We are presently in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to South America and fly to Central America, in Nicaragua. Ecuador was the last country visited in this (3 months & 3 weeks) trip on the continent. Coming from Peru, we crossed by bus the south of the country, which is basically a big field of bananas, and reached Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city. We took immediately another bus to go to the pacific coast and to visit the great Machalilla national park, staying in the nearby village of Puerto Lopez for 5 days. Then we went to Quito, where we enjoyed spending time in the old town, and also couchsurfed last weekend in the suburb city of Tumbago. In Ecuador, people are very friendly, even if once again (it's such a shame!) they don't really care about the planet... Let's discover together this small country...

PUERTO LOPEZ

Puerto Lopez is one of the dirtiest town I've ever seen (the people just throw everything in the streets...), but paradoxically it's situated close to the paradisiac Machalilla national park and its pristine beaches, just 10 kilometers away. It's incredible (and shocking) to observe the difference, and also the indifference of the ecuadorian about their own environment. They  simply don't mind walking in dirty streets, and even litter at the local beach. Ugly...

We were lucky to find a good room in the family guesthouse of Dannita, a nice and considerate woman, who was with her husband very kind to us. The guesthouse was located in the non-touristic part of the city, but close to the center though. And cheaper of course! The only interests of being in Puerto Lopez were to watch the pelicans playing with the waves, or trying to steal fresh fishes when the fishermen were coming back from the ocean... And also, as I said above, its proximity to the Machalilla national park.





EL PARQUE NACIONAL MACHALILLA

So you understood that I was disappointed by the disturbing town of Puerto Lopez. Fortunately the beauty and the wildlife of the Machalilla national park was purely contrasting with this big disappointment. I booked a tour (no other choice) to go to the "Isla de la Plata", 40km from the coast, and the daydream started... On the way, we stopped for one good reason: we saw a 15 meters whale not only surfacing, but jumping almost completely out of the water!!! I was not quickly enough to take a pic, but that was awesome!!! Actually the male was not swimming alone, but with a female.  According to our guide, his weigh was about 40 tons! We followed them during half an hour, gazing at one of the most exciting wildlife show of the planet. The boats were respecting a sufficient safety distance, to avoid perturbing their love dance. Indeed, the "ballenas jorobadas" come each year from Antartica to mate in the pacific ocean warm waters. I had already the chance to watch whales in Quebec a few years ago (Tadoussac bay), but this time we were closer and the weather was better. I was so happy... my only regret was that I wasn't allowed to go and dive with the whales... but the day surprises were only beginning...




After one hour and a half of crossing, we landed on the island and hiked almost 3 hours to observe the abundant and amazing wildlife. We first met some blue-feet birds ("piqueros de patas azules") and watched them nesting, taking care of their babies or dancing to seduce each other. They were so cute when dancing, moving their blue feet and their wings in a ancestral secret rythm, while whistling and screaming in some strange ways.




The Silver island, which was by the past a pirate haven, is kwown as the little Galapagos. As going a few days in the Galapagos costs about 1000 euros, and a daytour in the Silver island only 32$, the choice was easy to make... We continued our expedition on the island and met plenty of red-throated frigates ("fregatas rojas"), flying above our heads or just chilling in the trees. We also watched the males blowing their red throat to impress the females: it seems that every species have its own habits...




Near of some beautiful cliffs, we then met the white cousins of the blue-feet birds, who were also nesting and feeding their babies. They were fearless about human beings walking around, but of course we tried to be as quiet as possible. It was great to have the opportunity of observing their social behaviours in this peaceful but windy island, without having the feeling of disturbing them in any way.





From the cliffs, we started to retrace our steps, using some steep stairs to come back to the boat . The vegetation on the island (dry forest) only consists of trees (some of them aromatic) and bushes. The island turns green only 3 months per year, from january to march. After a light lunch of fresh fruits, we went by boat to a little creek where we snorkeled 45 minutes in a ocean of tropical colourful fishes! It was even not necessary to have a waterproof camera, you could take a pic of them from the boat! Once again amazing!



