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.