Antarctica

The seventh continent. The one that belongs to no country but to those adventurers and scientists who the are brave enough to set foot on it - and to the tourists, who pay good money to experience the thrill and the awesome landscapes. Obviously, we belonged to the less gamourous third type. But even before our ship, the "Expedition", left the harbour of Ushuaia, you could feel the excitement amongst the 120 passengers, all secretly convinced that they were in fact true explorers, and on the trip of their lifetime. Of course we felt the same. For those of you who rather see the real thing than to read it, here a small movie (cut on the iphone, so don't expect tv quality. Also, and this really makes me angry, I failed with my attempt to put music underneath it.) about our trip:

We could tell you so much about those 10 days, that we might bore you. To make it short but sweet, here the highlites:

the people!

We've met so many nice folks, that it made this incredible trip even better. On deck, at dinner or at the polar bear bar, there always was much laughter and even more drinks. Eliane, Bettina, Scott, Guy, Bryce, Vanessa, Michelle, Anjli, Dhruve, Desmond, Shaun, Dylon, Laurent, any many more inculding the wonderful crew: thanks again for your great company!









Dhruve, Anjli, Vanessa, Bettina








Eliane and Laurent








Flow and Desmond








Dylon, Bettina, Guy and Bryce

the landscapes!

Icebergs, like floating buildings from Salvatore Dali, the sun that almost never sets, we were jaw-dropping all the time. When the weather was on our side, we had landings twice a day, using zodiacs to get to the shore. You'd have to see it with your own eyes, but here some picture to make up for it.



















the wildlife!

If you find penguins charming (and who doesn't?) you'be thrilled to see how many you encounter in Antarctica. They do not fear men, but they are much to busy fishing, building nests and protecting their eggs from other birds to care a lot about us. But if you sit very still, trying to look like a penguine yourself, they might come and pay you a short visit.





























We did also see some seals, even the rare leopard seal (the one penguins fear the most), but don't expect some action here. They can lay on shore for days, not moving more then a fin. Fins and tails from a far was all we saw from the wales. Luckily, we saw them up close before, at the Pensinsula Valdes.










the food!

I guess everybody left the ship after ten days with some pounds more on their hips! Three times a day, we heard the voice of the hotel manager: it is bon appetit time!!! It became some kind of running joke, but we never missed the call, because the food was so exquisit. We've even seen some vegetariens turn their back on their philosophie. (Sorry Bettina!)










One day, we even had a barbecue, at 65* south! On another, the Swiss amongst us were happy to be served a delicious Züri Gschnetzlets the most famous dish from Zurich.










the crew!

The crew of the Expedition was just awesome and gave us many insights on the wildlife, the history and geology of the seventh continent. And always with a smile. You guys are really worth your money!











So would we do it again? Sure we would! But as we've been told at embarking: this is the trip of your lifetime. So one time will probably have to do the trick.

the way to Ushuaia

Poor lonesome campers, on a long long way from home.
Yes, the way was long, and some experiences were a pain in the a.. but it was absolutely worth while. Read on if you wanna know more.

In german we say: Scherben bringen Glück. So you could think: after a smashed window, we should be lucky for a while. Let me tell you: it wasn't so. At the Pinguin Colony of Punta Tombo, with half a million pinguins the largest colony of South America, everything was still great. We couldn't stop taking pictures of the pinguines, one cuter than the next.




After this and a full moon night spent in the wild at Cabo Raso, infront of the ocean, the wind picked up and so did the first problems, especially for our french friends. On the ruta 3 bevor Comodoro Rivadavia, the wind blowed with 130 km/h from the side and.. teard their roof away! Pierre hat to hang on to it with all his weight for fourty kilometers until Comodoro. What a wortkout! We couldn't even help because we were half a hour behind and didn't see the whole thing.

