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Trecho entre cidade de El Calafate e Glaciar Perito Moreno. Distância de 80 KM da cidade.

Vol Bariloche - El Calafate : Cordillère des Andes

Après un incroyable trajet en bus entre Buenos Aires et Bariloche, nous aurions volontiers renouvelé l’aventure pour nous rendre à El Calafate, située à 1 500km au sud, en direction de la Terre de Feu. Ceci nous aurait en plus permis de suivre la Ruta 40, réputée à la fois pour son aspect particulièrement sauvage et pour avoir été dans les années 50 l’épine dorsale de la traversée de l’Amérique Latine du jeune Ernesto Guevara, qui a relaté la naissance des son idéal révolutionnaire dans les Diarios de Motocicleta (« journal à moto »). Las, les liaisons en bus étant extrêmement longues et malaisées, nous nous sommes résolus à voler. Bien nous en a pris, nous avons eu la chance de survoler la Cordillère des Andes pendant plus d’une heure et demi sous un soleil superbe. Sympa !

Vol Bariloche - El Calafate : Cordillere des Andes

El Calafate

L’histoire et le développement d’El Calafate, étrange petite ville perdue au milieu d’une immense étendue (plus de 300 km la séparent de la localité la plus proche), sont étroitement liés à ceux de la Patagonie dans son ensemble. El Calafate fut officiellement fondée en 1927 pour servir de plate-forme à l’élevage et au commerce ovins, alors activités principales de la région. L’âge d’or de ceux-ci (1890-1920) étant derrière eux, la ville s’est développée lentement jusqu’au dernier quart du vingtième siècle, lorsque la Patagonie a décidé d’axer son développement sur le tourisme au détriment de l’élevage ovin, pénalisé par l’effondrement des prix de la laine.

El Calafate

Paradoxalement, c’est la crise financière de 2001 qui a donné son véritable essor à la population de la ville, qui a triplé en huit ans. De nombreux habitants de Buenos Aires, sans perspectives dans la capitale, sont venus dans le sud pour tenter de profiter de la manne touristique engendrée par la dévaluation du peso en ouvrant des bed and breakfasts et des restaurants. La ville qui compte désormais 20 000 habitants et est desservie par un (minuscule) aéroport, est devenue un point de passage quasi-obligé pour les randonnées vers le glacier Perito Moreno et le massif montagneux d’El Chalten et offre même des excursions vers le parc chilien de Torres del Paine. Pas mal pour une ville affublée du nom d’une baie sauvage (le « calafate », sorte de grosse myrtille) et qui a mis vingt ans à compter plus de cent habitants permanents !

Lac d'El Calafate

Jeu de cerf-volant à El Calafate

Miracle de ce développement effréné, la ville a conservé un aspect désordonné et sauvage qui prend tout son sens dès qu’on sort du minuscule centre-ville. Les maisons sont petites, clairsemées et souvent construites à la va-vite -mélange de tôle et de bois-, et moins de cinq minutes de marche suffisent pour se retrouver en pleine nature. Pour la première fois, nous avons eu l’impression de découvrir un espace réellement sauvage, une immensité battue par le vent et où seuls les chiens semi-errants et néanmoins sympathiques venaient accompagner notre promenade. Un sentiment de liberté difficile à décrire, mais qui nous a saisis et donné l’impression d’être de vrais aventuriers alors que nous avions marché à peine un ou deux kilomètres, le temps de nous égarer du côté du cimetière et de la décharge municipale !

El Calafate

El Calafate

Un paysage magnifique donc, immense et libérateur, mais aussi brutal et sans merci. Presque autant que de nous promener chaque jour dans la plaine environnante, nous avons apprécié de regagner le petit hôtel en rondins tranquille et bien isolé dans lequel nous logions. Le calme et la chaleur ont une tout autre saveur lorsqu’on revient d’une longue promenade dans un vent glacial Un séjour magique et apaisant, rendu plus spécial encore par les journées très longues (pas de coucher de soleil avant 22h00) qui permettaient de sortir et profiter d’un éclairage différent à de nombreuses reprises – on serait bien restés plus longtemps !

 

Glacier Perito Moreno

Glacier Perito Moreno

Enfin, nous nous sommes arrachés au confort d’El Calafate pour rendre visite au superbe glacier Perito Moreno, célèbre pour ses énormes blocs de glace bleutés. Un des plus vastes glaciers de Patagonie, Perito Moreno présente effectivement un front immense (près de 5 km) pour une hauteur émergée de plus de 60 mètres, qu’on peut au choix observer d’une plate-forme terrestre ou d’un bateau ou y randonner en crampons. Nous avons choisi l’option la plus simple, étant avant tout curieux d’observer les étonnantes couleurs du glacier. Difficile à transcrire en images, le bleu n’étant traditionnellement pas la couleur la mieux captée par les appareils photo, mais nous avons fait de notre mieux avec une lumière changeante…

Glacier Perito Moreno

Glacier Perito Moreno

Point notable en ces temps de réchauffement climatique, Perito Moreno est également un des rares glaciers de Patagonie à croître régulièrement, nourri par la fonte des neiges des Andes. D’un point de vue touristique toutefois, l’attrait principal du glacier réside dans les énormes blocs de glace qui se détachent régulièrement de sa façade dans un bruit de tonnerre ; si les ruptures totales du front du glacier sont rares (tous les quatre ans environ), les détachements de blocs sont en effet réguliers et font la joie des touristes présents ; nous aurions volontiers enregistré un film pour en partager les bruits avec vous, mais ceux-ci, souvent lointains, sont systématiquement couverts par les « Ooohh », « Aaahh » et « C’est beau » (les Français étant apparemment les plus nombreux ou les plus vocaux) des touristes présents, ce qui n’est pas particulièrement dépaysant…

Enfin, pour ceux et celles que ce cet article a alléchés, les chaînes montagneuses proches d’El Chalten (côté argentin) et Torres del Paine (au Chili) offrent des randonnées exceptionnelles. Le mauvais temps nous a empêché d’en profiter cette fois, mais nous avons depuis appris que quiconque goûte au calafate durant son séjour reviendra en Patagonie. A en croire la quantité de confiture de calafate que nous avons ingurgitée à Ushuaia, ce n’est pour nous que partie remise !

Et pour Ushuaia et la Terre de Feu, rendez-vous dans quelques jours…

Glacier Perito Moreno

© Anne and David Placet and http://anneetdavid.wordpress.com, 2009. Unauthorized use and duplication of this material (texts, pictures and videos) without express and written permission from this blog’s authors is strictly prohibited.

