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Day Trips from Buenos Aires: Tigre, the Paraná Delta and the Tren de la Costa
Buenos Aires is a huge city, and many tourists only end up seeing the central districts of San Telmo, Palermo, Recoleta and La Boca. Fascinating though these neighbourhoods are, sometimes I feel the need to escape the city and I take the slow train up to Tigre. Tigre is located 17 miles north of the [...]
Understanding South America through its History of War
It pays to know at least a little bit about the history of a place before you visit it, and wars are a good place to start. They shape fortunes and borders but they also form memories and national grudges. Here are three post-independence wars in South America that are still important today. Falklands War [...]
New Hotels in Puerto Natales
One of our most popular itineraries, the Highlights of Chilean and Argentine Patagonia, includes a one night stay in the charming fishing village of Puerto Natales. Over the last few years Puerto Natales has seen a boom in boutique, all-inclusive hotels that cater to travelers on their way to the nearby Torres del Paine National [...]
Poor Niagra! Visiting Iguazu Falls
When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Iguzau Falls she is reputed to have exclaimed “Poor Niagara!” and it’s easy to see why. Gravity and immense quantities of water are always irresistible allies, but at the Iguazu River on the Brazilian and Argentine border they achieve a sublime chemistry which is unrivalled anywhere on the planet. Although they [...]
Day Trips from Mendoza, Argentina
I lived in Mendoza for two years and I went on countless day and overnight trips. Here are three of my favourites. Aconcagua / Alta Montaña circuit Mendoza is located on a desert plain, 2300ft above sea level. Aconcagua, which at 22,841ft is the highest peak on the continent, is only two hours away by [...]
Where to Visit Pre-Inca Ruins in Peru
On my first visit to Peru my girlfriend made me promise that we wouldn’t do any high-altitude touring. We’d been living in La Paz, Bolivia for the six months prior to the trip, and she had been apuñada (suffering from altitude sickness) for much of that time. Obviously this meant that we missed out on Machu [...]
Exploring Santiago, Chile
Chile is famous for its lakes, its mountains, its wines and its deserts, but its capital goes largely unnoticed. True, most people who visit Chile visit Santiago but it isn’t usually afforded many days on their itinerary. Santiago has the reputation of being polluted and a little dull. It cannot be denied that in the [...]
The Acequias, Veredas and Plazas of Mendoza
Mendoza is prone to earthquakes, which means that it doesn’t have many historical buildings of interest. But that’s not say that it is not an urban space worth taking notice of. First-time visitors to Mendoza, Argentina‘s wine capital, especially those who arrive by plane, do not usually realise that the city is located in what [...]
What’s That Gourd? An Introduction to Yerba Mate
My first experiences in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay all involved mate… In Argentina the guy who sold me my bus ticket from Puerto Iguazú to Córdoba was drinking some strange green substance from a sawn off plastic flask, but my Spanish was at that stage not sufficient to ask anything of it. I had to [...]
Lake Titicaca: A Special Place
At 12,500ft above sea level and with an average depth of 350ft, Lake Titicaca is oft referred to as the highest lake in the world which is navigable by large craft. Commercial boats and Peruvian and Bolvian navy vessels do sail its waters regularly, so it lives up to this description. To those who have [...]
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