From Puerto Natales (Chile) through Ushuaia to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Following our visit to the breathtaking Perito Moreno glacier, we left El Calafate aiming for the tip of south america. The weather was getting less and less welcoming considering it was autumn in the south hemisphere. We crossed the border back to Chile at Dorotea pass, customs took again all of our fruits and food as they are not allowed(!) to take them into the country. Something I couldn't understand as we were not entering an island or into another region with different vegetation.

We reached the Patagonian town of Puerto Natales. An out of this world place, I was wondering how it would be to have born and raised in a place like that. People were friendly though. We stayed at an empty hostel, just us and three more others along us. Most people visiting this town in order to visit the world famous Torres del Paine national park, a vast area of pure Patagonian beauty. So we did, we booked our one day tour and next day morning we embarked for a day of natural wonders!

Puerto Natales_Tree shells

Puerto Natales_Planky housing

First we visited the cave of the milodon. A large cave where an ancient mammal, the milodon, use to live in. It became extinct about 10,000 yrs ago. Our nice guide, of which I cannot remember his name, told us that the cave was created by a glacier retraction, some hundreds thousand years ago. The surroundings were amazing, the cold intense.

Torres del Paine_Bienvenido

Torres del Paine_Our guide

Torres del Paine_Cueva del Milodón

Torres del Paine is one of Chile's greatest national parks. Many trekkers arrive here, especially during the summer months, to walk the world famous W trail, as its shape of the trail recalls the letter W. We left the van at several stops and had short walks in the park. We saw some magnificent landscapes; most of us remained speechless at the sight of the gigantic granite monoliths, the higher of the three reaching 2,460 asl. The clouds prevented us from taking clear photos from all the three tops but still the views were simply amazing.     

Torres del Paine_Steppes vs glaciers

Torres del Paine_Granite spires

Torres del Paine_Stunning beauty

During the walk, we pass close to lakes Pehoé and Grey. Both Patagonian glacial lake, at the foothills of Torres del Paine spires. We couldn't stop taking photos of this stunningly beautiful land. Blue pieces of sculptured ice from the Grey glacier were floating in the lake. Local guanacos were grazing the land. 

Torres del Paine_Mooring at lake Pehoé

Torres del Paine_Sculptures far from the glacier's ablation zone 

Torres del Paine_Cuernos del Paine

Torres del Paine_Picture perfect Chilean Patagonia

Torres del Paine_Local guanacos

We arrived in Punta Arenas by bus early morning looking for a place to stay. We ended up at an old lady's house and gave us a tiny twin room to sleep for the night. Our communication was minimal to the basics but we could still feel she was nice and welcoming, unlike the city itself. Punta Arenas was another out of this world town. It is the capital of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chillena, one of the largest cities in the entire Patagonian region. About a month ago the city was hit by severe floods and works to clear the place were still undergoing. Every place we walked it was full of mud. Except at the main square, where the statue of Magellan was sitting in the middle. People say if you touch the foot of the statue you will come back again. We did not... We were not so kin to return to this place. We stayed couple of days and planned our gateway to Tierra del Fuego and the city of Ushuaia.

Punta Arenas_Typical house

Punta Arenas_Where the Knight Rider retires...

Punta Arenas_Muddy city

Punta Arenas_Ferdinand Magellan memorial

Punta Arenas_Touch the foot, come back again

We left this town with no regrets and headed to the Tierra del Fuego. The Land of Fire is actually an island so we had to cross the strait of Magellan in order to continue the trip to the south. Again we had to go through the custom technicalities as the island is divided between Chile and Argentina. The cross was not an easy one. It was very windy and rainy. Although it was a short crossing, it wasn't an easy one. Happy to step in to Tierra del Fuego, we both felt kind of proud. We made it! The bus continued to Ushuaia, and as the dusk was arriving I could see the landscape change. Instead of dry vast steppes, there were forests and ancient looking like trees, just like in the westocoast of south New Zealand. From the crossing, there was another 300 kms in the the island, through Rio Grande to reach the southernmost city on earth, Ushuaia.  

Crossing the strait of Magellan

Entering Tierra del Fuego

Ushuaia is well known as the town at the 'end of the world'. Well, there is a dispute here, there is another town a bit more south, in Chillean soil called Puerto Williams. They say that there lives the last standing Yaghan person. Yaghans were the indigenous tribe, nomads of Tierra del Fuego. When Magellan arrived here he found the tribals surviving the extreme cold wearing only a piece of skin to cover their genitals with no permanent housing to protect themselves. However they survived for centuries, only to die from diseases that european explorers brought over with them. Today, only one last person survives, an old 90 years old woman, the last speaker of the extinct Yaghan language. 