Santiago, plein soleil, température idéale et vent à peine suffisant pour soulever les pollens qui me donnent une allergie terrible : nous avons du mal à croire que nous venons de passer deux semaines dans le froid, le vent et parfois la neige de Patagonie. Le calme, l’immensité et les chiens errants nous semblent également loin (l’air pur aussi !). Retour sur cette étonnante région et les quinze jours que nous y avons passés.

Quelques rappels d’histoire-géographie pour commencer – si vous en savez autant que nous au moment où nous quittions Buenos Aires pour Bariloche, ça ne peut pas faire de mal ! Vaste région de plus d’un million de km² partagée entre deux pays (Argentine pour trois quarts de sa surface et Chili pour un quart) dont elle couvre la partie méridionale, la Patagonie a longtemps été habitée par les seuls peuples amérindiens, qui s’y étaient installés plus de 10 000 ans avant notre ère. Suite au passage de Ferdinand de Magallanes (le Magellan de nos livres d’histoire) en 1520, les Indiens réussiront tant bien que mal à mater les Espagnols jusqu’au 19ème siècle, la présence européenne prenant essentiellement la forme d’expéditions scientifiques et de missions d’évangélisation au succès modeste. Une fois leur indépendance acquise, le Chili (dès 1840) puis l’Argentine (vers 1880) vont rapidement réussir là où l’Espagne avait échoué et coloniser la Patagonie, de façon souvent brutale. Des migrants de différentes nationalités peupleront alors un territoire qui ne s’est véritablement développé que récemment autour du tourisme, du pétrole et du gaz et garde une densité de population parmi les plus faibles au monde (moins de 4 habitants au km², à peine plus qu’en Sibérie).

Données factuelles arides dans lesquelles la région puise pourtant l’atmosphère unique que nous avons observée pendant notre séjour : terre de « bout du monde » au climat rude et aux espaces immenses, terre d’exil qui a attiré des colons européens en quête d’un nouveau départ mais aussi des personnages excentriques en rupture de ban. Portrait robot en quatre points de cette région de plus en plus étrange à mesure que l’on va vers le sud :

• Des paysages extraordinairement variés : des lacs de Bariloche au nord à l’archipel de la Terre de Feu au sud en passant par les plaines, glaciers et haute montagne du centre, la Patagonie offre une palette de paysages étonnante. La région de Bariloche, notre première étape, est célèbre pour les superbes lacs de moyenne montagne et les pistes de ski alpin qui l’entourent. Les couleurs sont exceptionnelles mais l’architecture de chalets suisses et l’ambiance très touristique nuisent un peu au côté dépaysant de l’endroit. Pas grave, on se rattrape un peu plus bas, à El Calafate, point d’accès aux glaciers et à la haute montagne du milieu de la Patagonie. Cette ville plantée au milieu de nulle part est notre première impression d’une Patagonie réellement sauvage : la plaine environnante est battue par le vent et on peut marcher des heures avec quelques chiens errants pour seule compagnie. Un vrai sentiment de liberté ! Enfin, plus au sud encore, la Terre de Feu réalise la synthèse de tous les décors patagoniens en réunissant plaine, forêt, mer et montagne. La demi-lumière qui règne en quasi-permanence sur Ushuaia est étonnante, ainsi que son architecture anarchique. Les conteneurs empilés dans le port n’iront pas plus loin, on est vraiment au bout du monde

• Un climat plutôt rude : avec la steppe et les arbustes qui la recouvrent, le vent, le froid et l’immensité sont les principaux traits qui unissent les différentes régions de la Patagonie. Partout où nous sommes allés, il faisait vraiment froid et les immenses espaces ne nous laissaient aucun espoir de nous protéger du vent fort et incessant. Si on ajoute une forte humidité, notamment à Ushuaia (où les pharmacies sont d’ailleurs le commerce le plus répandu), on obtient un cocktail climatique détonnant et caractéristique de la région. Tolérable pour les locaux qui se plaignaient toutefois de ce printemps particulièrement rude, nettement moins pour des gringos ramollis par huit mois à plus de trente degrés !

• Une population très variée… quoique : bétail au nord de la Patagonie, manchots et cétacés sur la côte de la Terre de Feu, moutons et guanacos (lamas) partout : un cocktail d’espèces étonnant et typique de la Patagonie, notamment les moutons qui profitent de l’absence de prédateurs et de la faible concurrence pour les pâturages. La présence humaine tout aussi variée reflète la volonté des nouveaux états d’encourager l’immigration, même lointaine, pour asseoir leur présence dans la région à la fin du 19è siècle. De nombreux Allemands se sont ainsi installés dans la région des lacs et une forte colonie galloise s’est formée sur la côte atlantique, alors que des Croates s’installeront en Terre de Feu à l’époque de la ruée vers l’or. Ces migrants, soucieux de reproduire leur culture originelle dans un environnement isolé et hostile, ont donné aux endroits qu’ils ont peuplés un caractère à part qu’on retrouve encore aujourd’hui. Les brasseries sont ainsi nombreuses à Puerto Montt ou Bariloche, où nous petit-déjeunions tout les matins d’un excellent apfestrudel, alors que les salons de thé et chapelles rappellent l’héritage gallois à Trelew ou Puerto Madryn. Un séjour dans une estancia (ranch) isolée, propriété d’Anglais descendants de pasteurs anglicans arrivés en Terre de Feu vers 1870, nous a également donné un aperçu bref mais fascinant d’une atmosphère d’un autre temps, où les propriétaires terriens tenaient la région sous leur coupe – mais nous y reviendrons… Seule exception à cette diversité, ce sont comme souvent les occupants originels qui ont disparu : les Amérindiens ont été largement décimés dès lors que leurs terres ont été convoitées pour supporter l’élevage ovin florissant, même si de nombreux habitants actuels de la région sont métissés. Un exemple supplémentaire d’évangélisation rapidement détournée en asservissement et en massacre au service d’un agenda politique et économique…

