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Argentina (Ushuaia) - South America

Bec
2004-09-20 17:34:59

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Ushuaia
Flying in to Ushuaia gave me a good idea of how isolated this town of 40,000 can be at the southern tip of the Americas.

It was of particular interest to me to learn that beavers imported from Canada some years ago had adapted quite well to the local environment and were thriving in large numbers.

Tourism is naturally important in the world's most southernly city (55 ° south). Well heeled tourists can take a three-week cruise to Antarctica for about 5000 dollars on the Lindblad Explorer that you can see here, tied up to Ushuaia's main pier.

I did not belong to the well-heeled tourist class when I went through Ushuaia so I managed with a dormitory bed in this run-down homestay.

I paid 15$ a night to use this bed in a small room shared with three other backpackers.

I could have worked my way up the Atlantic Coast by bus but I would not have seen anything of Patagonia different from what I had seen already so I decided to fly directly to Bahia Blanca with stops at Rio Gallegos and Comodoro Rivadavia.

Mar de Plata
Bahia Blanca was a nice resort town but I only stayed overnight and moved on to Mar de Plata, Argentina's premium beach vacation place.

Mar de Plata is the Argentinian equivalent of a number of similar places around the world such as Acapulco in Mexico, Torremolinos in Spain, Durban in South Africa, Surfer's Paradise in Australia or Waikiki Beach in Hawai to name only a few of them.

Mar de Plata had everything, a great beach, a wide variety of hotels restaurants and night-spots. It even had free shows on the beach given by talented professionals like this singer who was obviously well known and liked by the audience.

Buenos Aires
An overnight bus brought me to Buenos Aires where I found a basic room for 15 $ at the Hotel Mediterraneo not far from the Plaza del Congresso which of course is just in front of the Palacio del Congresso (that's the big building behind the monument).

At the other end of Avenida de Mayo is the Casa Rosada from which power has been wielded more often by military leaders than by elected civilian presidents since its construction in 1894.

On the other side of the Plaza de Mayo stands the Cabildo which was the City Hall in Spanish times. It is here that the government of Buenos Aires declared its independence from Spain and deposed the Viceroy in 1810. Now it is only a city museum.

Another unmistakable land mark of Buenos Aires is this huge Obelisk on the Plaza de la República at the junction of Avenida 9 de Julio and Diagonal Norte.

I was impressed by the friendly welcome I got from Fabio and Peter whom I had met in Coroico, Bolivia six weeks earlier.

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