We stayed almost a week in Ushuaia. A beautiful town where most of the Antarctic expeditions start from. Taxation here is very low as the Argentinian government wants more Argentinians to settle there. Cigarettes and other goods were so cheap comparing to the rest of Argentina. The  location under the Martial mountains make this place a unique place. We did a one day trek to the Tierra del Fuego national park. Down there, the winds are severe and the cold can get really cold with the aid of the strong gusts coming from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean.       

Ushuaia_Under the Martial mountains

Ushuaia_Peaceful

Ushuaia_Fin del mundo!

Ushuaia_'No mooring for the English pirates'

Most of the buildings here are made by tin usually painted in vivid colours in order to overcome the cloudy grey environments. We stayed in a beautiful hostel with great views over the city and port. We also visited a big jail that is today used as a tourist attraction. Ushuaia was originally established as a penal colony, bringing into this end of the world jail dangerous and political prisoners. 

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (1)

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (2)

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (3)

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (4)

Ushuaia_View from our hostel

We left Ushuaia for the lighthouse in the Beagle channel. It is called the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, not to be confused with Cabo del Horno which in order to reach it we would have to cross again into Chile. We've seed sea lions and some birds lying on some rocks in the channel. We reached the lighthouse, the southernmost place on earth I ever been! Exciting moments even with rainy weather. The surrounding mountains and landscape was stunning.

Ushuaia_Sailing the Beagle channel

Ushuaia_Local residents

Ushuaia_Geogrpahic-extreme happy

Ushuaia_Sea lions on the rocks :)

Ushuaia_Docked to walk

Ushuaia_Guide and our Morrocan friends

Ushuaia_Together we (still) stand

Following our days in Ushuaia, there was only way north from there. We booked an Aerolineas Argentinas flight and in three and a half hours we landed in Buenos Aires. The second in size city in Latin America (after Sao Paolo) is a beautiful, mostly colonial, the capital of Argentina. We stayed at an area called Palermo, a very populous area in the centre. We've seen roads with nine(!) lanes per direction. A taxi driver was telling us it's the widest road on earth! Colonial architecture was almost everywhere. Beautiful, well preserved buildings in the centre were adding to the beauty of this massive city. People were nice, I felt them very close to us, very Mediterranean. We also visited La Recoleta cemetery, to check out the massive beautiful tombs.   

Buenos Aires_Colonial heritage (1)

Buenos Aires_Colonial heritage (2)

Buenos Aires_Eva Peron memorial

Buenos Aires_La Recoleta cemetery

La Boca is a traditional (mostly touristic) neighbourhood in east Buenos Aires. Its main characteristic is the colourful houses and the Bombonera stadium, home of the Boca Juniors football club. The Caminito street, is full of tango dancers and souvenir shops. It reminded me Plaka, just below the Parthenon rock in Athens, well on a different style.   

Buenos Aires_La Boca's colorful buildings (1)

Buenos Aires_La Boca's colorful buildings (2)

Buenos Aires_In Diego we trust!

Buenos Aires_Boca Juniors FC ground

Buenos Aires_El Caminito

Buenos Aires_Tango land

Buenos Aires_Tango fun

Buenos Aires_More tango at La Boca

Buenos Aires has modern aspects too. It is a fast developing city and a business centre not only for Argentina but for the rest of Latin America. We walked around Puerto Madero, a place that reminded me Canary Wharf in London. Very beautiful, clean and tidy. There was a famous bridge built my architect Calatrava, the same man who designed the Olympic stadium in Athens. It was a nice stop over in this cosmopolitan place. We went out few times and discovered how similar Argentinians are with the Europeans, especially the south Europeans. I loved that place, and despite the traffic and pollution it is a place I could re visit again in the future. 

Buenos Aires_Puerto Madero

Buenos Aires_Puerto Madero yachts

Buenos Aires_Calatrava's bridge

After almost a week in BsAs, we headed for the city of Rosario. We had yet another bus breakdown on the way, only 20 minutes on our way... We waited for more than an hour and finally another bus came to pick us up and continue.  

Yet another breakdown

Rosario is a relatively nice city adjacent to the Parana river. It is the hometown of footballer Lionel Messi and the birthplace of Che Guevara. The place was not something to be excited for. Not so much open space, long roads cutting the whole city in boring squares. We stayed couple of days and then got in a bus to Puerto Iguazu, to visit the mighty Iguazu waterfalls.  

Rosario_The Propylaeum

Rosario_City Hall

Rosario_Che's birthplace

Bus to Iguazu

Bus food

We arrived at Puerto Iguazu and the Tres Fronteras in the morning. We could sense the tropical heat and the jungle that surrounded us. Most people come here to visit the cataratas. So we did. the village itself had nothing to offer other than souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants. Ah! And the Tres Fronteras, a location couple of kilometres from the village that you can see Brazil and Paraguay from the Argentinian soil. We got information for the cataratas and next day we spent a whole day contemplating this amazing natural phenomenon. 