• Des moutons (noirs) d’un autre type : en plus du cheptel ovin « traditionnel », l’immensité et le côté longtemps sauvage de la région ont attiré bon nombre de personnages étonnants, « moutons noirs » en exil volontaire ou forcé qui ont alimenté l’aspect fascinant du territoire patagonien. Le premier prix de l’excentricité revient sans doute au Français Antoine de Tounens, avoué originaire de Périgueux reconverti en aventurier, qui débarque au Chili en 1860 afin de créer le « Royaume de Patagonie et d’Araucanie » dont il se proclame « naturellement » monarque. S’il réussit l’exploit de rallier les Indiens à sa cause, « Orélie-Antoine 1er » sera expulsé sans ménagement par les autorités chiliennes. Ses trois tentatives de reconquête seront autant d’échecs et il mourra dans l’anonymat en 1878. Belle occasion ratée au passage pour la France d’établir une présence dans la région… En 1901, ce sont Butch Cassidy et Harry Longabaugh, deux célèbres pilleurs de banques et de trains, qui s’installent à Cholila, au sud de Bariloche, après avoir fui les Etats-Unis avec l’agence Pinkerton à leurs trousses. Ils erreront ensuite plusieurs années entre le Chili et l’Argentine, avant de tenter de s’établir en Bolivie où ils seront vraisemblablement abattus en 1908, avant d’être ressuscités par la 20^th Century Fox en 1969 sous les traits plus glamour de Paul Newman et Robert Redford. En 1911, l’anarchiste ukrainien Simon Radowitzky sera un des premiers occupants de la prison d’Ushuaia, mais lui n’était pas arrivé là de son plein gré…

Après ce portrait robot, rendez-vous dans quelques jours pour la seconde partie de ce carnet de route, avec Bariloche et la région des lacs…

© Anne and David Placet and http://anneetdavid.wordpress.com, 2009. Unauthorized use and duplication of this material (texts, pictures and videos) without express and written permission from this blog’s authors is strictly prohibited.

    09/11/2009

Chegamos à cidade de Calafate à noite. O Aeroporto novo fica 30 km distantes da cidade e já começamos a notar que neste lugar tudo funciona na base do “cartel”, depois falam do crime organizado do Brasil.

    Para nos levar à cidade temos obrigatoriamente que pagar por uma van ou um taxi. Todas as vans que ali se encontram cobram o mesmo valor e os taxis, 20 pesos mais. O diferencial do Taxi é que você vai direto para seu hotel, já a van passeia por toda a cidade, que deve ter uns 10 mil habitantes (incluindo os não vontantes e população economicamente inativa).

    Bom, resolvemos pegar a van e fomos para o Hostel descansar. O lugar era apresentável, infelizmente não podemos dizer o mesmo das informações dos horários e programas para se fazer na cidade. Para fazermos alguma coisa tivemos que ir conversar diretamente com as empresas especializadas, pois o serviço no hotel foi péssimo. Já a parte do PUB foi um capitulo a parte, conhecemos o Alejandro, proprietário do PUB, localizado dentro do hostel. Uma figuraça. Empresário na alta temporada de El Calafate e guia turístico na África, quando inicia a temporada das expedições. Conversamos muito sobre o destino, nos mostrou algumas fotos e a aventura de conhecer a África ficou mais perto de se concretizar, quem sabe já não encontramos o próximo destino?

    10/11/2009

    Tão logo terminamos o café saímos para conhecer o centrinho da cidade. Centrinho charmoso e lojas no estilo de casinhas da montanha. Poucos restaurantes que serviam comida de verdade (ARROZ, CARNE E SALADA) muita coisa de massa e pães. Apenas um supermercado, uma agência bancária e vários escritórios com pacotes turísticos. Assim se resume Calafate. Ainda na parte da manhã, conseguimos reservar um passeio de caminhão 4×4 para conhecer os Balcones de Calafate na parte da tarde.

    Neste caminhão percorremos 35 km, saindo de El Calafate e subindo até os 1050 m sobre o nível do mar. Já no primeiro “balcan” podemos desfrutar da bela vista do lago argentino (este era o nome do lago) e parte da cidade. Infelizmente o tempo não estava totalmente limpo, se estivesse poderíamos avistar o cerro Friz Roy, limite entre a Argentina e o Chile.

    Antes de continuarmos com a aventura, contemplamos alguns condores para depois passarmos ao labirinto de pedras antes de retornar à cidade pelo lado norte dos “balcões” sem perder de vista o lago Argentino.

Labirinto de Pedras

    11/11/2009

    Na noite anterior, pedimos para nos preparar o que chamam de “Lunch Box” uma espécie de kit para passar o dia nas trilhas, e como pretendíamos ficar o dia inteiro fora, no Glaciar Perito Moreno, precisaríamos ter algo para comer durante o dia.

    Cedinho chegou o ônibus que nos levaria ao parque, fizemos um tour alternativo, pela antiga estrada de rípio que liga a cidade ao Parque Nacional. Neste caminho tivemos a oportunidade de visualizar condores, águia caçando uma lebre que corria desesperada e alguns flamingos chilenos.

    Para entrar no Parque Nacional dos Glaciares é necessário pagar $60,00 (pesos) por pessoa. Este ingresso só te garante a entrada. Eu e a Rê pagamos um extra para podermos fazer a navegação no lago da face norte do Glacial.

    À vista deste imenso paredão de gelo é algo inexplicável, difícil expressar por palavras. Foi um daqueles momentos raros que todo mundo deveria ter e conhecer um dia.

    Infelizmente o dia estava muito nublado, uma raridade neste lugar é dia de sol, mas se pode ter uma idéia do tamanho deste paredão se comparado com o catamarã que está logo abaixo da fotografia. Não se consegue enxergar o final do Glaciar, ele vai até onde a vista alcança.

O Glaciar tem este nome em homenagem a Francisco Moreno, criador da Sociedade Cientifica da Argentina e um renomado pesquisador da região austral. A Geleira Perito Moreno é considerada uma das reservas de água doce mais importantes do mundo.

    Em diversos pontos de sua extensão, a geleira represa as águas do Lago Argentino, fazendo com que esta atinja uma altura de até 30 metros. Neste ponto a água começa a fazer pressão sobre o gelo. Esta pressão cria um túnel com uma abertura de mais de 50 metros, por onde as águas do Rio Braço terminam descendo até o Lago Argentino. A pressão da água provoca um desabamento na borda da geleira formando um grande espetáculo. Este espetáculo ocorre em intervalos irregulares e não foi desta vez que conseguimos acompanhar este “evento”.

