SOUTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

ARGENTINA 

Don't cry for me Argentina...I'll be back.  I could never cover all of Argentina, it is waaaaayyyyy to big.  However from Ushuaia or the Fin del Muno...the End of the Earth to the top of the Chilean-Paraguayan borders, Argentina has a flavor all it's own.  People in South American survived for centuries without the help and guidance of North America and/or Europe, so there is definitely a sense of doing things their own way.  Let's say Argentinian Style. 

The Europeans penetrated into Buenos Aires area in the early 1500s, but now there is a very diverse population with many European nationalities represented.  Predominant though is the Spanish influence.  In the southern region (Patagonia) cattle and sheep farming dominates.  There are many huge national parks in the area.  From our ship we had the opportunity to go to working ranches, and for long trips up into the national parks.  We chose not to participate in that, but the people who did talked well of the experience.  The Andes traverses most of South America and on all sides of the range is very fertile wine country.  Malbec from Argentina is enjoying a wide acceptance in the wine community here in America.

Notably one thing we missed, but will do on our next trip to Buenos Aires is to go to the Iguazú National Park to see the great Falls.  It is a plane ride from BA, but from every report well worth the trip.  There are hotels...some reasonable and some not, but it's too large a place to go for the day.  Plan to stay several days and get your money's worth.

CHILI

Stop for a moment and things about the difference between how Chile handled it's devastating earthquake from a country like Haiti.  No disrepect to the people of Haiti, but the Chilean people have just as much poverty as anyone else, but they got up the next morning and began their own recovery...not sitting and waiting until the rest of the world came to their rescue.  That's just how the South American cultures handle things.  They are strong and fiercely independent.




Chilean musician playing a pan flute in the park



Our cruise began in Valparaiso a town just west of Santiago.  We spent several happy days in Santiago and that will be covered in the Santiago Highlights.  The coastal down of Valparaiso is very colorful city with the topography we usually see in cities along the west coat of the USA...A flat part just along the coast and tall mountains not far away

Funicular to get to the community on the mountain.
 

Some of the great stops along the way were Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is worth lingering in; with the tree-lined Plaza de Armas square or walk 10 minutes farther to the top of La Cruz Hill. The city of 150,000 people is only 850 miles from Antarctica. 

The southern end of the South American continent is as fractured as frost crystals, but the inlets, bays, and passages around the Strait of Magellan are home to a million wonders. We were hiding out in the Crows Nest (glass enclosed bar at the top of the ship) all day trying to stay warm while watching glaciers and ice flows...WOW!

 The Fiords of the Magellan Straights reminded us of our trip to New Zealand... we actually were in the same part of the world.  The magesty of God's world is never more evident.

By all means one of the highlights of being is this end of the world is getting to see penguins up close and personal.  They are waaaay cute and fascinating to watch.

Happy couple..did you know they mate for life?

By all means...go to Chile if only for the wine!

 

 

BRAZIL

 

 

 

We are all familiar with Brazil's "beach culture", Bikini Wax jobs, and Mardi Gras celebration, but Brazil is so much more than the hype from the media.  As you know 2014 will be a big year for Rio de Janerio  when they host the Olympics.  There is a LOT of poverty in Brazil and whenever people are hungry, there is the danger of robbery. Rio has a bad reputation for that problem; we did not have an issue, but we certainly were careful also.

 

The Brazilian culture is an easy one to fall into. This is the only country in South America where the language is not Spanish, but it's because it was colonized by the Portuguese in 1500. It is the largest country in South America and Sao Paulo is the largest city and the capital of primary economic power. Did you know….the Brazilian economy is the world's sixth largest by nominal GDP and the seventh largest by purchasing power parity (as of 2011). Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing major economies

 

So why do so few Americans go there? First of all it's a long flight, usually 12 to 14 hours. There is also a sizeable Visa requirement for Brazil for US citizens of about $180/each plus any fees for the agency handling the transaction. All this MUST handled in advance or you will not be admitted to the country and turned away at the airport.

 

The top attractions outside of Rio de Janerio are the Iguazu Falls which are on the border with Argentina and the Amazon River. As in any SA country, the Andean cultures are very different from ours here in North America. So whatever tour or journey you embark upon you are definitely going to meet interesting and friendly, hard-working people. .

Primary in the culture is music and dancing. The Brazilians are very famous for their dance the Samba. If you go, don't miss a local dance and music show. Your feet won't stop wiggling for days afterward. It hardly seems possible that people can get their bodies to move that fast. In Rio, one of the biggest draws is the Carnival. We here in the USA are used to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but this is on a much bigger scale from everything that I hear.



CHRIST THE REDEEMER at the top of Corcovado Mountain overlooking Rio. It was dedicated in 1931 and stands 130 feet in the air. Standing beside it makes you really grasp just how small we human creatures are in the sight of the Christos. It is quite a moving experience being there.  One word of warning, this mountain is often covered by fog.  We could see the Christos from our room balcony, but by the time we got a cab to the area and rode the funicular up the mountain, the fog was so dense that we were standing right next to the statue and couldn’t see it.  We waited for a while, but then decided it would be better to come back another day rather than wait for the fog.

Where ever you go in South America (and I wish to go to more countries), be very open to the culture and the culture will embrace you.  Our trip was very joyous.