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1998.02 South America / Brazil
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1998.02 South America / Argentina / Perito Moreno
7 photosOne rainy day we decided to see Perito Moreno Glacier. It was difficult to get to it, because of heavy rain a day earlier. We could not take bus as we planned thus we decided to take a boat. It was still raining when we approached the glacier, netherless it did not stop us from hiking on slopes surrounding the glacier.
Perito Moreno Glacier, in the southern area of the Los Glaciares National Park, is the most important and most easily reached glacier. This is an imposing ice river, 3 km in width and 60 m in height, that descends slowly from the Hielo Continental Patagonico (Patagonian Continental Ice) to the shore of the lake, in the Canal de los Tempanos (Icebergs Channel). Only 200 m above sea level, it has turned into the biggest attraction of the region thanks to its spectacular beauty, its glacial interest and its different behavior to the rest of the glaciers of the world. It is a white giant that, moving noisily, offers an incredible scenery. During its slow advance, it blocks the Canal de los Tempanos, forming an ice dam that does not allow the drainage of the waters of the South Arm to the central part of the lake. The pressure of the water trying to recover its natural course increases from year to year until it starts to pierce the front of the glacier, producing the famous "fracture". This is a unique spectacle that repeats itself every 4 or more years where tons of ice yield to the force of the water. This process lasts up to 36 hours; peace and silence return afterwards. -
1998.02 South America / Argentina / Fitz Roy
5 photosAfter several hundred kilometers long bus trip we arrived to a small village - El Chalten, close to Chile-Argentina Patagonian border.
The legendary peaks of the Torre Mountain and the Fitz Roy Mountain stand out in the middle of the flat Patagonian steppe and attract numerous climbing expeditions from all over the world. The road from El Calafate ends in the Park, in El Chalten, name the Indians gave to the Fitz Roy Mountain. From El Chalten, one of the most popular walks is the one that leads to the first camping site of the Torre Mountain. From here, it is possible to admire the walls of this granite mountain that during many decades was considered "impossible to climb", until it was conquered for the first time by the expedition headed by Cesare Maestri in 1970. The Tehuelches, primitive inhabitants of the regions, venerated the Fitz Roy Mountain and named it "Chalten", which means "mountain that sends out smoke", since they believed it was a volcano, because its summit is always covered with a layer of clouds. Its special shape and height must have served them as an orientation signal during their annual migrations from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes. -
1998.02 South America / Argentina / Tierra del Fuego
10 photosTierra del Fuego is archipelago, at the southern extremity of South America. In shape the main island, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan, is a triangle with its base on Beagle Channel. The total area is 28,473 sq mi (73,746 sq km), about two-thirds of which is Chilean and one-third Argentine. The boundary, agreed upon in 1881, follows the meridian 68°36¢38² W, from Cabo (cape) Espíritu Santo on the Atlantic, and the east–west Beagle Channel. Lennox, Picton, Nueva, and several small islands at the mouth of the channel are disputed between the two republics. Roads are poor in Tierra del Fuego, and there are no railways. Air services however, link major settlements to Punta Arenas, Chile, and Río Gallegos, Argentina. Sea communications are also important; a regular service links Porvenir and Punta Arenas, and naval vessels supply Ushuaia and the Isla Navarino, Chile. There is little agriculture on the island, but oil and gas reserves have been developed. Many textile and electronic firms have been established at Río Grande and Ushuaia, the island's two main cities.