    Na volta do passeio, paramos direto na rodoviária e rumamos para El Chaltén, onde nosso desafio máximo será fotografar o Cerro Friz Roy, que nesta época raramente fica descoberto. De El Calafate para El Chaltén são 3 horas de viagem pela ruta 40, agora não mais de rípio e sim asfaltada. Jantamos no Hotel e nos preparamos para o dia seguinte, aqui será a parte mais puxada da viagem, estamos na capital mundial do Trekking e nada se faz de carro, tudo a pé.

The southern sector of the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares holds one of the world’s largest ice fields after those of Antarctica and Greenland, and has been declared a Unesco National Heritage of Humanity site.  The park encompasses several environments and despite the fact that its southern portion was ceded to Chile in 1999 over a border dispute, it remains Argentina’s largest national park.  The park’s main attractions are the enormous glaciers that flow down from the heights of the Southern Continental Ice Cap, most notably the blue-hued jagged mass of crevasses and towering obelisks of ice known as the Perito Moreno Glacier.  Sweeping down off the ice cap and measuring 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high, the Perito Moreno Glacier is constantly advancing, up to 2m per day, and is considered stable while most of the world’s glaciers are receding.

The Península de Magallanes is close enough to the glacier to provide exceptional panoramas.  A long series of boardwalks and viewing platforms allows seeing the glacier from different angles and hourly boat tours depart from the dock for a close-up view.  It’s common to spot jagged ice peaks as they break apart and crash into the water below with thunderous cracks, creaks, thuds and giant crunches followed by huge splashes, small tidal waves and large bobbing icebergs.  Less frequently, the glacier advances far enough to reach the Península de Magallanes and dam Lago Argentina, however after a few years a river cuts through the dam and eventually collapses it sending vast blocks of ice, some weighing hundreds of tons, into the waters below.  The most recent big glacier breakage occurred in 2008.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the most impressive natural wonders we’ve seen throughout our travels and one of the highlights of our trip.  The boat tour was amazing, allowing us to get a closer view of this enormous ice mass which reaches heights equivalent to that of a 20-story building.  Hundreds of people visit the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares to see the Perito Moreno Glacier each day, and these numbers rise during the months of December and January, making it the most popular tourist attraction in the country.  Fortunately, the extensive viewing platforms enable the crowds to disperse and more than once we found ourselves with a platform all to ourselves awaiting the next spectacular calving and crash-landing.

After departing El Bolsón we headed south to El Calafate, one of the Patagonian region’s most popular tourist destinations.  Conveniently located between El Chaltén and Torres del Paine National Park in neighboring Chile, and just 80km from Los Glaciares National Park, El Calafate is touristy and growing fast.  It’s a long ride from El Bolsón, nearly 28 hours by bus. About 12 hours into the trip, around midnight, we found ourselves stalled in a long line of traffic and soon found out that the Argentinian petroleum workers were protesting and the protests had shut down the highway.  They lasted throughout the night until the next morning when the traffic eventually started moving again.  We finally arrived in El Calafate the following evening around 11pm, after nearly 35 hours on the bus!

This morning I got back from El Calafate which is located in the Patagonia region of Argentina, which is basically all of south Argentina. I went with my friend Emma and our flight left Friday afternoon around 4:00pm. It is such a different way to travel then what I’m used to. Before this flight in the last 3 months the shortest travel time I’ve had is about a 7 hour bus ride. This flight was only 3 hours, so nice! As we were landing in the El Calafate airport, which I’m pretty sure is the smallest airport I have ever been to, you feel as though you are going to just land on the ground in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing, nothing, nothing, and then runway. It’s pretty strange. After we landed we took a bus to our hostel, America del Sur.

From the plane, what the sky and what's water??

Smallest Airport Ever

That night we went into town to buy some food for lunch, since the hostel made a minor boo boo and confirmed our date for the Big Ice excursion for Saturday instead of Sunday, and it didn’t include lunch. After that we went to dinner at a really cute cafe out on the edge of the main street. We shared a calabaza (squash) soup and a stir fry rice thing with veggies. They were both really really yummy, but then we had to walk all the way back to our hostel. Before leaving we definitely didn’t realize how cold it would actually be in El Calafate, so we didn’t always dress in the most appropriate ways. (AKA theme of the trip, we were always freezing)

The next morning we woke up at 6 since we had to be ready for the bus at 7. We ate breakfast, made our lunch and got on the hour or so long bus ride that took us out to the glacier. We stopped at an outlook and took some pictures. Then we were assigned to group number 1 so we got off the bus first, got on a boat that took us to the starting place, got some gloves and put on pretty much every layer of clothing we had and head out on the trek. It started with a about 15 minute walk to where we were fitted for our crampons, the ice shoes that hook onto your own shoes, and then you walk for about another 45 minutes, which is mostly uphill, to get to the point where you get fitted for a harness. This is in case there is a spot that is dangerous and they need to tie us all together for safety, very reassuring. The hike through the woods was beautiful. You had a view of the glacier the whole time and were covered from the wind for the most part because of the trees. At a couple points I got really hot so I decided to strip down a little bit and take off some of the layers that I had on. However, I immediately regretted that once we stepped out onto the glacier. The wind was extremely strong, so strong that it almost blew me over a couple times. It was just starting to snow and the sun was nowhere to be found. We got our crampons on and began the hike out onto the glacier.

On our way to Glacier Perito Madero

The glacier!

Emma and me in front of Perito Madero

On the boat, I think

Cold but happy

Pretty

Awkward

Cool waterfall with icicles

The only shoes I have with me here for walking are gym shoes and what they suggest for the trek are hiking boots. Because of this the crampons did not quite fit me perfectly. They were cutting off parts of my circulation and digging into my foot for a little while, then after a mild adjustment by one of our guides, my foot started slipping out of my shoes, at one point my whole foot fell out of my shoe, so it was a little more work then was needed.

We stopped to eat lunch my a little lake in the middle of the glacier. It was so pretty, but cold and wet, all at the same time. After we ate we got up and began our trek back to land. Once we got back to the mountain it started to rain. We were so incredibly wet by the end of the hour hike back to the main camp we were practically dripping. All of the dry clothes that we had in our backpacks were wet, and the pants that I was wearing were so soaked that they kept stretching. Every time they stretched more they got wetter and muddier, then finally they were so long they kept getting stuck on branches and roots and ripping at the bottom. I currently have the pants sitting in a plastic bag in my room. They are dry but dirty, I don’t know what to do with them.

On the glacier!

Crevasee river

The group hiking

Stopping for lunch

Where we ate lunch

Rio

The guides said the first drop is at least 30 meters!