While they fixed their roof in Comodoro, we replaced our broken window and noticed that our fridge wasn't working any more. We cleaned all the pipes and left the windy city as fast as we could. Pierre and Youna wanted to do some shopping first. Bad idea. While they were in the supermarket, their camper got robed - on a guarded parking lot! They took everything of value: computer, camera, hard disk with all the saved pictures, iphone, even the goggles for birdwatch and (very bitter) the great bottle of french wine, they had been saving for christmas. Luckily the cat, Baya, was fine. Still in shock, she didn't leave the camper through the open window.

Again, we weren't there to help. Actually, we had problems of our own: our first flat tire, in the middle of the desert, with 2 important tools missing to fix it and no phone connection. Finally, some locals came to help us. But it was Florian who did all the work. This trip is making a real handy man out of him. :-)



Richer in experiences we could haved lived without, we were recompensated for our troubles at the Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados. Huge petrified trees, 150 million years old! In that time, Patagonia was not desertic but covered in lush rain forests. After volcanic irruptions, the trees were burried under volcanic ash and the minerals moleclules replaced the wood mulecules, making perfect stone copies of the trees. Really impressive.








This was the last time, we could wear a t-shirt. At Puerto San Julian (nice small sleepy place, perfect for a Hitchcock movie like The Birds) the temperature dropped hard and has never gone up since. The wind allways takes you by surprise. It can be calm and without warning it picks up and nearly blows you off your feet.

The landscapes though, are incredible. Some consider them boring, sometimes the flat lands dont change for hours, but the feeling is liberating.





After ugly Rio Gallegos we crossed the Magellan Passage by ferry and found ourselfs in Tierra del Fuego. Here, the landscapes became hillier again and the more we drove to the south, the more it reminded us of Switzerland.

Rio Grande is world famous for its big trouts and fly fishing addicts are flying in from everywhere especially to fish in this mighty river. We thought: why not? Let's try it! Well, I'll tell you why not: because is costs verrrry much (about 600 dollars a day) and you have to release the fish if you are lucky enough to catch one! Crazy fisherman!

Instead, we visited a few working estancias, sheep ranches. Wool baron José Mendéndez reigned over Fireland at the end of the 19th century and two of this huges estancias are still working today. The Estancia Maria Behety, named after his wife owns the world's largest shearing shed. Only 20 men shear 40'000 sheep. They don't need more than 2 or 3 minutes for one! Bad luck for us, it wasn't a shearing day. But the gauchos working there were nice enough to show us arround.









We stayed for one night at the much smaller Estancia Rolito, and shared maté and stories with José and this sister Ana, living there in the fourth generation. They have big problems with wild dogs. They've killed nearly half of their stock. Four years ago, the siblings owned 7000 sheep, now only 4000. And there is nearly nothing you can do against it.








Finally, after 6 weeks on the road and 8800 km since the start in Buenos Aires we reached Ushuaia. The mighty city at the end of the word greated us with the worst wether. Rain, snow and icy wind. And this in summer. Why did we want to come here again?





But it didn't take us long to discover the charm of this city. Once we found the very welcoming Camping La Pista del Andino and were reunited with our french friends we've been missing since Rio Gallegos, the world was becoming a better place.

Together we had a nice 3 hours walk in the National Park Tierra del Fuego (actually 4,5 hours, because Youna had to take a pictures of every tree and mushroom she saw! ;)











Of course, we did also visit the famous prison of Ushuaia. Boy, you didn't want to get a room in this hotel in the begining of the 20th century.

And to celebrate our last evening together, we had an awsome dinner at the fancy restaurant Chez Manu, overlooking Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel.

Why the last evening together? Because we are leaving for the ANTARCTICA today!!! Thank you mom, this is the greatest christmas present ever! So yes, we will be gone on a 10 days cruise getting some Titanic feeling, while Youna and Pierre will be driving north.
Hopefully, we'll meet again, maybe in Peru. Anyway, it was great meeting you guys, we'll miss you.




Ps: actually we're back. In the last minute before posting this blog wifi died on us. So we're back from a incredible cruise and you will soon read all about it.

