Ushuaia
[[Ushuaia is a beautiful city, isolated in the southernmost part of Latin America - TIerra del Fuego, just about 1500km north from Antarctica. It's called "Fin del Mundo", which means end of the world, because it's said to be the southernmost city in the world and therefore it attracts numerous travellers that choose it for the beginning or end of their journey of the Americas. For us, it was a turning point - from now on, we go only north :)///Ushuaia is a beautiful city, isolated in the southernmost part of Latin America - TIerra del Fuego, just about 1500km north from Antarctica. It's called "Fin del Mundo", which means end of the world, because it's said to be the southernmost city in the world and therefore it attracts numerous travellers that choose it for the beginning or end of their journey of the Americas. For us, it was a turning point - from now on, we go only north :)///Ushuaia je krásne mesto, izolované v najjužnejšej časti Južnej Ameriky s názvom ohňová zem (Tierra del Fuego), nachádzajúce sa iba 1500km severne od Antarktídy. Nazýva sa aj koncom sveta (Fin del Mundo), pretože je to najjužnejšie položené mesto na svete - aj vďaka tomuto pomenovaniu v cestovateľských kruhoch dobre známe a veľa ľudí si ho vyberá ako začiatok alebo koniec svojej cesty po Amerike. Pre nás to bol bod, kde sa smer našej cesty otočil po prvý a posledný raz - odteraz sa ide iba na sever :)]]
[[You can only reach this part of Argentina by going through Chile first - there's no road that would go straight here, thanks to the part of land in Tierra del Fuego that is Chilean. In reality, there are three different cities that proudly call themselves the "end of the world" - two in Chile and one in Argentina. The first is Punta Arenas, which is a few hundred kilometres north, but it's a big city (250k+ inhabitants). I can see the reasoning, but I wouldn't call it the southernmost in the world. Second one is Ushuaia in Argentina, that we would call the southernmost city too - there's no road that goes further down (ok, almost none, if you don't count the naval base :) ). If you cross the ocean though, located on one of the islands there is Puerto Williams - a Chilean town of about 3000 inhabitants, that call itself "Fin del Mundo" city as well. It's true that it's located a few kilometres further south, but as it's so small and without any road going to it, so we agreed that the end of the world would for us would be Ushuaia. :)///You can only reach this part of Argentina by going through Chile first - there's no road that would go straight here, thanks to the part of land in Tierra del Fuego that is Chilean. In reality, there are three different cities that proudly call themselves the "end of the world" - two in Chile and one in Argentina. The first is Punta Arenas, which is a few hundred kilometres north, but it's a big city (250k+ inhabitants). I can see the reasoning, but I wouldn't call it the southernmost in the world. Second one is Ushuaia in Argentina, that we would call the southernmost city too - there's no road that goes further down (ok, almost none, if you don't count the naval base :) ). If you cross the ocean though, located on one of the islands there is Puerto Williams - a Chilean town of about 3000 inhabitants, that call itself "Fin del Mundo" city as well. It's true that it's located a few kilometres further south, but as it's so small and without any road going to it, so we agreed that the end of the world would for us would be Ushuaia. :)///Do tejto časti Argentíny sa dá dostať jedine cez Čile - neexistuje žiadna cesta, ktorá by išla priamo len cez Argentínu. V skutočnosti existujú tri mestá, ktoré sa nazývajú koncom sveta - dve sa nachádzajú v Čile a jedno v Argentíne. Prvým je Punta Arenas, ktoré sa nachádza niekoľko sto kilometrov severne s počtom obyvateľov viac ako 250 tisíc, pretože ho považujú za najjužnejšie veľké mesto. Druhým mestom je Ushuaia, ktorá sa nachádza v Argentíne, a ktorú by som s kľudným svedomím označila za najjužnejšie mesto, pretože sa ešte dá považovať za mesto a cesta odtiaľto už južnejšie nevedie. Na druhej strane Beaglovho kanála sa ešte nachádza maličké mestečko Puerto Williams, ktoré síce je južnejšie ako Ushuaia, ale je už tak malé, že sa už veľmi označiť za mesto nedá.]]
[[The history of the city and its beginnings are linked with building the jail, isolated from the rest of the country. In the 1950s, Ushuaia became an important port and a wealthy city, due to the natural resources of the region - wood, gold, wool, fishing and nowadays also tourism all shaped Ushuaia to what it is now - a beautiful and wealthy town, that is also a gate to the Antarctica - during the season the tourist ships leave almost daily.///The history of the city and its beginnings are linked with building the jail, isolated from the rest of the country. In the 1950s, Ushuaia became an important port and a wealthy city, due to the natural resources of the region - wood, gold, wool, fishing and nowadays also tourism all shaped Ushuaia to what it is now - a beautiful and wealthy town, that is also a gate to the Antarctica - during the season the tourist ships leave almost daily.///História mesta a jeho začiatky sa viažu k postaveniu väzenia, v roku 1950 sa stalo dôležitým námorníckým prístavom. Bohatstvo pochádzalo z ťažby dreva, zlata, vlny, rybárstva a v dnešnej dobe turizmu. Počas najväčšej sezóny takmer každý deň odchádzajú lode smerom na Antarktídu.]]