After all those interesting discoveries (and some well-deserved tuna sandwiches), we started the road back to the mainland, but only 15 minutes later, suddenly, the captain screamed happily and took the opposite direction. We were wondering if he was allright or turning insane, but we quickly understood the reason of his strange behaviour. In a few seconds, the boat was completely surrounded by hundreds of dolphins!!! During 20 minutes, they carried on swimmimg, playing, jumping around us... Unbelievable!!! Magic moments...



To enter the Machalilla national park, you have to pay a 20$ entrance fee, valid for 5 days, and not only for the Silver island. So the next day I went hiking on the mainland to discover its unspoiled beaches. I hiked for 4 hours through the dry forest and the sandy beaches, and met only 4 other people! I went swimming naked several times, walked barefoot to the tops of some hills to get nice points of view, and enjoyed lying on the sand thinking how lucky I am...






The third day, I took a cheap local taxi to go to the village of "El Pital", starting point of a nature hike in the tropical humid forest of "El Bola de Oro", also located in the Machalilla national park. The vegetation was G-R-E-E-N all around,  the forest full of birds and colourful lizzards, and I heard some howler monkeys screaming even if I didn't see them. I tried not to get lost, and that wasn't easy cause the trail was poorly marked. Fortunately a local guy riding a horse helped me to find my way back...







QUITO

We left Puerto Lopez, and after a 12 hours journey by bus, we reached at night Quito, the ecuadorian capital. Thanks to some helpful policemen, we found certainly the cheapest and best located hotel of the city (Residencia Sucre, 5$ per night for a double room). In the heart of the old town, it was an excellent base to explore Quito with a nice view on the San Francisco square. See below!





We stayed 2 days in Quito, and this time, we didn't feel breathless as we usually do in big cities. At an altitude of 2850m, surrounded by green hills, with colonial buildings, streets going up and down, nice churches and lovely squares, we even enjoyed being there. I visited the "Basilica del Voto Nacional" and literally climbed to the top of the 78 meters high clock towers, using steep stairs and crazy ladders, to get a deadly (scary!) view over the town. I sat down half an hour staring at the city, feeling like the hunchback of Notre-Dame, and discovered that the gargoyles were actually statues of birds I 've seen a few days before on the Silver island...







Yes, It was definitely nice to stroll around the streets of Quito. The main square, the cultural center with its impressive library (and cheap internet access), the bakeries, the people, the good weather too were the ingredients of 2 pleasant days. And the city was clean, surely due to a good urban waste management, but also to the good habits of the "quiteños" - people living in Quito...





I found out that a guided visit of the presidential palace was for free, so I took advantage of it of course! During 40 minutes, I discovered the "Palacio del Gobierno" main rooms, including the dining hall, the meeting room where the president took the important decisions for the country with his ministers, and the yellow room with the portrait gallery of the ecuadorian presidents. The lustres were from France and the chairs from Spain. Funny detail: at the beginning of the visit, a photograph take a picture of you in the patio, and you receive it at the end of the visit as a souvenir...








The last morning before leaving, we visited with Vladi the interesting "Monasterio de Santa Catalina", full of religious and gore paintings depicting the struggle beetween good and evil. The 20 nuns living in the monastery have only half an hour per day after lunch to talk to each other... They spend their time equally beetween work, prayers and sleep, and make all kind of natural products (cream, medicines, soap...). In Quito you'll find a lot of churches and monasteries, they are almost everywhere in the old town...



To end our trip in south America, we were hosted for the weekend by Margarita in the suburb city of Tumbaco. We went together to the cinema, shared every lunch and dinner, and met all her family on sunday to celebrate the birthday of her son Alejandro. Margarita was a great host, so friendly and thoughtfull, and Alejandro a clever young man very mature for his age. We felt at home for 3 nights in her lovely house with the huge garden, the 2 dogs and the cat! Thank you so much Margarita! You're what couchsurfing is all about...




