Blogs

Looking for the Equator

11/07/2014

Just the travel to Ecuador alone was a major undertaking. The men set out by ship from the west coast of France in May of 1735, landing in November in the port city of Cartagena, Colombia, where two Spanish scientists joined them. They continued up the coast, traveling west to the hot and humid port of Puerto Bello, an important city for transferring loot from the Inca Empire to ships headed back to Spain. The place had been named by Columbus himself who arrived there in 1502.

The Caribbean Islands of Central and Eastern Panama

11/07/2014

Of the islands near Panama City, popular Isla Grande is located just two hours east by car (plus a quick boat ride), making it a favored getaway for Panamanians living in the capital and travelers on Panama tours. Visitors are drawn here for the cuisine and active pastimes such as hiking, diving and surfing with conveniently located waterfront accommodations. This mostly forested island is road-less.

An Introduction to Sightseeing in Buenos Aires

11/06/2014

Of course, you'll want to eat the world's best steak when you travel to Argentina, grass-fed from the pampas, grilled to perfection. Definitely sample the country's most famous varietal wines - the velvety red Malbec, distinct from its French counterpart, and the multi-faceted white Torrontes, a grape grown only in Argentina. Take up the mate habit on your Argentina tours, though once may be enough. Argentina's potent national drink is served in an elegant gourd and sipped through a metal straw.

La Chascona

11/06/2014

 

La Chascona was the third house that Chilean poet Pablo Neruda added to his real estate collection and is today a museum for visitors during their travel to Chile. The house is located at the base of Cerro San Cristobal in the Bellavista neighborhood of Santiago, an arty district, filled with hip galleries, artisan markets and sidewalk cafes. It is also near the city’s National Zoo where Neruda and his third wife, Matilde, often visited during their own Santiago tours.

The Equator on Ecuador Tours

11/06/2014

In addition to the monument, visitors on Ecuador tours will find museums, dining establishments, souvenir shops, and most importantly, a post office to document their arrival at this unique location. Live music and dance are sometimes performed here. From Quito, Southern Explorations offers two day-trip Ecuador tour extensions to the Mitad del Mundo monument, one that goes directly there and another that also includes a two-hour tour of the capital city.

The Pacific Islands of Eastern Panama

11/06/2014

More of the Pacific islands than not are unnamed. Some are privately held, owned by the rich and/or famous, while others are popular destinations for day-trippers from the capital by boat or air. A range of overnight accommodations, from rustic to luxury, can be found on one island or another. Depending on their interests, visitors on Panama tours will find plenty of enjoyable pastimes on these Pacific islands.

The Political History of South American Camelids

11/06/2014

So revered was the vicuna during Incan times that only royalty were allowed to wear garments made of the animal’s fleece. The penalty for anyone else doing so was death. Vicunas were protected, sheared, accounted for and then released back into the wild. When the Incas recognized that escape was their only means of surviving the advancing conquistadors, they fled but not before burning what was most valuable to them—their royal storehouses of camelid fleece.

Sightseeing in Buenos Aires

11/05/2014

The Recoleta Cemetery
Like London’s Highgate and Pere Lachaise of Paris, the Recoleta has its fair share of notable inhabitants, including national leaders, military heroes, Nobel Prize winners and important writers. With one major exception, however, most of these names are only vaguely recognizable to people outside Latin America. International visitors on Argentina tours come here mostly for the architecture.

Literary Chile in Exile

11/05/2014

When tragedy strikes a nation, it ultimately shapes its literary landscape for some period of time. Anyone who chooses to bring along the works of contemporary Chilean writers on their Chile tours will undoubtedly encounter stories of exile. One’s travel to Chile will be enriched by reading such tales.

The Ecuador Chocolate Experience

11/05/2014

And then there is Ecuadorian hot chocolate, the drink, another experience altogether that one may have during travel to Ecuador. Most likely, it is a beverage that you haven’t experienced before, far from the sweet, hot chocolate you know from home. It is thick, but not sweet. Flavored perhaps with chili and cinnamon, the syrupy liquid hits your taste buds subtly but thoroughly, adding to the beverage’s warmth. Purists sip it from a tiny cup, a bit bigger than a thimble, a drink that at first glance might appear too rich, but isn’t once you taste it.

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