Buenos Aires - Ushuaia

At 10.2.06, after the Iguazu Falls we drove 18 hours with a very comfortable bus from Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn. Nicole and Marcel (the Swisscouple which we met in Iguazu) were waiting for us. All together we rented a car and soon after that we drove to the Peninsula Valdes. The prices in Puerto Pyramides are higher than expected and almost no accomodation was available. Finally we found a 4 bedroom.

Next morning we went off to explorer the wildlife of Peninsula Valdes. Sea lions, elephant seals, armadillos and Orcas (only if season) can be seen. We saw some Orcas, but so far away it wasn't really worth to watch. Unfortunalely there are fences and we stayed almost 30 meters away from the sea lions.

Afterwards we went to Punto Tombo where a half-million Magellanic penguins breed. It's the largest penguin colony outside Antarctica. You can get very, very close to the birds. Pinguines everywhere. Unbelievable.

We really were fascinated.

We flew from Trelew to Ushuaia. All buses were booked for the next few days. Ushuaia is a pleasant destination and it nestles beside the frigid Beagle Channel while the spectacular 1500 m glacial peaks of the Fuegan Andes tower behind. We arrived by air and were treated to some breathtaking views. Ushuaia is perfect for hiking. The best hike we did was the 2 days hike to the Laguna Esmeralda. A green blueish glacier lake. We spent the night alone and had such a good time. We celebrated our 12 respectively our 4 anniversary with a good wine. At night it was pretty cold.

From Ushuaia you are able to hop on a Ferry to Antartica. Also lastminutes prices are exorbitant. We are looking forward hearing from our Swiss friends how it was. They went on a 18 days cruise.

The prices in the South of Argentina are much higher than we expected. We always thought, Argentina is a cheap country. But definately not the South. The national road 3 ends in the Nationalpark "Tierra del Fuego", which shows the end of the world (Fin del Mundo). From here our trip goes up north and hopfully we will make it to Alaska, only 17'818 km.

Iguazu Falls

At the 7. February 2006, after our spanishcourse, which we enjoyed very much, we took off to the famous Iguazu Falls. Puerto Iguazu lies on the border to Brasil and Paraguay. Without the Waterfalls, we are sure, there wouln't be a town.


We flew right over the waterfalls, which was absolutely breathtaking. A memorable experience and a spectacle of nature they are considered a wonder of the world. With Stefan, who is from Switzerland and who we met at school, we found a nice appartment in the center of the town. At two o'clock in the morning, however we found out, that the towns disco is located right next to us. Music till sunrise.

However we managed to go to the Nationalpark early enough, before all tourist buses arrived. The biggest part of the waterfalls lies on the Argentinian side. This natural sanctuary is located in the far NE of the Republic of Argentina. With large amounts of precipitation, warm temperatures (15ºC on average in winter and 30ºC in summer) and the thick vegetation acting as a windscreen, it experiences extremely high levels of humidity.


Taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horsehoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguazu River, Iguazú Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption which left yet another large crack in the earth. During the rainy season of November - March, the rate of flow of water going over the falls may reach 450,000 cubic feet (12,750 cubic m) per second. With a speedboat we went under a waterfalls. It was absolutely fantastic.

In the eventing we spent some time with Stefan, Nicole and Marcel, which are also from Switzerland. We had a Parillada (grillplatter) and "some" wine. On the next day we went to the Brasilien side of the waterfalls. With a public bus and the first time we were really happy that we studied spanish a bit. Simone managed it to find the right place to catch another bus. The view from the Brazilian side is the most panoramic. Roosevelt sad once "poor Niagara" and we think, he was right.

If you like to know more, following you will find two websites.:
http://www.iguazuargentina.com/
http://www.cataratasdeliguazu.net/