We didn´t stay a long time in Ecuador, but I loved this small country, despite of this extremely bad habit of littering everywhere... The Machalilla national park is truly a gem for lovers of wildlife and nature, and the city of Quito a cultural and historical experience not to be missed. Moreover, with its friendly people, Ecuador desserves your visit (and also mine once again to discover the highlands, the Cotopaxi volcano and the Amazon basin...). But after 110 days (and something like 15000km!)  in South America, it's time for us to fly to new adventures in Central America... We just heard about the "coup d'état" in Honduras, but don't worry, for now we are flying to the neighbour country of Nicaragua, and we will avoid Honduras if it seems to be too dangerous... Un abrazo! Hasta Luego!



IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Salut Théo! On est en Equateur, mais on part demain pour le Nicaragua, un pays en Amérique Centrale. Sur la carte ci-dessus, tu peux voir tout le trajet parcouru en Amérique du Sud: 15000km en 110jours! Pas mal, hein? L'Equateur, on y a seulement passé 10 jours, et j'ai surtout aimé la côte pacifique et le parc national Machalilla:  j'ai vu des baleines, des dauphins, des oiseaux avec des pattes bleues ou d'énormes gorges rouge vif... Délire! En plus, des forêts humides et des belles plages pour se baigner... Cool, non? J'ai aussi visité Quito, la Capitale et rencontré plein de gens sympa ici. Mais les gens en Equateur ont un gros défaut (comme en Bolivie ou au Pérou, même pire!): ils jettent leurs papiers, bouteilles de coca et plein d'autres trucs - voire carrément leurs poubelles - dans les rues des villes et dans la nature. Ils sont fous! J'espére que toi tu ne jettes des choses qu´à la poubelle... C'est important de préserver notre belle planète. Pendant le tour du monde, j'ai la chance de visiter beaucoup d'endroits magnifiques, mais je me demande s'ils seront toujours aussi beaux si je reviens dans quelques années... A la vitesse où les hommes polluent j'en doute malheureusement... Alors je compte sur toi pour dire à tes copains ce qu'il faut faire et ne pas faire, OK? Bonnes vacances d'été mon p'tit filleul adoré! Bisous!

Yes, we are still alive!!! After 3 amazing weeks in Bolivia, we are now in Cuzco, Peru. In a few days, Vladi and I will celebrate our 7 years of wedding (and also our 7 months of journey) at the world famous Machu Picchu!!! But let me first tell you the love story beetween us and Bolivia, definitely our favourite country so far in South America...

From San Pedro de Atacama (CHILE), we booked a 3 days tour in south Bolivia for 80 euros, to cross the South Lipez desert and reach the city of Uyuni. With fellow travelmates from France, Japan, Australia and Italy, we started in a truck this awesome trip by the discovery of some lagunas (laguna blanca, laguna verde) and of the Licancabur volcano...

We stopped on our way at some hot springs, where only the brave (me included of course!) had a relaxing hot bath before a good lunch. A few kilometers later, we arrived at the suprising geysers "Sol de Mañana".  A mud bath was not possible unfortunately, unless if you wanted to get burnt at third degree... It was really a strange and unusual place in the middle of the desert...

Jumping in the truck again, we reached the incredible "laguna colorada". Here my camera was unable to seize the beauty of this natural scenery, but my eyes could. You can guess the colours on the pics below, but this natural wonder really deserves your visit... I hope one day you´ll come here and witness the show with your own eyes...

The first night (altitude = 4500m), we slept in a very old dormitory and it was goddam cold!!! Vladi and I decided to sleep in the same tiny bed, under 6 heavy blankets to warm our bodies. We could almost not breathe... But we did survived, and so Timothée (it´s him below playing the "charango", a traditionnal music instrument of Bolivia) and the others did. So after the breakfast, we had to wait cause we were about to change the vehicles for the 2 last days of the trip. Apparently the truck had a problem, so we ended up in 2 four-wheelers with 2 new and antipathic guides... Well, well, well... The sceneries were fortunately still amazing: we enjoyed the "arbol de pierda", some new lagunas, then we stopped in a small village to have lunch and take a nap. The rest of the afternoon was a long ride through the desert, with a stop in another "pueblo" (village). For the second night, we were more lucky and slept in an hotel with heat and hot showers... Ouf!