I told you my pants were wet

I was not kidding

On the boat on the way back to the dock they gave us a nice glass of whiskey with some glacier ice in it. Usually I think they drink it on the glacier, but with the wind it would have been quite difficult. After the trek they took us back to a lookout to see the other side of the glacier and gave us about 30 minutes to take a look and hang out. We were supposed to “listen to natures sounds” aka the ice cracking off. We heard one, but didn’t see where it came from. It was all just so majestic and grand it was so cool to see. Glaciers = Awesome in my book.

Otro lado

Oh yeah

So cool!

I wish that rando wasn't in the background

When we got back we took nice long hot showers, then went into town to get some food to make dinner. We made salad with pasta and vegetables for dinner, it was delicious. And then at 11:30 we went to bed because we were exhausted and were waking up early the next day to ride horses. That post is coming soon. I thought it would be easier to do this in 3 posts, one per day, so that I can get the photos from the glacier up now. The glacier hike was awesome and even though its expensive I would suggest it to anyone!

Emma was cold and the floors were heated

Olá!

Mais uma vez vamos indicar um Blog de viagem. O relato da aventura que gostaríamos de compartilhar com vocês chama-se “De Kia até o fim do mundo”. Nesta viagem o Eldinei Viana partiu de Pato Branco/PR e dirigiu sozinho (isto mesmo, sozinho!) em sua Kia Carnival até o fim do mundo (Ushuaia/Argentina).

A aventura está repleta de fotos e videos que ilustram muito bem a emoção de conhecer as belas paisagens da Patagônia Austral. O Eldinei passou por vários lugares como Mar del Plata, Bahia Blanca, Puerto San Julian, Córdoba, Puerto Madryn, Península Valdez, Comodoro Rivadavia, Ushuaia, El Calafate e Glacial Perito Moreno.

A viagem de mais de 11500Km entre Brasil e Argentina durou 19 dias e foi realizada no mes maio de 2008.

Parabéns ao Eldinei por sua aventura. Temos certeza que seu blog irá contagiar muitas pessoas a irem conhecer a Terra do Fogo.

Visite http://dekiaateofimdomundo.com.br/.

Abraços

Alexandre e Rosângela

Mar de Hielo

Blabbla bla bla (esto es un test)

My shadow on the side of Isla H, the southernmost bit of Argentine territory.

So, it starts like this: I have an unhealthy obsession with a button add-on on my Mozilla Firefox browser called StumbleUpon. Most of you have probably heard of it. If you haven’t, it is a magnificent time-waster and a great way to find the hidden corners of the Internet (where you will most likely encounter pictures of kittens and recipes for cookie-cake-pies.) I’ve been kept in the apartment the last couple of days because of a killer cold that made my head feel like it was going to explode and that basically sucked all my will to live, so I turned to a good old friend, Stumble, to keep me company.

Complacently flipping through cat macros, recipes I bookmarked so I can try them when I get home and the odd funny comic, I came upon a network of travel writers called the Matador Network. In particular, an article called 50 Things To Do Before You Die, which is one of several I’ve stumbled on based on people getting inspired by internet postings. I’ve got mixed feelings about it–particularly if you start reading some of the comments, you’ll see why. Not that I think it’s for “bore-ish, moneyed travel-types”, because that’s certainly not what I am (I’m not bore-ish, am I?) But the idea of having a bucket list is appealing in a lot of ways, not only because having goals motivates you — especially if you hit a dead-end in school or work — but also because it helps express who you are.

(As a side-note, and before I get off the Stumble topic and finally get around to the ten day trip I took two weeks ago, I want to share this: BEFORE I DIE I WANT TO… a polaroid project.)

Anyway, looking at that list of fifty lofty goals made me sense the challenge that lay before me, but it didn’t stop me from appreciating how far I’ve been able to come and just how many of those things I could cross off. (11, if you were wondering, and I’m ashamed that the one about South American futbol isn’t among them, because I’ve yet to actually GO to a game.)

A couple weeks ago, I did get the chance to cross a lot of them off.

It started with a cross-country (okay, so Argentina is a lot taller than it is wide, so don’t let “cross-country” fool you) bus ride to Buenos Aires, where some other girls and I caught a plane down to the southernmost inhabitable city in the world. While I appreciate the time that the rides gave me to think and the excitement of public transportation and my ability to plug in my earphones and stare out the window for hours watching the country pass by, I can’t imagine spending a lot of time describing it. AndesMar is definitely the way to go if you’re ever in South America and need to get somewhere; they usually play decent movies, provide decent food and even play bingo on the longer rides — prizes usually being bottles of wine. No, I didn’t win any. Not for lack of trying.

The bus ride was overnight and the flight a nearly four-hour deal that got us into Ushuaia in the afternoon (after a bit of waiting in the airport.) It was a weird landing because we were in a cloud bank for the longest time. When we broke out of the clouds, we were unusually close to the ocean, and I couldn’t see the peninsula where the landing strip was situated for a few moments. It was cloudy and dreary weather — a change from Mendoza and only to be expected when you’re at the end of the world.

A shot of nighttime Ushuaia out the hostel window.

The hostel we stayed at in Ushuaia was large and friendly and full of life. The man who greeted us, I think his name was Max but I called him RastaBob, insisted on giving each of us a hug after showing us to our rooms. He spoke perfect english with a Jamaican accent. I can’t explain it. The first night, we went to a restaurant that was suggested by Lonely Planet — and it was delicious. A little pricey, but I feel like treating yourself out on the first night in the southernmost inhabitable city in the world is okay. Besides, we could do that whole share-bits-of-your-platter thing, so everybody pretty much got to taste everything. The linguini I got came with salmon and shrimp, and Lisa, sitting across from me, had a delectable dish of king crab and mussel that, I tell you, I fell in love with after one bite.

We took most of our nights slow and steady to enjoy our surroundings, which I am completely in tune with. That night was spent recuperating rest that I had lost on the bus because I really have trouble sleeping on buses (and airplanes). Ushuaia was a cute little town plopped on a steep incline by a huge bay; it felt like a quaint little fishing village. But it was full of backpackers and adventurous types and even one guy who was beginning a backpacking adventure that started and Ushuaia and would end, he plans, in New York. What a plan.