Peninsula Valdes

Endlich. Das lang ersehnte Rendez-vous mit den Walen der Peninsula Valdes! Wir haben es uns auch verdient. Vier lange Tage on the road, um 1500km südlich von Buenos Aires, in Puerto Madryn anzukommen. Da wir nur höchstens 80 km/h fahren, brauchen wir mit den Pausen einen ganzen Tag, um 400 km zu meistern (Eintrag zu einem typischen Tag unterwegs folgt bald.) Die unendliche Pampa ist an uns vorbeigezogen, immer wieder farbig punktuiert durch die roten Altare für Gauchito Gil. Dieser Gaucho war der Legende nach ein Robin Hood, der bei seinem Tod ein Wunder vollbracht hat und seither als Heiliger verehrt wird.



















Aber es sollte noch zu einer anderen wichtigen Begegnung kommen, die unser Aufenthalt in diesem einmaligen Naturreservat geprägt hat. Pierre und Youna, die mit einem putzigen grünen VW-Kombi (der auf den Namen Denver hört) ebenfalls Südamerika erkunden, haben wir in einem YPF-Tankstelle kennengelernt. Die zwei Franzosen reisen zwei Jahre mit dem Ziel Alaska zu erreichen - und dies in Begleitung ihrer Katze (!) Baya. Der Funke ist von er ersten Minute an rüber gesprungen, und wir haben uns seither nicht mehr getrennt. Ihnen verdanken wir auch einen sehr passenden Namen für unseren riesigen Pick Up: Moby Dick. Hier ein kleiner Film von unserem gemeinsamen Abenteur auf der Peninsula Valdes:

Ist das nicht toll? Was sicher noch zu erwähnen ist, als heisser Tip für alle, die jetzt ins nächste Flugzeug steigen wollen: unbedingt an der Playa Flecha oder El Doradillo parken (15 km nördlich von Puerto Madryn) oder noch besser, gleich dort übernachten. Die Wale sind bei Flut bis zu 20m nah ans Ufer gekommen! Ein unglaubliches Erlebnis.





Wer eine Schwäche für Pinguine, Robben oder Seeelefanten hat, kommt auf der Peninsula Valdes ebenfalls auf seine Kosten. Nur das Glück Orcas zu sehen, blieb uns leider verwehrt. Die gehen eher im Januar und Februar auf Robbenjagd.





























Nach vier unvergesslichen Tagen sind wir zusammen mit Youna und Pierre weitergefahren, um das walisische Dorf Gaiman, 80 km östlich von Puerto Madryn zu besuchen. Hier ist man sehr stolz auf die walisische Kultur der eingewanderten Vorfahren und den Besuch der Princess of Wales, Lady Diana, vor etwa 20 Jahren. Und natürlich haben wir uns Tee and Scones gegönnt in einem traditionellen Teehouse mit skurrilem Dekor. Wie zu Urgrossmutters Zeiten.





































Als dann aber die gesalzene Rechnung kam, waren wir bloody shocked. Einen zweiten Schock gab es nach dem Besuch des paleontologischen Museums in Trelew. Irgendein Dinosaurier hat uns mit einem Stein ein Fenster des Pickup zertrümmert. Geklaut wurde erstaunlicherweise nichts. Aber bis dass wir die passende Scheibe finden für unser F350, müssen wir dem Patagonischen Wind mit Karton trotzen. Well, this is not going to ruin our mood.

Uruguay

Flow's search for the perfect wave

How would you like it - hippy, calm or trendy?
We met three surfspots in Uruguay. First el punte del diablo which is still sleeping in November but turns into a fancy party village in summer. Coloured houses all over the place, dirt roads with deep holes and a cash-machine which only functions during the holiday season.
People were constructing houses to be ready to host the tourists who are arriving in december.
We parked our trailer in the center of town on an empty property.
A man who looked like a homeless pretended to be the owner and asked for money but wasn't willing to prove it at the police so finally he left us in peace ;-)
Surrounded by street dogs who followed us to the beach and into the dunes we wished for the first time not to be in the off season.
The swell of the waves wasn't high enough so we moved on.