On the third day, we (at last) reached the wonderful "Salar de Uyuni", a huge white stretch of salt, where we took funny mind-altering pictures, and hiked on the fish island (Isla del Pescado), surrounded by hundred-year-old cactus... Bolivia has certainly much to offer... The Uyuni salar is actually a former sea: when the sea slowly disappeared, a thick layer of salt remained... Another amazing place! We also quickly visited a former salt hotel (yes, everything made of salt!), then arrived at Uyuni where we enjoyed a delicious pizza!!! Back in the civilization!!!

We spent only one night in Uyuni, and left early in the morning to catch a bus to Tupiza, the bolivian far-west. We rested there 4 days (the Uyuni trip was really exhausting!), and discovered how cheap Bolivia is. Guess the cost of a lunch including a soup with bread, a main dish (rice, french fries, veggies and meat) and a fruit... 1€!!! A night in a hotel in a double room... 6€!!! (later in Copacabana, we even stayed in a cheap hotel for 1.50€ for 2 per night!). We of course avoided as usual the tourist restaurants, and ate in the local eateries and markets... Tupiza has some interesting colourful mountains in the surroundings, and we hiked one day in a valley to get closer to them. But mostly this stop was a nice introduction to the country, its people and its food. The beginning of a love story...

We choosed to vist the city of Potosi on our way to the capital city of Bolivia, La Paz. We were thinking at first to stop there for 2 days, but finally stayed 4 days! Potosi had some mountains which were in the past full of silver. Thousand of men (mostly slaves and indigenuous people) died in the mines to extract the precious metal, and Potosi was once the richest city in South America. I visited the very interesting "casa de la moneda", where were manufactured the silver coins and ingots. Now in Potosi, a thousand of men are still destroying their health and working into hell to extract some minerals...

Potosi is now a nice city to visit, with plenty of old buildings, churches, houses and innumerable "plazas". We continued here a food marathon, trying to taste different dishes every day. The bolivian cuisine is not very various, but I liked it: milaneza de carne, picante de pollo, salchipapa (the local "frites-saucisses", perfect for my sister Marie!), empenadas, sopas... Bolivian people seems to love brass bands too: we were randomly at the right place at the right moment to enjoy a school celebration with a contest of brass bands from Uyuni, Sucre and Potosi. Great! At last, most of bolivian women are dressed in a traditionnal and beautiful way, with colourful clothes, nice dresses and lovely hats. Vladi quickly adopted their way of carrying things (and even babies) by buying the same cloth, as  you will see later...

Remember I told you we were chewing coca leaves to fight against the altitude ache? Here is a picture of some of our stock. In buses or while walking, we tried to chew them each day and it helped! You can also see under the leaves the cloth Vladi bought in a market a few days ago... Beautiful, isn´t it?

From Potosi, we took another cheap bus to reach La Paz (altitude = 3600m), where we were hosted by a great bolivian couchsurfer, Ronald. He welcame us in his big house in the southeast suburb of "Achumani", where we had a room and a bathroom for ourselves! We also met at his place Alberto, a cool fellow traveler from Italy, and Stephanie from Quebec for a couchsurfing dinner prepared by Vladi: veggies pies, salad and wine! Yummy! The next day, Alberto cooked some mean "tagliatelles carbonara" and a delicious risotto! And later Ronald a spicy meal of his own and an amazing tiramisu as well! We stayed 5 days in Ronald´s house and enjoyed his company a lot. He gave us all we need to enjoy our time there: map of the city, useful tips, a wonderful and comfy house... But above all his friendship! We went together in La Paz to some good places and markets he knows. He also helped me a lot to improve my spanish! Muchas gracias Ronald, eres un tipo genial, me gusté mucho conocerte, estoy seguro que vamos a encontrarnos de nuevo, tal vez en Belgica despues de nuestro viaje por el mundo... Hasta luego amigo!

