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Ushuaia (28 Dec. 1999 - 1 Jan. 2000)

Before leaving the Southamerican mainland for Tierra del Fuego, we visited the Zona Franca, a duty-free area, where Anna bought a CD-walkman to the gratitude of both of us. Having bought a couple of compact discs on our way and not listening to our own music for three months we were really happy to get reacquainted with the world of audio. On the ferry over the Magellan straits we met a girl who was trying to bike to Ushuaia before the new millenium (450 km in three days). We never got to know whether she managed to do it. After one hour on the ferry we found ourselves in the 'future', or Porvenir, as the small chilean town is called. The northern part of Tierra del Fuego is all about vast areas of incredibly flat fields. It is just amazing how flat the earth is here! I amused myself by writing my diary, whereas Anna enjoyed her new favourite Elvis Crespo in the earphones. After the Argentinean border crossing and a short stay in R�o Grande we finally reached the part of Tierra del Fuego that is not as flat as the other part. In fact it was surprisingly rocky. When arriving in the Southernmost town of the world, Ushuaia, I immediately spotted a mountain that I just had to climb. Of course, this dream would never come through. Anyway, we were really lucky and managed to find a place to stay that was really cheap for Argentinean standards (8$ per person a night). The hostess Sonia was a really sympathic woman and there was a bunch of other travellers from all around the world we would enjoy socializing with. One swedish couple, one german couple, one Englishman, one Uruguayan, one Argentinean and three Israeli guys would all be great 'new millenium friends'. The view from the dining room of Isla Navarino to the south wasn't too bad either (see below).

The first day in Ushuaia was really easy and relaxing. We checked out the town center and visited the former jail, which was surprisingly fun to be a museum... That is, the former jail of Ushuaia which once had a reputation to be the Gulag of South America had now been turned into a museum, presenting the history of famous prisoners, native americans and Antartica research. On our way back home to school, we managed to find a hipermercado that offered affordable food. Before bedtime we enjoyed a quite funny card game ('Arriba') with the newly arrived israeli and germans. After an easy-going second last morning of 1999 we joined the german couple, Christian and Connie, to the Martial glacier. We passed a luxary hotel that according to the rumour hosted the immensely famous austrian actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. We didn't spot him. Christian was constantly joking "Where is the glacier?". Apparently, he and Connie had already been to the Perito Moreno glacier and thought this was completely rubbish in comparison. Considering that I managed to reach the top of the glacier alive, it wasn't too far from the truth. For some reason we (guys) mostly rushed ahead, leaving the girls behind us. Incidently, we also happened to start climbing the glaciar, something the girls didn't really fancy. They chatted about the work of Astrid Lindgren, school systems and south american mentality instead. As a punishment for leaving the girls alone for more than an hour, I had to cook dinner in the evening. New years eve was all about shopping and preparing for the big party. Connies german potatoe sallad was on the menu. We watched new years celebration on TV from all around the world before it was our turn. Apparently, we were a bit in late time. When finally leaving our home for the show by the bay, we were among the last animals to enjoy the old millenium in daylight (see below). Great fireworks and tango! Happy 2000!

Parque National Tierra del Fuego

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