Montag, 31. Januar 2011
Driving across the Salar de Uyuni
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Hier gibt es mal eine Cockpit-Perspektive aus dem Jeep wie wir ueber den Salzsee von Uyuni fahren.
Sonntag, 30. Januar 2011
Isla del Sol Pictures
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The Isla del Sol is an island in Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian side. There are tons of great photo opportunities with dark blue skies at more than 12.000 feet altitude!
Samstag, 29. Januar 2011
Freitag, 28. Januar 2011
Elections in South America
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Interessant in Suedamerika - zumindest in Ecuador, Peru und Bolivien - ist wie der Wahlkampf betrieben wird. Anstatt einfach Plakate aufzuhaengen, werden ganze Hauswaende mit dem Namen der Kandidaten und der Partei bemalt. Wenn man also durch die Landschaft faehrt, sieht man ziemlich viele bemalte Haeuser und fragt sich zuerst, was das alles soll. Mittlerweile wissen wir ja, wieso - zum Wohle des Volkes!
Donnerstag, 27. Januar 2011
El Calafate
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The town El Calafate is named after a barberry. A Legend tells that anyone who eats a Calafate berry will be certain to return to Patagonia. Up to now we haven't had any yet but who knows... maybe we will be back in a couple of years since Antarctica is still calling :-)
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Foto: http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/display/2973267
The following text we found at Wikipedia:
Folgenden Text haben wir im Wikipedia dazu gefunden:
Berberis microphylla or Berberis buxifolia, common name the Magellan Barberry, in Spanish Calafate, is an evergreen shrub, with shiny box-like leaves. The Calafate is native to the south of Argentina and Chile and is a symbol of Patagonia.
The bush grows to a height of 1.0 to 1.5 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 11 in). It has many arching branches, each covered in many tripartite spines. The bush has many small yellow flowers in summer. Its edible blue-black berries are harvested for jams, but are eaten fresh too - a legend tells that anyone who eats a Calafate berry will be certain to return to Patagonia.[citation needed]
The Calafate is grown commercially for its fruit, potential medical uses and as a garden plant or bonsai. Its wood is used to make a red dye. The cultivar Berberis microphylla 'Nana' is widely available as a garden shrub, and is also used in commercial plantings as a low spiny hedge to discourage intruders, but it does not fruit.
Mittwoch, 26. Januar 2011
Food
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Auch das Essen hier gefaellt uns mit jedem Tag besser. Wir geniessen immer wieder ein richtig gutes argentinisches Steak und einem richtig guten Salat. Gerade hier in El Calafate sind auch die Supermaerkte sehr gut mit Obst und Gemuese und allen moeglichen anderen leckeren Sachen gefuellt, so dass wir uns im Moment gar nicht beschweren koennen :-) Insbesondere "Dulce de Leche" haben wir fuer uns entdeckt. Dies ist eine Art Karamel, die die Leute hier ins Eis mixen (Tramontana) oder einfach mit Brot oder Keksen essen ... vielleicht so aehnlich wie bei uns Nutella.
Dienstag, 25. Januar 2011
Some more pictures from Ecuador
Sonntag, 23. Januar 2011
Torres del Paine Circuit
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Wir sind endlich in Puerto Natales angekommen und haben uns von den Experten briefen lassen. Die Bedingungen im Park sind gut - auch wenn das Wetter wie immer sehr wechselhaft ist. Morgen werden wir fuer den vollen Trek um das Paine Massiv aufbrechen. Wir haben 12 Tage Zeit, die wir vermutlich auch komplett ausschoepfen werden. Voraussichtlich werden wir dann erst wieder am 3. oder 4. Februar in Puerto Natales sein. Zwischendurch werden wir aber immer wieder ein paar Eindruecke unserer Reise automatisch posten lassen...
Samstag, 22. Januar 2011
Statistics
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Here are some blog statistics. We are sure we will break the 4.000 page views this trip! Thanks to all our followers since we have fairly 100 views a day.
Freitag, 21. Januar 2011
We have a ticket
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We just got our tickets for a bus tomorrow morning to Puerto Natales. So now we are relaxing a little bit around El Calafate and are organizing some more things like laundry and writing our blog or just relaxing around Laguna Niemez and enjoying the really good weather - sun and no wind!