We woke up fairly early the next morning to catch our transport out of town to go snowshoe trekking and dog sledding. We drove to a place some miles out of town in a valley by a lake, though everything was covered in snow, so you could hardly tell the natural landscape except for the obvious (lots of mountains.) My first snowshoe experience wasn’t quite as disastrous as I thought it would be, given my predisposition to being ridiculously clumsy. We were with a family from Uruguay and the mother had more trouble than anyone. (They were really nice folks and I got the son’s email address and gave them mine, in the event that I travel to Montevideo in the future.) It took two hours, maybe a little less, to do a circuit of the valley (while Cecy, our guide, explained about the moss under the snow that had no bacteria, thus preserved dead things perfectly) and after we got to meet the dogs and take them back to the lodge after a nice cup of cocoa. I drank so much cocoa on this trip.

The dog sledding was an interesting experience even though the conditions weren’t perfect for it. All we did was sit on

Dog sledding right outside of Ushuaia. Alaskan huskies!

the sled (“we” being Laurel and I, for one sled) while our musher Federico did all the work. He was a nice guy and chatted with us and cursed loudly and then told us to ignore him. He was kind of adorable, too. He told me how he wanted to go to Alaska and participate in the Iditarod and I was thinking, well, that’s awfully stereotypical of a dogsled driver, but who am I to crush other peoples’ dreams? Anyway, mine are equally silly.

Later that day a couple of us decided to go ice skating in the open-air rink in town, not too far from where our hostel was. Ice skating is intimidating at the best of times, but doing it surrounded by spanish-speaking children when you’re me is even more intimidating. After we waited in line for nearly an hour, we finally got into the rink; as soon as the blade of my right skate hit the ice, I was flat on my back with people laughing at me. I deserved it. It was a pretty comic fall, basically like something right out of a looney tunes cartoon. Don’t get me wrong, though; it was fun. I got to perfect my stopping technique, which is basically, run into the wall and stay on your feet.

The rest of the night was spent relaxing, talking to people in the hostel, eating the dinner that the other girls cooked and watching episodes of Friends because Kaela has like ALL of them on DVD. And Friends crosses cultural boundaries. It never gets old.

The next day, we decided to charter a boat out and around the Beagle Channel. This deal came with hot tea and alfajores. We also got to visit the actual southernmost bit of Argentine territory, called Isla H, and tramp around on this basically beautiful piece of land stuck out at the end of nowhere. I think most of the motivation in doing the boat ride for a lot of people was the opportunity to see animals, and we did see a lot of birds and some sea lions. Some wishes were fulfilled with the two tiny Magellan Penguins that were swimming in the water, apparently the beginnings of the migratory season. It was a beautiful day, though, and most of the clouds of the previous days had disappeared, so it was a great chance to get out and enjoy life.

In case you were wondering, this is what the end of the world looks like.

Since our bus was scheduled to leave the terminal at 5 am the next morning, we decided to skip that entire “sleep” thing. We made a late breakfast-for-dinner around midnight (the cutest pancakes you’ve ever seen, scrambled eggs and left over blackbeans from a previous meal) and sat around playing a questions game and talking for a few hours. At 4:30 AM, we paraded (GRINGO PARADE!) through town to the bus stop, which was basically a shack and a bench next to the bay. None of us were really sure if it was the right place, but it’s the excitement of not knowing that makes travel exhilarating.

Turns out it was the right stop, and our bus wasn’t as big as we expected. Andesmar doesn’t serve that far south, so we were traveling with a company called Marga in a van that sat maybe 20 people at most. There was the 9 of us, four Irish people, and a couple stragglers. (I had a panic moment when I woke up on the bus around 7 am and really, really had to pee. Mostly because you looked out the window and there was literally nothing within sight, and there was no bathroom on the bus like on the large buses. After holding it for about ten minutes and waiting for something to appear, I asked the driver, and he said we’d be in Rio Grande in five minutes and there would be a bathroom there. Thank God. How embarrassing would it be to have to ask a driver to pull over so you can pop a squat behind some brush?) This part of the trip got a little complicated because we had to cross through Chile, and some folks we were traveling with either didn’t know we had to actually cross the border or didn’t know they needed to get their passports stamped, so they didn’t have their original passports. They got turned away at the border and had to go back to Ushuaia and find an alternative route. (We ended up meeting back up with them later, in Bariloche.) It’s just a lesson to y’all–no matter how much your program director tries to tell you photocopies are good, they aren’t for actual traveling. Just for being around the city. If you’re crossing borders, you need an actual passport.

I spent a lot of time on buses, so I tried to take pictures out the window.

Everyone was pretty upset after we lost them but I found it hard to be… I felt bad, sure. But we and they still had a wonderful adventure ahead — just didn’t go exactly as planned. Anyway, the bus got on the ferry over the Straight of Magellan (where I got out and went topside to look for dolphin-like animals that are black and white and I can’t remember what they’re actually called, but I saw one) and when we touched main land again we went through border security to cross back into Argentina.

We switched over at Rio Gallegos and got a larger and slightly nicer bus the rest of the way to El Calafate. I actually managed to sleep most of this one because I was beat, but I vaguely remember parts of Angels & Demons (which is one of the movies they played). Once in El Calafate, around 11 pm, we stumbled from the bus stop to the hostel. Four blocks of Lord-of-the-Rings-like huffing under packs and enormous amounts of road-tripping-induced exhaustion.

The hostel at El Calafate was definitely my favorite. The place was beautiful, had wonderful views of the lake and the mountains, and had the most home-y atmosphere of anywhere I’ve been since, well, home. The staff were all incredibly personable and nice and indulged in my silly sense of humor and bad castellano. Actually, to be honest, I think that the best spanish I’ve spoken, I spoke there, in perfectly casual conversation. (Example: Staff– “You should go dancing tonight!” Me–”I don’t have the clothes to go out…” S–”Ehh, you can dance naked.” M–”How much are you gonna pay me??” all in spanish.) We had asados and good times. That’s where I made my last mini-update from. Our one goal in Calafate was to visit the Glacier National Park — we’d been waffling on whether to pay for the trekking on the glacier and finally took the fall to do it because, really, how often do you get to trek on a glacier? Especially with Global Warming and everything. You know. Melting. And stuff.

That was our second day in Calafate. Our first, on my part, was spent wandering around the city, peeking in stores, talking to people and making friends with the dogs on the street, which you aren’t really supposed to do because they’re dangerous but these were the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met. I made some friends at the hostel. And then the next day we woke up bright and early to get on a large bus out to the park to romp on Glacier Perito Moreno. The weather was a bit miserable — pouring snow, very wet, and I was completely unprepared for it — but once it cleared up, it was an amazing day. The first few hours were spent at the observation sights, walking the paths and looking at this HUGE CHUNK OF ICE making its slow and stately way down the river, like it has been for God-knows-how-long. Occasionally you’d hear pieces breaking off and crashing into the water, but I never actually saw them, partly because of the visibility problems with the weather and partly because of location.

