Latin Americaltobelli

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Dimanche 6 décembre 2009 7 06 /12 /Déc /2009 16:39

Argentine_El Calafate_Ushuaia_Puerto Madryn

I stayed 1 day in El Calafate to see the gorgeous glaciar Perito Moreno (see pics), large of 5 km, long of 30km and high up to 60m! And good news, it is one of the unique glaciars in the world that does not regress..

I left El Calafate to head to Ushuaia at 3am (ouch!) and enjoyed a nice 18 hours bus trip made principally of border crossing with Chile (2 times) and waiting for a ferry. I was a bit apprehending Ushuaia as I heard very diverse opinions about this city.

At the end I liked Ushuaia very much; well, yes it is quite touristic (easy of access because of its airport) but the landscapes are wonderful; the city still has a very personal character and it is nice to be at “the end of the world” (though I sometimes wonder why it is not called the “beginning” of the world ;) ... I rented a mountain bike and had some nice rides in the national parks (I was the only one to do it, which made it an even greater experience).

Afterward I headed north to Puerto Madryn to see the whales, sea lions, elephant seas etc...I arrived just in time, as the whales leave the bay at the beginning of December; they actually stay there to reproduce and wait for the babies to be old enough to leave.

I am now back in Buenos Aires and will stay a few days to enjoy the city and its nightlife again. After that, I will head to Iguazu to see the amazing waterfalls!

Link to the relevant Albums:
El Calafate: http://latinamericaltobelli.over-blog.com/album-1521295.html
Ushuaia: http://latinamericaltobelli.over-blog.com/album-1521313.html
Puerto Madryn: http://latinamericaltobelli.over-blog.com/album-1521308.html

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Jeudi 24 décembre 2009 4 24 /12 /Déc /2009 19:22

Iguazu_Rio de Janeiro_llha Grande_Uberlandia

I left 2 weeks ago Buenos Aires to go to the waterfalls of Iguazu: these are purely amazing! It is hard to describe with words but have a look on my pictures, it can give you an idea of the beauty of this place.

I left Puerto Iguazu to join a brazilian friend (Amanda)and her italian friend in Rio de Janeiro. Rio is as well incredibly gorgeous, with its dream beaches, palms, people etc...I took a day off to go and surf as there are some good spots in Rio (but there were no waves the day I ve been surfing, anyway ;) Night life also is great and yes, it is not a cliché, Braziliens know definit Way to Brazil ely how to party!

We went 2 days in the paradisiac Ilha Grande and enjoy the beaches and blue lagoon water.

I arrived yesterday in Uberlandia in the family of a Amanda to spend Christmas time. As the familly enjoy a certain social status, we ve been yesterday in their “ranch” to have some fun with jetski and canoes in a lake. I ve seen by the occasion some amazing birds.

And today is my first Christmas by 35° in a brazilian family..

Merry Christmas everyone!

Brazil_Uberlandia Christmas and New Year's Eve

Brazilian Christmas! Wonderful! Amanda's familly is quite big so there has been lots of people the 24^th and 25^th. Very nice decoration, tasty food, and nice atmosphere... The 25^th two singers came at home and we spent the day near the swimming pool singing and dancing.

The rest of the week was more quiet, with many meals and dinners and afternoon spent with the familly. I have been one evening to a soccer game, diverse “Pagode” parties (popular brazilian music style singing almost exclusively about love)...

And then you re probably going to wonder why I donnot have any pics after christmas; well, the reason is unfortunately very easy: never accept to give your camera to a half drunk brazilian teenager at a sylvester party! I just noticed yesterday that I had only 9 pics left on my camera out of the last 5 days (I had around 50pics). I guess she just pushed some non adequate buttons, clicking “oui” (yes) at the options “tout supprimer” (delete all) before taking her pic. Youhou! Anyway...The pic left is the one when I was at 7am finishing the party in the plastic boat in the swimming pool at the villa of a friend of Amanda. It was a really cool party...

Uberlandia Campo Grande I left Uberlandia in the afternoon for Campo Grande in the Region of Matto Grosso and arrived this morning aroun 4am. I ll leave tomorrow for a four day organised excursion in the Pantanal.

Brazil_Pantanal

“Pantanal is a tropical wetland. 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nuturing an astonishingbiologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping support a dense array of animal species.” And yes, the wildlife in Pantanal is really worth it, especially if you like Caymans (around 5000 of them in the region Matto del Sur), birds, monkeys, tarantulas and of course...mosquitoes! (I ve used a whole bottle of mosquitoes spray in 4 days; and no rest during the night!) And it s really realy hot!

We slept in a hammoc the 3 nights and made diverse excursions. First day we went and saw the caymans, and actually found out that they are simply afraid of us and try to run away if we approach to closely. They eat actually mainly fishes and birds, and surprinsingly otaries eat them. (see the pic in album). We saw monkeys as well, which was quiet funny, because feeling threatened they started to pee and shit on us from above the trees! (I was still holding my binoculars when being hit at the shoulder ;)

Afterwhat we had a tour in a small boat on the Paraguay river. Here is the fishing forbidden because of the pollution, but actually it is not even use to fish: a certain species of fish use to jump out of the water when feeling threatened and quite a few landed on the boat (one even hit the head of a girl ;)

The next day we went on a nice trek and had more opportunities to observe wildlife. In the afternoon we went fishing pyrahnas (according to the guide to a not fobidden area). We ate them in the evening, but honestly there is not much to eat. After that we went to watch the caiman during the night; it is nice because you see their eyes reflecting our lamp flash (see the black pic). The next day we had a horse tour in the morning.

I left in the afternoon with 3 other guys to go to Curumba, but as no bus wanted to take us, after 4 hours of waiting a taxi accepted to take us for the same price than for the bus (but well, we were 4 in the back of really, really small car...but was funny).

Regarding Pantanal del sur, I would like somehow emphasize the fact that in spite of a large number of animals and a rich wildlife, a huge part of the region has been burned down to favorize farming.

I was until yesterday in Curumba and arrived this morning in Sant Cruz in Bolivia. At the border you notice immediately that you re arriving in the poorest country of South America. And you can now forget about air conditioning in bus! But you cannot imagine how cheap life overhere is (my hostel costs 3,5€ the night for ex and you can eat well for 1,5€). Tomorrow I ll leave for Samaipata, a villagea bit more in the west of Bolivia. Afterwhat I should head for Sucre, the second largest city after LaPaz.