No Bus to Chile
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So the strike is over but we are still stuck in El Calafate. We had reserved bus tickets for today to Puerto Natales more than a week ago but this morning at the bus station we were not on the list for the bus. Since everyone is now heading to Natales the buses are full! Our earliest confirmed option for a bus is at 4pm tomorrow which means that we lose 2 days here in El Calafate - 2 important backup days of the Torres del Paine Circuit. So currently we are checking out other options to get to Natales - or at least the Chilean border. We might have a chance with a 4pm bus today or with a 5.30am bus tomorrow morning - not confirmed though yet.
So a warning to all: Don't use the bus company COOTRA. They oversell the bus, are extremely unfriendly and do not have any interest in helping you - at all. We bought the ticket in the hostel and assume that Cootra bumped us of the bus for tickets that they were able to sell directly (without a commission to a mid-vendor).
Anyway, the sun is shining here and we will try to prepare as much for the trek as we can in El Calafate. The biggest problem though is food because you are not allowed to bring any fresh produce into Chile - and sometimes they even make a fuss with pasta or ready meals which are essential for trekking. So we do need to get to Natales for our supplies. Everything else we hope to do from here.
Perito Moreno
Der Gletscher ist Teil des groessten zusammenhaengenden Eisfeldes ausserhalb der Arktis und Antarktis. Hier sind die klimatischen Bedingungen noch so, dass die Gletscher wachsen koennen. Doch geniesst diese schoene Natur einfach ein wenig mit unseren Fotos ...
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Yesterday we visited the Perito Moreno Glaciar. It is a very large glaciar that runs from the Hielo del Sur into the Lago Argentina. As the glaciar advances it will at some point block two arms of the lake and act as a dam. The water in the upper arm rises up to 11m higher than in the lower arm until the force is too large for the "dam" to hold. Then the Perito Moreno breaks with a huge spectacle (about every 3-4 years).
It is very impressive to see the glaciar and the icebergs floating in the lake. All the time you can hear it cracking and aching and occassionally a chunk breaks of and splashes into the lake. We watched the glaciar for about 4 hours and enjoyed every minute of it.
Around El Calafate you can find many glaciars. They are all part of the Hielo del Sur which is the largest mass on ice outside Arcitca and Antarctica.
Donnerstag, 20. Januar 2011
Chilean Strike is over!
However, a solution was found while we were trekking in Fitz Roy and it seems that after Bolivia we will manage to avoid the second strike during our trip! So tomorrow we are off to Puerto Natales where we will spend two nights to rest our legs and prepare for the trek in Torres del Paine. We are still in our time schedule and if the weather holds up, the condition of the backcountry in Torres are confirmed to be good by the park rangers, then we will set off for a 10-day, 105km trek.
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Der Streik in Chile ist vorbei. Nachdem die Erhoehung der Gaspreise durch die Chilenische Regierung in der Magellan Gegend von Suedchile zu massiven Protesten und Blockaden gefuehrt hat, wurde nun eine einvernehmliche Loesung gefunden. Somit koennen wir wie geplant nach Chile einreisen. So wie es aussieht haben wir wohl nach Bolivien den 2. Streik waehrend unserer Reise geschickt umgangen.
Morgen geht um 8h30 der Bus nach Puerto Natales, wo wir 2 Naechte bleiben werden, um uns zu regenerieren und den Torres del Paine Trek vorzubereiten. Wenn die Bedingungen gut sind, werden wir ab dem 23. Januar fuer 10-12 Tage und 105 km zu Fuss um das Torres del Paine Massiv unterwegs sein.
Mittwoch, 19. Januar 2011
El Calafate
Bariloche II
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Our last day in Bariloche was very relaxing. We also needed to rest our legs a bit after 7 days of trekking within 8 days. So we took the bus out to meet Marco - a friend of Katrin's who now lives in Bariloche with his wife and daughter. We spent the afternoon together at the lake with beautiful sunshine and the first feeling of Patagonian wind.
By the way, do you know what people drink in Bariloche? Have a look further down in the picture section!
The following day we took the plane down to El Calafate and had a first glimpse of the glaciars! El Calafate has a bit of "end of the world" feeling already. This is our base for some treks in the Fitz Roy National Park.
Currently our trip to Torres del Paine is questionable because there are currently severe strikes in Chile due to the increase of gas prices. All roads are blocked and about 1.500 tourists are stuck in the Torres del Paine National Park with no way in or out and supplies running low. We'll see how the situation develops in the next days but unfortunately it looks like we will have to cancel the 10-day circuit trek because we can't get to the park in time.