With Alberto, Vladi and I went for a small hike an afternoon to the "moon valley" close to La Paz. Interesting and odd rock formations, under a sunny weather, as usual since we arrived in the north of Argentina. But beware of the cactus!!!

So La Paz was a good stop, but mostly thanks to our new friend Ronald. It´s still a big city swarming with people and crazy minibus and taxi drivers though. Pollution and noise. Horns all the time. By the way, I had to tell you that unfortunately, bolivian people are not the ecology champions... They just don´t care about environmental issues, and litter almost everywhere... Shame! I think they are even worst than african people...The country needs a huge campaign to raise public awareness, but I guess they have other concerns for now... It´s really a pity!

3 hours of bus from La Paz, we arrived on the Titicaca Lake shores, in the small city of Copacabana. A nice cathedral, a nice view from the hills surrounding the town, and a nice little harbour to reach the lake north islands. Also as I already told you the cheapest hotel of our trip so far: 1.50euros!!!

Thanks to the information of our "Lonely Planet", we did a phenomenal 17km trek from Copacabana to Yampupata, visiting some floating islands and hiking through wild sceneries. We had lunch on one of the islands: we picked  some fresh trouts in a net in the lake, then some women cooked them for us with rice and vegetables.  We took a short but delicious nap afterwards, listening to the little waves of the "lago Titicaca". Hard life, we know!

As usual, we met a dog while hiking and as usual he followed us for kilometers, acting as he was our pet for ages! Once again, when we found a micro (little bus) to come back to Copacabana, he wanted to get into the bus to stay with us. We felt like abandoning him when we left... We really have a problem with dogs: we love them so much that they can feel it, and so they love us too! Good luck my friend!

The day after this trek, we took the boat to the island of the sun, which was the birth place of the sun for the Incas. We stayed 3 nights on this lovely island (one in the north, in the Challampapa village, two in the south), and visited the Chincana ruins, where the Inca legend creation started. Now 5000 people live on the island. No roads, no cars. The noises you hear are only made by donkeys, lamas, sheeps, pigs, chicken, cats and dogs. Plus the lake waves, and the wind. Well, just the kind of place I´m really fond of. I loved it! The first day, we hiked in the northern part, the best for me, look at the pics!

The second day, we woke up late, then started the path through the island on the ridgeline of the hills to reach the village of Yumani. We stopped one hour to drink a well-deserved beer, taking advantage of the good weather. Hi hi! Hard life, we already know! Once arrived in Yumani, we discovered a cute little village, and the idyllic "escalera del inca". We found a sunny double room for 5 euros per night, in an "alojamiento" runned by a nice woman who also cooked for us a few times. Most of the tourists come on the island in the morning, rush off their feet to cross the island and catch the afternoon boat back to Copacabana. Instead of following the herd, we stayed more and took our time to communicate with the locals and feel the islanders everyday-life.

The third day, we hiked in the south to the Pilko Kaina ruins, then off the beaten path where we had to climb in some parts. But we enjoyed the peacefulness so much! Vladi came back to the village, while I continued my random walk along some high cliffs, then going down to some beaches on a very steep (kind of) path. I got a litlle bit lost, actually the walk was longer than I first thought! I stopped to rest for a while and met Angél, a friendly bolivian guy living in a small house on the island. We talked during one hour about life in Bolivia and travels. For us european people it´s so easy to travel, but for bolivian people it´s almost impossible due to their low currency. Moreover, the french passport and nationality are also very good to travel the world. So lucky we are! Then I finished my day-hike "climbing" the steep (again!) path back to Yumani.