Further south we spent two nights at La Paloma. This small town is allready settled with more expensive houses and we finally found a laundry and a free wi-fi spot...back to civilisation...
The first night we slept on a huge parking of a military base and the second one directy on the beach next to the waves. While Mireille was reading and relaxing, Florian practised his surf skills with some locals.




In punta del este it's not allowed to park a trailer in the city. The fanciest beach of Uruguay with the big buildings wasn't very charming to us. So after posing at the big hand in the sand (tourist attraction) we went to the suburb to eat and relax from the ride on the road.




So the perfect wave wasn't found in Uruguay. But one week later, back in Argentina, Flow finally found a very sweet surfspot on the southern end of Mar del Plata. However the sea was much colder there and he was happy to own a wetsuit and have a warm shower in the camper afterwards.

Parking in Montevideo

Finding a parkingslot in a big city ain't that easy if you are driving a vehicle of 7,5m length so we left it at a petrol station and went by foot. At the tourist information center two old ladies gave us a map of the city, but didn'd seem to know anything about the capital of Uruguay. After a long walk, at the end of the main street it started to rain.
Tired of walking without finding anything nice to look at we caught a taxicab, went to a shopping mall and watched two movies in a cinema. Sometimes the basic instincts are the best.

Back to Switzerland

In Nueva Helvetica a colony founded by swissfolks we suddenly felt appetite for Röschti with Zürigschnetzlets so we ate lunch in a 4 star hotel and filled up our tank with swiss quality water.
Anyway they didn't understand swissgerman and the mountains were missing so we went on to the south.





Horse riding in Colonia

Colonia is a beautiful historical city, founded in the seventeenth century by the portugese, who invites tourists to stroll around. Watching the maneuvers of birds struggling with the wind on top of a lighthouse, enjoying a drink at a bar next to the sea or buying a mug for mate (type of tea typical for the reagion) in one of the little shops are the small things in life to appreciate.
Dirk and Lucette a couple from Belgium showed us how to spend the retiremend without getting bored. They have been travelling around the world in their camper for years - five alone in Southamerica - only going back home when they are missing their family two much. Mireille was thrilled to do the same one day while Florian kept on switching the languages from french to german to english and swissgerman.




The next day we went horseback riding with the crazy german guide Sandra. She has bond and pink hair, 7 dogs and about 15 huge cats because she is breeding them. She fell in love with a real gaucho (cowboy), Enrique, the landscape of Uruguay and last but not least the horses.
Mireille convinced Florian to extend the trip from two to four hours, so we could galopp along the beach. After these four hours of trotting and galopping our legs were scratched and our bump red like the one of an orang-utang and the muscles tired and aking.
Satisfied we continued our trip with our camper denying the offer of Enrique to exchange it with a horse...




To say goodbye to Uruguay we took the ferry back to Buenos Aires were our trip had started four weeks ago. Now the direction is the deep south and next stop Puerto Madryn. Mireille just can't wait to see the wales.

Brasilien - Osmar Pereira

Florianopolis war doch nicht das Ziel. Dafür haben wir einen Engel kennengelernt - Osmar Pereira.




Die Strecke von Iguazu bis an die brasilianische Küste war viel länger und auch viel teurer als erwartet. Besonders auf der (vermeindlichen) Schnellstrasse BR277 von Foz do Iguazu nach Curitiba wurden wir praktisch jede Stunde zur Kasse gebeten. Ca 100.- US$ an Strassenmauten, dazu Dieselpreise die gut 20% über dem argentinischen Preis liegen. Die Landschaft war anfangs noch hügelig und bewaldet, dann erstreckten sich unendliche Ebenen vor uns. Viele Kühe und ab und zu ein Gaucho, der an seinem Maté (bitterer Thé, viel beliebter als Kaffee) schlurfte. Nach zwei langen Tagen on the road (mit unzähligen Lastwagenunfällen) sind wir endlich an der vielgelobten Playa do Mariscal in Bombinhas, ca 50 km nördlich von Florianopolis angekommen.
Der Himmel war verhangen, der wunderbare 5km lange Strand menschenleer.







