Chile (or Chil-ay as the locals pronounce it) is a holiday to take in parts. Chile’s shape is long and thin, running from north to south on the west coast of South America – each region is so different, so unusual and so interesting – that to get the whole picture, you have to take the parts [...]
South America was right at the top of my bucket list so when I was offered a short trip to Peru, I was very excited. Long haul flights can be exhausting, so the good news is that BA have started a direct flight to Lima from London Gatwick. It’s a day flight and with [...]
Back home from Chile. Wow - what an amazing country and such lovely people. Arrived in Santiago for breakfast and met by the ground agents who then took us in the afternoon on a city tour. Next day we flew to the Atacama Desert and stayed in the Alto Atacama Lodge which was set in a valley surrounded [...]
Brazil is so huge and we’ve all heard of the Amazon, Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain – and I bet we’ve all heard of Brazil’s football team!! …but The Pantanal – hardly ever gets a mention! And I wonder why? It’s the largest area of wetland in the world – 75,000 square [...]
Spectacular, isolated and populated by some of Mother Nature’s most bizarre creations, Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands really do feel like you are in another world! Just off the South America coast, this humble archipelago and its unique wildlife are a riveting and rewarding ecological adventure as it ever was! Inquisitive sea lions and spiky marine iguanas bathe and [...]
Patagonia is remote. With less than one person per square kilometer, it is one of the most sparsely populated places on earth. Patagonia stretches from the very southern tip of South America to the Chilean and Argentinean lake districts - approximately 2000km. Its backbone is the Andes Mountains. In the North the areas around the lakes are heavily [...]
They say that butterflies thrive in a clean and fresh atmosphere. Well I have never seen so many butterflies as I did at Iguassu Falls in South America. The falls are magnificent, with walkways, bridges and glass lifts – you are not just an onlooker - you are in the midst of the mists, the thundering roar filling [...]
Argentina – what does it bring to mind? Cattle ranches, glacier parks, and Tango! I just sneaked into one tiny corner on my visit to Buenos Aires. Even if you don’t like cities – this city, its history and its story will romance you away. The story is, of course, of Eva Peron. About a young, poor girl [...]
Brazil! You’ll recognise all the icons ~ Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Bay of Rio de Janiero - the view is one of the world’s most famous and arriving by sea, it’s breathtaking. There’s a long and slow approach while the captain negotiates the waters, a pilot boat ahead and alongside to guide us in - but I [...]
The most famous icon of Peru has got to be Machu Picchu – only discovered by explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911, Machu Picchu has been voted the most beautiful place in the world. High in the cloud forest, surrounded by mystery, symbols of sun worshippers, ruins of buildings, the homes of a whole community built in foundations of [...]