[[In the evening, we met with our good friend from Couchsurfing - José with his girlfriend (and soon to be wife) Roxana :)///In the evening, we met with our good friend from Couchsurfing - José with his girlfriend (and soon to be wife) Roxana :)///Večer sa stretávame s našim kamáratom z Couchsurfingu s Josém a jeho priateľkou Roxanou.]]
Christmas
[[On the Christmas eve, we were enjoying the spirit of Christmas and just a nice relaxing day(just stressing a bit about Janka baking a bit late :) ). We were preparing traditional Slovak pastry called "medovníky", made from lots of honey, some flour and spices. Ivan was trying to make kapustnica, traditional Slovak soup made from sour cabbage (sauerkraut), but the cabbage was smelling like vinegar, because the "sourness" wasn't achieved by traditional fermentation, they just added vinegar... So he just threw the whole first batch away and washed the cabbage really thoroughly when doing the second batch. After successful cooking and we spent a lovely Christmas evening with Roxana & José with his family - thank you so much for letting us feel like at home. In Argentina, they don't really have a dish that would be a must-have traditional meal like we have in Slovakia, every family just cooks what they like. We also managed to call home during the normal time, thanks to the few hour time difference.///On the Christmas eve, we were enjoying the spirit of Christmas and just a nice relaxing day(just stressing a bit about Janka baking a bit late :) ). We were preparing traditional Slovak pastry called "medovníky", made from lots of honey, some flour and spices. Ivan was trying to make kapustnica, traditional Slovak soup made from sour cabbage (sauerkraut), but the cabbage was smelling like vinegar, because the "sourness" wasn't achieved by traditional fermentation, they just added vinegar... So he just threw the whole first batch away and washed the cabbage really thoroughly when doing the second batch. After successful cooking and we spent a lovely Christmas evening with Roxana & José with his family - thank you so much for letting us feel like at home. In Argentina, they don't really have a dish that would be a must-have traditional meal like we have in Slovakia, every family just cooks what they like. We also managed to call home during the normal time, thanks to the few hour time difference.///Štedrý deň si užívame vianočnú pohodu (niekto síce stresuje, že medovníku nebudú pripravené na večeru, ale všetko akurát stíhame). Improvizovane robíme medovníky, namiesto válčeka poslúžila fľaša s rumom. Ivan sa pokúša urobiť kapustnicu, ale kyslá kapusta nie je prirodzene fermentovaná, ale je s pridaným octom. Tak začne variť druhú s tým, že poriadne premyje kapustu, aby sa zbavil octového zápachu a chuti. Po úspešnom pripravení kapustnice a medovníkov sa vydávame osláviť Vianoce s Roxanou, Josém a jeho rodinou - ktorým ešte raz ďakujeme za príjemne strávené Vianoce. Ak vás zaujímalo, čo špeciálne si varia v Argentíne, tak nemajú žiadne tradičné jedlo ako u nás. Navaria si to, čo majú radi, vrátane ovocného šalátu. Keďže máme len 4 hodinový posun, stihli sme online osláviť Vianoce aj s našou rodinou na Slovensku.]]
Laguna Esmeralda
[[The first day after christmas we decided go for a small hike to see nearby Laguna Esmeralda. We noticed that a very large portion of the forest around was destroyed, but weird kind of destroyed. José informed us, that the damage was done by beavers. These otherwise quite cute animals are not native here and were brought onboard on ships from Canada. As they don't have natural enemy, their population grew to a really large level. They destroyed a huge amount of forest in Tierra del Fuego while building their dams on local rivers.///The first day after christmas we decided go for a small hike to see nearby Laguna Esmeralda. We noticed that a very large portion of the forest around was destroyed, but weird kind of destroyed. José informed us, that the damage was done by beavers. These otherwise quite cute animals are not native here and were brought onboard on ships from Canada. As they don't have natural enemy, their population grew to a really large level. They destroyed a huge amount of forest in Tierra del Fuego while building their dams on local rivers.///Na prvý sviatok vianočný sme sa rozhodli dať si prechádzku k neďalekej Lagune Esmeralde. Cestou sme si všimli, že veľké množstvo lesov je zničených - José nás informoval, že vyplienené oblasti majú na svedomí bobry, ktoré sa sem na lodiach dostali z Kanady. Nemajú žiadneho prirodzeného nepriateľa, takže sa im tu neskutočne darí. Pri stavaní svojich hrádz zničili veľa lesov v Tierra del Fuego.]]