Zu einem anderen Zeitpunkt hätten wir uns über diese wilde Romantik gefreut, aber jetzt sehnten wir uns nach Sonne und Gesellschaft. Der ebenfalls verlassene Camping wollte 66 Reais für die Nacht (40 US$!), also beschlossen wir, einfach am Stand zu parken. Schliesslich haben wir im Camper Dusche, WC und Küche. Doch vorher wollten uns im einzig offenen Restaurant einen Fisch und guten Wein gönnen. Das war der Anfang einer wunderbaren Freundschaft.

Estan Suizos?!? Osmar klopfte aufgeregt mit der Krücke auf sein rechtes Bein. Eine Prothese aus Aluminium. Freudig blätterte er durch sein kleines Deutsch-Portugiesisch Langenscheidt-Wörterbuch, das er immer auf sich trug. Er schwärmte vom Jungfraujoch, von Luzern und einer wunderbaren Ärztin aus Meilen, deren abgegriffene Visitenkarte ihren festen Platz im Wörterbuch hatte.






Was es mit der Liebe zur Schweiz und vor allem zu Deutschland auf sich hat, sollten wir bald erfahren. Erst aber Fotos schiessen (der Wirt zog dazu extra sein Hemd aus) und dann - keine Widerrede! - den Camper in seinem Garten direkt am Strand für die Nacht parkieren.

Aus einer Nacht wurden fünf. Schon am nächsten Tag zeigte sich die Sonne und wir entspannten uns. Florian genoss das Surfen und Mireille joggte jeden Tag eine Stunde lang der Brandung entlang und verschlang Bücher und riesige Steaks mit dem gleichen Heisshunger.







Jeden Tag lernten wir unseren grosszügigen Gastgeber und auch seine Freunde besser kennen. Osmars Charisma und seine Freundlichkeit zieht die Menschen magisch an. Ständig waren Leute zu Besuch oder holten Osmar ab, um mit ihm etwas trinken oder essen zu gehen. Carlos der Tierarzt, Leilo der Immobilienhändler und seine Freundin Graziella, die Architektin Christina und viele mehr gingen in Osmars bescheidenen Hütte ein und aus. Und mitten drin Mireille und Florian, die umsorgt und bekocht wurden. Es war schwierig, sich mal zu revanchieren. Obwohl wir kaum Portugiesisch sprachen und Osmar kaum Deutsch, verstanden wir uns blendend.



Osmar und Florian


Tierarzt Carlos


Mireille und Christina, die Architektin


Osmar and Friends

Osmar war Lastwagenchauffeur. Bis zu dem tragischen Unfall, bei dem er sein rechtes Bein verlor. Als er vor sechs Jahren einem deutschen Touristen Unterkunft anbot und ihm auf einem Bein hüpfend einen Kaffee zubereitete, versprach dieser, Osmar nach Deutschland mitzunehmen. Dort sollte er eine gute Beinprothese bekommen. Der Deutsche hielt Wort - Osmar wischt sich beim Erzählen gerührt eine Träne weg.

Inzwischen war er schon mehrmals in Deutschland und ist zum grössten Fan unserer nördlichen Nachbarn avanciert. Er trägt eine Baseballmütze mit dem Schriftzug Deutschland, sein Schlafzimmer zieren Fanartikel vom FC Bayern-München und Foto-Kalender aus Magdeburg.

Im April wird er dort ein neues Fussgelenk bekommen. Wer das alles bezahlt war lost in Translation. Aber wer würde Osmar nicht helfen wollen? Bei diesem Mann kann man in Sachen Grosszügigkeit und Bescheidenheit in die Lehre gehen. Nie auch nur einen Tropfen Bitterkeit, obwohl er sein Bein mehr durch den Pfusch eines Arztes als durch den Unfall verlor.

Zu seinem Glück fehlt nur die Liebe. Frauen dieser Welt, die aus einem glücklichen Zufall auf unseren Blog gestossen seid, am schönsten Strand Brasiliens wartet ein Mann mit einem Herz aus Gold. Wir vermitteln gerne.