposed to be one of the most important annual ceremonies in Argentina. The importance of the occasion was in contrast with the few people present. Some ministers, some parliamentarians, some social workers, some surviving war soldiers ... a ceremony for the ceremony's sake.

It still intrigues us why Argentina celebrates this war. Some blocks further, there is Ushuaia's main city museum, placed in the ex-prison, where the same Dictatorship that launched the Malvinas war sent its political prisoners: to the end of the world, obviously.

The annual ceremony to commemorate the Malvinas war

All Ushuaia's VIP were there

Next dream: Antarctica, only 1295 km further south

Hasta la vista, Patagonia!

Our tips for those that might follow our steps:

1. Posada del Fin del Mundo: It's everything you can wish of a posada. Cosy, personalised, attentive. Off the noisy main street, a couple of blocks up the street, with a privilidged view over the Beagle Channel. Tea & yummy cakes at your disposal 24/7, a delight after a day of trekking in the crispy and misty Patagonian lands. Warmly recommended.

2. Restaurants: Kaupe for its king crab and merluza negra, Bodegon Fuegino for its Patagonian Lamb, Almacen Ramos Generales for its French patisserie.

3. Trips: Sendero de la Costa in the National Park Tierra del Fuego; a trek to Laguna Esmeralda; a halfday cruise in the Beagle Channel with Patagonia Explorer (a trek on the Bridges Island does make a difference); Ruta J well beyond Estancia Harberton; don't wait to reserve your penguin trip till the last day (we did and cried;-)

Hit the road Jack

Ushuaia, Day 4: To the end of the world and back

»Oh, I'm so hot,« Petra sighed on the back seat. All eyes turned to to thermometer – 20 degrees!! On the first day of April, in the southernmost South, one would expect 5 degrees, at the very best 8 or 9. We realize our luck: The sun and the clouds are fighting for supremacy on the sky, bringing out Patagonian colours in their flashiest nuance: a shiny yellow, a turquoise blue, an emerald green ... all reflecting against the threatening grey of the stormy sky. You have the impression that the sky darkens only for the sake of the colour contrast because in the end it never rains.

Argentina is well known for its legendary Ruta 40 but hardly anybody knows Ruta J. It's the 87 km that bring you nowhere else than – to the end of the world. Properly speaking, to the end of the route: the "Prefectura". It's as far as this that cars or legs can make it. The land beyond is only accessible to the sea adventurers. We spend hours and kilometers without crossing anyone. Peace, quiet and infinite landscapes.

You feel as if stepping on the territory where you are not to step. You feel less like a tourist and more like an explorer, almost an intruder in the nature's perfection: a flock of white birds swishing out of the grey clouds in a matter of a second; a hill of golden Patagonian grass reflecting against the dark blue sky full of almost baroque patterns; the horizon drawing a perfect rainbow arch above the sea as if it was its daily ritual; the waves shaping the pebble stones along the Beagle Channel into perfect circles ... You realize your limits, your smallness – and breathe a sigh of a quiet yet big »whaaau«.

When it's a matter of a day's trip, this landscape is a pure joy. But imagine the first settlers back in the 19th century. No neighbours, no roads, no infrastructure. Three meters of snow trough the whole winter and only 10% of sheep that make it into the spring. We visit Estancia Harberton (1886), the first house ever in the Southern Patagonia. Some 100 km further, Estancia Moet. It is difficult to grasp how people lived and survived here more than 100 years ago. It feels like a trip back in time, in a different geography, into the meeting point between the indigenous yamanas culture and the modern British explorers.

It was definitely the most photogenic day of our holidays. We could have emptied our batteries and memory cards but well, a number of photo stops on the route was limited. We had to make it back to Ushuaia in time for the last »centolla party« (king crab).