Buenos dias para todos,

In my last newsletter sent from Rio de Janeiro, I was telling you about my hitch-hiking experience throughout Brazil and my future descent towards Ushuaïa, the most Southern city in the world. About 2 months later, here I am in this mystical city commonly called "The end of the world"...This arrival ends the first big leg of my tour of the world by hitch-hiking...

Hitch-hiking until Ushuaïa

In my last newsletter, I was explaining that the main difficulties of hitch-hiking in Brazil were the very small number of cars driving long distances, the prohibition that many truck drivers have from their employer to take hitch-hikers and the fear and insecurity to travel with somone unknown felt by many Brazilian people. Those difficulties were still true in Argentina and made the waiting periods often long especially from the start of Patagonia, the Southern region of Argentina, where the trafic passing by was very low (an average of 5 trucks and 1 car driving long distances an hour !). However, those waiting periods are absolutely not a problem as I am not in a hurry.

Good bye Brazil, Hello Argentina

"Saudade". This Portugese word often used in Brazil doesn’t have any equivalent in English. To translate it, you need to mix a little bit of nostalgia with melancholy and some good memories. This feeling was the one I had when I left Brazil, country where I spent 4 months and from which I will especially remember the happiness and the endless good mood of its inhabitants. Next step : Argentina.

Argentina today : The name "Argentina" is due to the first conquistadores who were welcome by indigenes in the Rio de la Plata region with presents in Silver (Argentum in Latin).

2nd biggest country in South America (2 766 889 Km2, about 6 times bigger than France) after Brazil, Argentina has today about 37 millions inhabitants with about 1/3 in the capital Buenos Aires, a beautiful city with a big European influence. Most of Argentinian people are descendants from Italian and Spanish.

Unfortunately, Argentina lives today its worst economic crisis of its history. December 2001 will be remembered as the most critical moment of this crisis since the president was destituted and the currency (Peso) strongly devaluated. Many Argentinian families, espacially from the middle class, have lost a lot in the last few years.

The most striking example I have met was the one of Javier, a former bank clerk, married, father of 2 children and former tenant of a appartment. "Within a few weeks I lost a lot with the economic crisis. My bank went bankrupt, I have then lost my job but also my savings and had to quit my flat to move into a garage with my family...Thanks God, I was lucky enough to find a new job as a truck driver but not all of my workmates had this chance". When I asked him about the future of Argentina, he replied "Optimist, I don’t know if I can be but I have a good hope, we have good infrastructures and intelligent people in this country but we must fight against corruption"...

For further details about my Argentinian experience (in French), click on the link below : http://www.sekoyamag.com/nouveausite/SPIP/breve.php3?id_breve=97

Argentinian natural wonders

Argentina has some of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. During my trip, I went to visit 2 of them which belong to the UNESCO’s world heritage list. Wonderful.

The Iguaçu waterfalls : "Poor Niagara" said Roosevelt a few decades ago. Iguaçu’s waterfalls, which means big waters in the Guarani language, is without any doubt one of the most impressive natural wonder in the world. This magnificent array of waterfalls is located at the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. They stretch for 2.5 miles plunging 269 feet (82m) into Iguaçu River. Numerous rocky and wooded islands on the edge of the escarpment over which the Iguaçu River plunges divide the falls into some 275 separate waterfalls or cataracts. In 1986 Iguacu Falls were declared a Natural Heritage of Mankind by UNESCO.

For further details about Iguaçu waterfalls (in French), click on the link below : http://www.sekoyamag.com/nouveausite/SPIP/breve.php3?id_breve=92

The Perito Moreno : With a front of 5 Kms, the glacier Perito Moreno, situated in the south of Patagonia not far from Chile, is one of the most astonishing and the only non-receding glacier in the world. Pictures will tell more than words...

For further details about the Perito Moreno (in French), click on the link below : http://www.sekoyamag.com/nouveausite/SPIP/breve.php3?id_breve=99

Next steps

In order to take advantage of this mystical city and to improve my Spanish, I have decided to stay here 3 or 4 weeks. As my budget is very limited, I looked for a job and found one as a waiter in a seafood restaurant.

During this time, I will try (I said try) a difficult task : Boat hitch-hiking to Antarctica. To do so, I will offer my services on the boat against a free ride (I attach to this newsletter the e-mail sent to the ship-owners who are the only one able to take a decision). I am aware of the difficulty of the task but as we say in french "Qui ne tente rien n’a rien" (Who doesn’t try anything, doesn’t get anything).

The second big leg of my tour of the world will take me from Ushuaïa to San Francisco in the United States (with a "detour" on the East Coast of the US). From there, I will start boat hitch-hiking and try to cross the Pacific ocean. This will be without any doubt the hardest part of my tour of the world but I am not there yet...

The next newsletter that will be sent end of this year will be an assessment of my first year spent thumb up along the European, African and South American roads. I will also answer the frequently asked questions regarding my budget, the medias, accomodation, food, state of mind...

Before leaving you to your occupations, I would like to introduce you my new friend met while I was descending Patagonia in Punta Tombo. I offered him to become my road partner but he has unfortunately refused my invitation.

I hope you all are doing fine. I am always happy to hear from you.

Bye for now.

Ludo