Tres Fronteras_Three different countries on sight

Tres Fronteras monument

Iguazu falls was one of the most spectacular things I've seen during this trip. It's one of the greatest waterfall complex in the world and one of the seven new wonders of the world! Muscular rainforest rivers coming down to this earth fault and fall with sheer force from heights over 60 meters. The first half of the day was rainy but nevertheless, the spray generated from the waterfalls makes it 'rainy' all year round. We took the upper trail first where someone can see the falls from above and in some points exactly above the point where the water falls down. Simply amazing! The walks around the park take you through dense jungle around almost to every waterfall. We took a boat to take us exactly below the waterfalls. Waterproofed, we went below two different waterfalls and felt the force of the water above us. It was an unforgettable moment. :)       

Aerial view of Iguazu waterfalls (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Iguazu falls_Views from the upper trail

Iguazu falls_The famous view point

Iguazu falls_Computer screenshot(!)

Iguazu falls_Salto Mbigua

Iguazu falls_Rainbow in the spray

Iguazu falls_With the boat to the waterfall

Within the park, we took the little train to the Garganta del Diablo (the Devil's throat) station. This is the most spectacular waterfall I have ever seen in my life! The Garganta, also known as the Union Fall, is a U-shaped, 82 meters high and 150 meters wide waterfall where most of the Parana's water falls in. We remained speechless for long time to realise the nature potential. 

Iguazu falls_Next stop: Garganta del Diablo!

Iguazu falls_Mind the snakes

Iguazu falls_To the Garganta

Iguazu falls_Water intake

Iguazu falls_The mouth..

Iguazu falls_And the throat..

Iguazu falls_Spray all over

Iguazu falls_View from the 'balcony'

Following this we entered Brazil and arrived to our last stop, Rio de Janeiro! We looked to find a hostel nearby Copacabana beach but soon we found out that most of them were packed with crazy youngsters. So we moved a bit further away to an area called Botafogo, still pretty central but not so close to the beach. It was the right decision as the area was safer, cleaner, and our (last) hostel was located in the hill, within lush vegetation.

We hanged around the beach and also other areas of the city. Lapa is well known for going out so we did and got sooo drunked with the caipirinhas. Santa Tereza hill was also very beautiful, with a bohemian like style, full of artistic shops and bohemian bars and restaurants. People were nice despite the fact they can get too loud at times! :) We enjoyed every single day of our stay in Rio. In fact we tried to enjoy every day as we knew after here the trip is coming to an end and we are going back to Europe...

Rio de Janeiro_Heritage

Rio de Janeiro_Street art

Rio de Janeiro_Lapaaaa

Rio de Janeiro_Steps at Santa Teresa

Rio de Janeiro_Class on its own

Rio de Janeiro_Favela views from Botafogo

Rio de Janeiro_At the Botanics

Rio de Janeiro_Lily pads

Beautiful Rio had a lot to show but the beaches were in the heart of everything. People were swimming, surfing, playing foot volley, rackets, they were training at the stands and generally everyone was on the move. Brazilians have an active 'beach culture', at least comparing to the Greeks. :) We spent so many hours around the two main beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema. 

Rio de Janeiro_Get fit

Rio de Janeiro_Copacabanaaa

Rio de Janeiro_So Brazilian

Rio de Janeiro_Ipanema beach

Rio de Janeiro_Copacabana beach (1)

Rio de Janeiro_Copacabana beach (2)

We went up at the statue of Christ the Redeemer, an iconic monument that brings Brazil in mind every time you see a photo of it. We were expecting to be much higher than what we realised. It is only 40m high plus another 10m the base of it. The views of Rio from up there though were simply amazing.   

Rio de Janeiro_Funicular to Corcovado hill

Rio de Janeiro_Cristo Redentor

Rio de Janeiro_Rio from above (1)

Rio de Janeiro_Rio from above (2)

Rio de Janeiro_The statue during the night

At our hostel the monkeys were stealing our breakfast! It sounds incredible this to happen in the centre of a large city like this but yes, we had little monkeys all around us.    

Rio de Janeiro_Local residents

Rio de Janeiro_Stealing our bananas...

Rio de Janeiro_Santo Antonio

Rio de Janeiro_Centro

Rio de Janeiro_Botafogo or Copacabana?

Rio de Janeiro_Departing Latin America

London_Back to the Underground!

This was an incredible round the world trip that we will remember for the rest of our lives! We have collated some interesting RTW statistics which I will post soon here. I really wish everyone who reads this blog to do something similar soon or later in their life. It is so worth the sacrifices required to leave home and work for few months and get in the dirt to enjoy our beautiful planet and people.  

Be well and spin around the joy of living! 

Nektarios~

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