[[One part of the hike was feeling strange, the soil felt sooo good to walk on - so soft and flexible. It turned out we were walking on peat.///One part of the hike was feeling strange, the soil felt sooo good to walk on - so soft and flexible..///Jednu časť k jazeru sme kráčali po veľmi mäkkom, pružnom a príjemnom povrchu, ktorým bola rašelina.]]
Asado
[[The following day José took us fishing and we also made a traditional argentinian asado - which could be translated as barbecue. Overall it was a great morning, asado, fresh caught fish on a grill... Later we went to see Estancia Haberton, which was the first ranch (estancia) in Tierra del Fuego, built by a missionary Thomas Bridges. It's 85km east of Ushuaia and was a very nice day trip to go there.///The following day José took us fishing and we also made a traditional argentinian asado - which could be translated as barbecue. Overall it was a great morning, asado, fresh caught fish on a grill... Later we went to see Estancia Haberton, which was the first ranch (estancia) in Tierra del Fuego, built by a missionary Thomas Bridges. It's 85km east of Ushuaia and was a very nice day trip to go there.///Na druhý sviatok vianočný nás José vzal na rybačku a asado (čo si môžete predstaviť ako grilovačku) k rieke neďaleko Ushuaie, spolu s jeho kolegom a deťmi. Poobede sme sa presunuli pozrieť si Estanciu Habertón, ktorá bola prvým rančom v Tierra del Fuego, postavená misionárom - Thomas Bridges. Nachádza sa 85 km východne od Ushuaie je to veľmi príjemný denný výlet.]]
Estancia Harberton
Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
[[On the last day, we went to see National Park Tierra del Fuego. Upon entry, we were a bit surprised by the huge difference in entry fees for foreign tourists and tourists from neighbouring countries, that were quite common in Argentina (we paid roughly 4x more than locals and 2x more as South Americans). They don't have any bilateral agreements, so we had mixed feelings about this. This was the symbolic end of the road, this is basically as far south as you can drive, the only way from here is - north. The road number 3 goes straight from here to Buenos Aires, just about 3000 km drive... Right. There are many things and tails in the national park, you can enjoy the view on Beagle Channel, send a postcard from the end of the world and enjoy some more views. And... turn around and head north :)///On the last day, we went to see National Park Tierra del Fuego. Upon entry, we were a bit surprised by the huge difference in entry fees for foreign tourists and tourists from neighbouring countries, that were quite common in Argentina (we paid roughly 4x more than locals and 2x more as South Americans). They don't have any bilateral agreements, so we had mixed feelings about this. This was the symbolic end of the road, this is basically as far south as you can drive, the only way from here is - north. The road number 3 goes straight from here to Buenos Aires, just about 3000 km drive... Right. There are many things and tails in the national park, you can enjoy the view on Beagle Channel, send a postcard from the end of the world and enjoy some more views. And... turn around and head north :)///V posledný deň sme sa vybrali navštíviť Národný park Tierra del Fuego. Pri vstupe nás prekvapili cenové rozdiely vstupného pre zahraničných turistov a turistov z mercosur krajín (Čile, Brazília, Uruguaj, Paraguaj, Bolívia, Ekvádor), ktoré v Argentíne boli bežné. Len pre informáciu s okolitými krajinami nemajú doteraz žiadnu bilaterálnu dohodu o lepších cenách vstupného, tak sme mali z toho veľmi zmiešané pocity. V národnom parku sa nachádza aj koniec cesty č. 3, ktorá vedie dlhých 3000 km až do Buenos Aires, kam sme ďalší deň odchádzali. V parku nájdete náučny chodník o rašeline, výhľad na Beaglov kanál, poštu na konci sveta a zaujímavé výhľady.]]
Bonus information
[[By the way, one interesting thing about Ushuaia - The days were extremely long here, as we were very close to the south pole and it was just few days after the summer solstice - the day was almost 17.5 hours long and it never got completely dark. Awesome :)///By the way, one interesting thing about Ushuaia - The days were extremely long here, as we were very close to the south pole and it was just few days after the summer solstice - the day was almost 17.5 hours long and it never got completely dark. Awesome :)///Zaujímavá informácia o Ushuaji - dni sú tu v lete veľmi dlhé, keďže sme blízko južného pólu a denného svetla si môžete vychutnať skoro až 17,5 hodín bez toho, aby bola v noci úplná tma.]]