You certainly understood that we loved those 3 days on the "Isla del Sol". Like always, we just love being on islands. In Africa, the islands on the Malawi Lake are one of our best souvenirs. A few years ago, we also loved Guadeloupe, and La Reunion. In Central America, we had a great time on the panamean "Isla Bastimientos". And soon, we will go the "Isla Utila" in Honduras, and of course to French Polynesia! Youhou!!! But for now, we are in Peru! See you later for some news, amigos!

Salut filleul! Dis merci à maman de ma part pour les dernières photos qu´elles m´a envoyées, OK? J´ai pu te voir lors du tournoi de foot, et aussi découvrir les belles lunettes d´Eléa, cool. Je suis maintenant dans un nouveau pays, le Pérou, et dans quelques jours je vais découvrir le Machu Picchu, tu sais la citadelle des incas perdue dans les montagnes. Cet article du blog te parle de la Bolivie, notre pays préféré en Amérique du Sud jusqu´à maintenant. C´était vraiment génial: volcans, geysers, lagunes colorées, sources d´eau chaude, le salar d´Uyuni (les grandes étendues blanches que tu vois sur certaines photos, c´est du sel!), le lac Titicaca (drole de nom, hein?) et l´ile du soleil... J´ai encore vu plein de beaux paysages! Ici, la vie n´est pas du tout chère pour nous européens, c´est à cause de la différence de monnaie. 1 euro = 9 bolivianos. En fait ici tu peux manger une soupe + un plat principal + un fruit pour juste un euro. Mais beaucoup de gens sont pauvres en Bolivie, les enfants n´ont pas de jouets et travaillent souvent très jeunes pour aider leurs parents. Encore une fois, on peut s´estimer heureux, c´est une des leçons du tour du monde. Toi car tu as beaucoup de jouets, tu as de belles tenues de foot, tu manges bien tous les jours. Moi car je peux voyager autour du monde, car j´ai gagné beaucoup d´argent en France avant de partir. Par exemple un bolivien, meme s´il travaille toute sa vie, ne pourra pas faire un voyage comme le mien. La vie est parfois injuste, n´est-ce pas? Bon c´est pas tout ça, il est tard et je vais aller manger un bout. Des bisous à toute la famille comme d´hab. A plus Théo! Parrain.

After my lonely week in Uruguay, I met Vladi in Buenos Aires and we both enjoyed being together again during a sunny afternoon in San Telmo, the old city. The same day, we took a 37 hours (!) bus through the pampa, heading south to Rio Gallegos, Patagonia. But it was not finished, cause we needed another 6 hours bus to reach our first stop in southern Argentina: El Calafate.

In this town along the Lago Argentina, we couchsurfed in a tiny but so lovely wood house. Analia and her daughter Valentina became for a few days our family. Their three dogs our pets. It was really cool hiking the hills around and talking until late at night. Analia's pizzas, cookies, veggie dishes and of course mate were delicious.

The main reason of our stay in El Calafate was to discover the famous Perito Moreno glacier. We went there with Valeria, another CS friend from Cordoba. Located in a beautiful (but expensive) national park, the glacier was amazing (actually, the Perito Moreno is one of the world's last advancing glacier). And I think with the colours of autumn, it was even more impressive. As usual, the pics illustrate it better than I can explain... Definitely a magic place!

Thanks to another 3 hours bus through desertic sceneries, we continued to the east and reached El Chalten, a little village surrounded by marvelous mountains. I immediately fell in love with El Chalten!!! We were staying in a homey "albergue", in a dorm, and met a lot of interesting travelers (including a bunch of french people). Everyday, I hiked beetween 5 and 7 hours through some wild fairy tale landscapes and the incredible colours of Patagonia. All the time (sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud!) I was singing the "Lord of the Rings" music... I was surprised not to spot a hobbit or two, or Gandalf riding his white horse on the mountains! Vladi came with me twice, to get closer to the Torre and Fitz Roy peaks.

