!!VIVE LES MARIES!!

A la Mairie du 3eme adt de Paris, Vive les mariés! en compagnie des parents, Maman tu es superbe.

Séance photo au parc, qué calor hace! 35degres a l´ombre. Viva Colombia!

Arrivée sur le YACHT s´il vous plait, quai de l´Arsenal. Cocktail sur le pont, on se prépare au depart pour une mini croisiere magique agrémentée d´un excellent dejeuner LeNotre. Ma belle soeur/petit demonio est splendide :)

Cousine Marie, cousin Gregory, Mme Mila Rodriguez et tonton JeanChristophe alias le chapelier fou

Maman, Nelly et Alain en grande forme

Pouce, 99 printemps et la patate, et tonton Jean-Jacques, chauffeur du jour de la belle Jaguar

 L´envoi du bouquet de la mariée, mais qui l´a donc récupéré?

La famille au complet en mode carte postale

Juli, Andy, Maman, Petrica and the Eiffel tower

Oh les amoureux!

OH LES AMOUREUX!!!

Désiré dans ses oeuvres, Tata Mercedes attentive et Papa bon public

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).

Just another Patagonian mirror image

Wind without mercy

1886!!

... and all around was (still is) empty

In love with colours

Fancy a swim?

Our daily rainbow

Romance on a rock

Darko driving to the end of the world

Can we make a photo stop?

And another one please?

When the road ends

Behind our backs - Antarctica!

Lonely Estancia Moet, surrounded by kilometers of empty space

20 degrees - time for a swim

Already putting the feet inside is a challenge

A return back to Ushuaia

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?

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