After the viewing, we drove a little farther to an access point where, after a walk through the woods down to the beach,

Big effin' hunk of ice.

we could don our crampons and get up on the ice. It’s an incredible feeling, to realize as you look out over that blue, broken desert, that you’re standing on ice. And that’s it. Just ice. A big old hunk of it. And it was so blue (a welcome trick of the light) and the water in the pools was so delicious (I did taste it, thank you very much, and a bit of ice from the glacier because people don’t use ice here hardly and I’d gotten in the habit of chewing on ice cubes before I came here). I can’t really explain it in a blog beyond that. And the fact that it was cold, but that should be obvious; at the end of our trek, we were rewarded with whiskey shots and more alfajores. These people have a thing for alfajores.

Sampling nature's goods.

On our last day in Calafate we got lunch at a pizza place before departing on an afternoon bus because we wanted to stuff ourselves as full as we could before 28 hours in transit. I had some delicious vegetable ravioli in white sauce (something I’ve taken a liking to) and was successfully stuffed in time for the bus.

It really was 28 hours, but between reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia, napping, watching movies, and getting out to stretch every time the bus stopped, it passed quickly enough. The only thing was that we were traveling with Marga again, and they only provided one meal on a 28 hour ride — and that was a sandwich that was mostly bread and an alfajor. Luckily, a friend we’d met at the hostel named Katie told us this so we were prepared with our own supermarket provisions. Take that, low-quality service! See if I ask for the potato puree and chicken milanesa that I’ve come to expect from Andesmar! I’ll just eat my homemade cereal + raisin trail mix, thankyouverymuch.

The most famous chocolate store in Bariloche, and thus, in the country.

We only had one day in Bariloche and man, I wish we had more. The place was absolutely beautiful. The last couple of hours on the way in we were officially in the Argentine lake district, in a valley between mountains in the greenest and most beautiful place I may have ever seen in my life. That might be an exaggeration, because I’ve seen some pretty awesome things in my life, but I thought to myself that I could easily see myself living here in the future. On one of those little farms. Maybe with some of those little Patagonian sheep. Bariloche itself was a dream, a cute town a little bigger than Calafate and Ushuaia, with the Lake Nahuel Huapi and mountains as a background setting. Not only that, but the town has a reputation for gnomes (and selling them in strange places) and chocolate. So much chocolate. Such delicious chocolate that I can’t even describe this magical wonderland of chocolate goodness. It’s also a big hub for outdoor activity (no duh) and a destination for a lot of Argentines in their last year of secondary. But I never got a trashy touristy feel from it — just a wholesome, good place to be. Really wish we’d had more time there. What time we did have, though, was spent seeing the city (and the chocolate stores), eating delicious food (and chocolate), and doing a little bit of shopping (for chocolate.) I bought a little bracelet from the artesan square, except I put it on my ankle and it’s saying there forever and ever until it breaks.

Some people left earlier on the last sunday, but I was among the group that left a little later. In our extra time, we went to the chocolate museum. I’m not even kidding. They gave us delicious hot cocoa and we learned all about the history of chocolate in all its varied forms. Then we grabbed our bags, said goodbye to the really hot Swedish guy who was working at the desk at the hostel (for some reason) and caught a taxi to the terminal for our 16-hour bus (ANDESMAR!) back to Mendoza.

So, it was a pretty good trip.

I had planned on going to Chile this weekend, but the Cold From Hell attacked me (and I can feel it even now, throbbing in my temples), so I made the intelligent decision not to go. I’m a horrible sick person, anyway, I get whiny and self-indulgent and easily angered. So I stayed here and happened to catch a Star Wars marathon on TV yesterday and got a doctor visit and some medicine and finally sat down to write this monster which, at a little over 3000 words, is not QUITE as bad as I’d imagined. But I’m still working to filter my writing down to acceptable reading quantities.

‘Til next time, which will hopefully be soon.

So much cocoa. So much delicious.

My day by day account of this much awaited holiday is now live on CHILE & PATAGONIA.

This diary of the much awaited travel through Chile and Argentine Patagonia starts here. My experiences of this tour could be a reference point for you at a later date. Ask me if you have questions.

We just wanted to travel light through the extremes of the Atacama desert in the north to the glaciers of the south – clothes, camera, sun screen, books, hiking boots, laptop – what do we get rid of? Much thinking and creative packing later, we got down to probably the lightest luggage we have done in a decade! And we didn’t miss anything.It all started on our departure from London on the 2nd of October – 17 days to go!

CLICK HERE FOR ATACAMA PICTURES

CLICK HERE FOR TORRES DEL PAINE PICTURES

CLICK HERE FOR PERITO MORENO GLACIER PICTURES

I climbed on a glacier today. It was probably one of the coolest things I´ve ever done, despite the fact that it was pouring snow and I was wet in that permeating kind of way– all through all my layers. I think between Ushuaia and El Calafate, the latter is definitely my favorite, for now.

The trip has gone relatively smoothly and I am completely, utterly, head-over-heals in love with the international travel culture. I´ve met some amazing people and had some great conversations, had a lot of opportunities to practice my spanish, and bonded with some of the girls from my exchange program. The only hitch in the plan was that three of our group only had photocopies of their passports and not the actual thing, so they were unable to cross the border into Chile when we were taking the bus from Ushuaia to Calafate. It really sucked; they had to go back to Ushuaia and find an alternate route.

The I Keu Ken Hostel, where we´re staying now in Calafate, is fantastic and homey and warm and inviting. The people are some of my favorites and I almost wish that we had a lot more time here to enjoy their company, but alas, we´re moving on tomorrow at 2 pm on a bus that will last roughly 28 hours. At least I´m getting to see the Patagonian countryside, yeah?

Next stop, Bariloche, for one day. A day full of Mamushka chocolate and more trekking. I´m becoming a travel and outdoor junkie here.

Also, I´m so totally always open to long emails and facebook messages about your life and I will return the favor. It´s nice to have something waiting in my inbox that isn´t from a listserv.