Right after we arrived to Ushuaia we took a tour to Tierra del Fuego National Park. By the Pipo River, in a outstanding place surrounded by mountains, stands the station of the Train of the End of the World. It belongs to the Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino (Southern Railway). It is a small train with capacity for 36 passengers that goes into the National Park with several intermediate stops in different panoramic points. The train uses the original terreplein of the old small train that worked until 1947 and that transported prisoners from Ushuaia's jail to the saw-mills where they worked daily. The steam trains have been specially designed and built in Argentina for this railway. The train goes through the Pipo River across the Quemado Bridge and makes its first stop at the De la Macarena Cascade. Here, you can see the reconstruction of the Indian campings of the Yamanas and Shelkman cultures, called "Rio Ajej", which recreates their customs. In the final part of the journey, along the Canado del Toro, there is a tourist circuit and 4.5 km from the departure point, you can either choose to continue the visit of the park by bus or to return to the station by train without stops. One of the outstanding parts of the park is the Lapataia Bay, the final point of the only road that goes from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, 3300 km away. Here, it is sometimes possible to embark and to combine the tour of the National Park with the navigation through the Beagle Channel. Sailing across Ushuaia Bay, you can admire an impressive view of the city and the mountain range that surrounds it. At the end of the bay, the Chico Pass indicates the entrance to the mythical Beagle Channel with its history and mystery of old shipwrecks.
Beagle Channel Trending east–west, is about 150 mi (240 km) long and 3 to 8 mi wide; it separates the archipelago's main island to the north from Navarino, Hoste, and other smaller islands to the south. At its western end the channel splits into two branches that encircle Isla Gordon. The eastern portion forms part of the Chile–Argentina border, while the western portion lies entirely within Chile. The three islands at the channel's eastern end, Picton, Nueva and Lennox islands, were the subject of a territorial dispute between Chile and Argentina that began in the 1840s and which almost led to war between the two nations in 1978. The dispute officially ended on May 2, 1985, when a treaty awarding the three islands to Chile went into effect between the two countries. The Beagle Channel was named for the British ship Beagle, in which Charles Darwin explored the area (1833–34).
Ushuaia - is the capital of Tierra del Fuego provincia, Argentina, on the Beagle Channel. It lies on the main island of Tierra del Fuego Archipelago at the southern tip of South America. The site was first settled by Wasti H. Stirling, an English missionary, in 1870. In 1884 an Argentine naval base was established, and in 1893, after the archipelago was partitioned between Argentina and Chile, Ushuaia was declared a city. Lumbering, sheep raising, fishing, and trapping are the city's principal economic activities. Ushuaia has the distinction of being the southernmost city in the world. -
1998.02 South America / Argentina / Buenos Aires
12 photosBuenos Aires is one of the largest cities in the world, counting a total of eleven million inhabitants in both the city and its surroundings. It is a modern and dynamic city that still keeps some of its old traditions. It is known as the most elegant city in South America; its architecture represents the heterogeneity of its people, the so called "portenos" (inhabitants of the port). Located by the Rio de la Plata, the widest estuary in the world, Buenos Aires is the capital of the tango and the football, of the gaucho and the "asado". It offers its visitors numerous alternatives to spend nice and happy moments. In the city that never sleeps, there is time and space for everyone. The aspect of the city is very diverse, easily changing from the narrow streets to the widest avenues. To catch its spirit it is necessary to walk along the streets in the downtown, to see its elegant shop widows, to take a coffee in a sidewalk cafe or to visit the residential neighborhoods, where the old buildings alternate with the most modern constructions. This is a city with plenty typical restaurants of all the regions of the country as well as with excellent international cuisine. The heart of the city today, as in colonial days, is the Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada (Pink House - Presidential Palace) and the Cathedral where San Martin, the father of Independence. is buried. The Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world -the obelisk commemorating the 400th anniversary of the city stands midway. Tree-lined boulevards. parks and plazas are abundant and the skyline, though punctuated with a few new skyscrapers, resembles that of Paris -
1996.11 Costa Rica
17 photosTwo months after my travel to Peru I started another trip - this time it was Costa Rica. This group included eighteen participants. The main goal was whitewater rafting on Reventazon and Pacuare rivers. In order to minimize number of vaction days used we elected Thanksgiving day week. Since we already were in the country, we visited San Josè and several national parks around. -
1995.05 Switzerland
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1984.08 Romania
22 photos