Mountains, waterfalls, valleys, rivers, forests, lakes, glaciers... nothing was missing in this trekking paradise, and everything was colourful. The weather was cold, very windy and capricious, but we were lucky enough to witness the beauty of Patagonia beetween the clouds. "Lloma del Plegue Tumbago, Lago de los Tres, cerros Torre & Fitz Roy" will stay forever in my mind... Back in the evening in our beloved "albergue Patagonia", Vladi cooked almost every night dishes such as "Tartiflette" and "Spaghetti Bolognaise", and we spent hours watching the wind and the rain, while drinking some hot mate...

After the wonders of Patagonia, we took 3 other buses (4 hours + 3 hours + 13 hours, not including a night spent iin a bus station!) to go to one of the southernmost city in the world: Ushuaïa through (I can't help but thinking about my hero, Nicolas Hulot, sorry!). The last 100 km through Tierra del Fuego were amazing (the Garibaldi pass), the bus was driving slow because of the snow and the slippery road, so we had time to watch the crazy landscapes. OK I must tell you here that we had some problems when crossing the chilean border on the bus, just before the entrance of the Magellan detroit. We had some fruits in our little backpack, and it was strictly forbidden, so we had to pay, listen, a 150 euros fine! I just want to say FUCK CHILE... but let's forget about that and come back to our adventures in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

If we had felt the end of autumn in Patagonia, in Ushuaïa winter welcame us with cold temperatures and heavy snow falls. I was happy like a child! Indeed the last time I saw snow was 4 years ago, skiing in the french mountains. In Ushuaïa we found another nice place (Cruz del Sur) and stayed 5 days. The city is surrounded by mountains and situated along the Beagle Canal. Here you're not far from the Cap Horn, and the next stop is Antartica! It was a very strange feeling to be here, almost at the end of the world...

With Vladi, we did a short hike in the snowy mountain just behind the city, and the next day I went alone further to dive in the snow and to approach the Martial glacier. For our last day, Vladi enjoyed staying in the warm library of our youth hostel, and I went hiking (again!) in the Tierra del Fuego national park with a CS friend from Poland, Radek. CS members are everywhere! The park was very wild and desolated, the colours once again spectacular, and the weather so cold! Brrr... We spotted some ducks, curious hawks, and fearless rabbits but only a few crazy hikers like us! Great!

Scared by a return journey to Buenos Aires by bus (50 hours), we took a plane instead. Curious or really weird: it was cheaper! Then an 18 hours bus was necessary to reach from BA the northwest of Argentina. I guess you have understood that to travel in South America, you have to get used to endless long distance buses! In Salta, we were happy to wear again T-shirts and flip-flaps and to forget about rainy coats. We stayed 4 days, waiting for the bus to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), and couchsurfed at Maximiliano's place. Thanks to him, we met the local CS community and some fellow travelers, cause we were invited the first night to a good "asado" (barbecue).

We enjoyed resting in the nearby San Martin park, visiting the historical center with its colourful churches, and climbing the "cerro San Bernardo". I also took the opportunity of updating my blog, as you can read! And now, our next stops are... CHILE & BOLIVIA... See you later!

Coucou filleul! C'est un parrain un peu fatigué mais super heureux qui t'écrit du nord de l'Argentine. Après le bout du monde africain il y a quelques mois, je reviens en effet du bout du monde sud-américain! J'ai traversé des paysages extraordinaires (comme dans le Seigneur des Anneaux), lutté contre le froid (et contre des trolls des montagnes), gravi des sommets (où j'ai rencontré Gandalf et un nain nommé Gimli), plongé dans la neige, randonné des heures durant... bref c'était génial! La Patagonie et la Terre de Feu sont des régions du sud de l'Argentine vraiment très belles et sauvages, j'ai adoré! Pour toi, les vacances de Pâques sont terminées, j'espère que tu t'es bien amusé. Dis à maman que j'attends les photos du tournoi international poussins de Merville... et t'as intérêt à me raconter ça en détail dans un email, OK? Bon j'te laisse, je pars au Chili, un nouveau pays! Bisous et à plus. Parrain.