Patagonia is one of those places that I have always been intrigued by. I am not sure if it is the mountains, the glaciers, the plains, the mate, or the language, but one thing is for sure, I had no idea what we would get into with this trip. Upon arrival, after a plane ride that seemed to take forever, we had officially landed in the middle of nowhere. El Calafate is a small town used as a central port for transportation in southern Argentina. We grabbed our bags and hiked our way to the bus station where we hoped to find a bus to take us to our preferred destination of Lago Roca.

We soon realized the good and the bad of our timeframe for exploring Patagoina. Being the end of the busy season, many of the busses were running fewer days, and operated on a needs basis only. This was the bad part. The good part was the lack of congestion. There were significantly fewer people around each location than during the height of the busy season. While stumbling our way through Spanish, yes, it had been a while, we discovered that our bus would not leave for Lago Roca for 3 more days. Stuck in El Calafate without much to do would definitely put a damper on our hopes and fill our next few days with frustration. Luckily, we were able to talk one of the bus companies into driving us in the morning. All hope was restored. We found our hostel and settled in for a nap, waking up in time to get groceries for the next few days. We would be spending them in a cabin at Lago Roca. 

….not exactly award winning, but we made do. 

Sampling German cervezas in Valdivia, Chile

Crossing the Strait of Magellan in Punta Arenas, Chile

They don’t tell you that Tierra de Fuego looks like Mario World

The awe-inspiring Glaciar Perito Moreno in El Calafate, Argentina

Up close and personal with Perito Moreno

.A small Patagonian village on the shores of the breathtakingly blue Lago Argentino, El Calafate is known as the national capital of the glaciers. Since it was founded on December, 7th 1927, this town has grown to become a main tourist destination. It’s typical roofs and gardens, the variety of flowers and trees, make a warm and delicate environment that combines leisure and adventure perfectly.

Tourists from all around the world throng to this region to get a glimpse of the magnificence of nature. From glaciers to Lush green scenaries, El Calafate is truly a place to be for nature lovers. There’s no dearth of accommodation as there are ample hôtels Calafate. One of the natural wonders of the world: Perito Moreno glacier is a must visit and also one of the primary reason El Calafate is popular. Other than that, there are numerous opportunities in El Calafate where one can be assured of a memorable experience. From taking a boat excursion to see the many glaciers to visiting ranches or maybe just be in the middle of nowhere, enoying the wild nature, cut off from the rush of big cities, you do not spend a minute idle.

The Calafate hotel are world class and come in ranges suitable to everyone’s budget. You can check into any hotel in Calafate and be mesmerized by the view it provides. They’re all very conveniently located and their friendly staff makes your stay an experience to cherish for long.

There are many retaurants which offers cuisines from all the parts of the world; that is one field where popular destinations boasts about. Lamb features on top of food items available. Grills, pizzas and local cuisine are also quite a hit with the tourists.

El Calafate started out as a destination for wool traders before it became a major tourist destination. Any trade centre all over the world is bound to be very well connected to the rest of the country and beyond. El calafate is no different. From El Calafate, you can head to other popular tourist destinations in Europe such as Bordeaux in France, Amsterdam in Netherland, Brussels in Belgium and many more

Travelling to El Calafate is encouraged 365 days a year, however, visitors should understand that hours of daylight dwindle in the winter months to as few as eight hours of natural light per day. Apart from that, you’re all good to start your unforgettable journey.

A fines de Julio tuvimos la visita de una hermosa persona a la cual le mostramos algunos lugares del sur, estuvimos recorriendo varios lugar, pasamos por Piedra Buena, en donde paramos para ver los murales, el Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, en el cual sus palabras fueron: “Si rompe el glaciar, no me sacan mas de acá”, también están algunas fotos del calafate y otras mas.

Espero que les gusten las imágenes, Comenzamos con el Calafate y un par de fotos donde los muchachos jugaron con la nieve.

Este es el Lago Argentino, el cual, en el momento que fuimos tendría que haber estado congelado para la fiesta del hielo, lo cual no paso, sera por el calentamiento global? (yo creo que si)

En el Parque Nacional hicimos una excursión donde nos acercamos un poco al glaciar, sabían que tiene mas de 60 metros de alto? son dos veces el obelisco!!

Bueno estas son por ahora, dentro de poco pasamos las del viaje hacia el calafate, Piedra Buena y el Bajo San Julián.

Así como también, el PERCHERO terminado!!! Si, el que nunca terminamos de mostrarles como quedo, bueno actualmente esta mas que saturado de ropa.

Perito Moreno Glacier.

Mientras en Argentina la pobreza continúa en auge, el patrimonio ecónomico de los Kirchner también. Ya el 40% de la población total del país, unos 16 millones de personas, vive bajo los límites de la pobreza. Algo que resulta bastante incomprensible en un país tan rico en recursos tanto naturales como humanos.

Sin embargo, paradójicamente, la fortuna del matrimonio entre Néstor Kirchner y Cristina Fernández ha aumentado de una estrepitosa manera. Han reconocido que su dinero ha aumentado de 3,3 millones de euros en 2007, a 8,5 millones actualmente, si bien en 2003 declararon que su patrimonio neto era de 1,2 millones de euros.

Pero, ¿cómo ha sido posible este aumento tan escandaloso? Parece ser que tanto Néstor como Cristina han sabido aprovechar muy bien su estancia en la Casa Rosada, ya que durante el periodo del primero (2003-2007) el patrimonio total aumentó 2,1 millones y durante la presidencia de ella (desde 2007 hasta la actualidad) el dinero aumentó 5,2 millones. Todo esto supone un aumento aproximadamente del 670% de la fortuna del matrimonio peronista desde que Néstor llegara al poder en 2003.

Toda esta rentabilidad se debe a la especulación con suelos públicos, sobre todo en la villa turística de ‘El Calafate’, situada en la entrada de un glaciar andino. La venta de una hectárea y media al empresario chileno Horst Paulmann, quien montaría un centro comercial allí, les proporcióno 1,2 millones de euros.

Y esto solo es un ejemplo, dado que los Kirchner poseen más de 180 hectáreas de suelo en esa zona (anteriormente suelo público, adquiridas por un módico precio) en las que siguen especulando, habiendo creado una sociedad anónima. Cuentan con una mansión privada, dos hoteles, establecimientos de lujo reservados para clientes ‘de la alta sociedad’ norteamericanos y europeos, amén de otra gran cantidad de bienes inmuebles. Y todo esto, como ya ha sido mencionado, mientras 16 millones de argentinos ya viven por debajo de los límites de la pobreza. Y el número va aumentando.

Photographed by quemas™

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