La Paris del Sur, its denizens call it. The Paris of the South. And for a few brief moments, you might actually be taken in. Those wide central boulevards, for example: they certainly feel European, with their Art Deco apartment buildings and dusky ground-floor shops. Likewise those cafes, with their old men waving their endless […]
Of the 17 species of penguin that occur worldwide, seven can be seen in South America. Their breeding grounds range from the Galapagos Islands along the equator to the Pacific coasts of Peru and Chile and further on down to the continent’s frigid southernmost tip… Galápagos Islands, Ecuador When people think of wildlife in South […]
Anyone who has visited the great waterfalls of the world – Niagara, the Salto Angel and the Victoria Falls – will tell you that Iguazu, on the Brazil-Argentina border, is hands-down the most incredible. Look at any list of Top 10 Waterfalls and Iguazu will be number one. In 2011 Iguazu was voted one of […]
Polar winds whip snow against me as I stand beneath the looming mountain. Gray afternoon half-light. It’s the end of the line. Granted, “end” in Ushuaia, Argentina, is a word that long ago passed beyond cliché, considering every empanadería, Claro cell-phone kiosk, and leather-goods outlet in town has seen fit to append “del fin del […]
Sapphire lakes that are absolutely still, mirroring the silent peaks around them. Cascades, like liquid smoke, plunging into icy rivers. A branching network of sandy trails, leading ever deeper into towering forests of thousand-year-old alerce trees… This is Argentina’s Lake District, a vast, primeval wilderness huddled at the foot of the Andes in northwestern Patagonia, […]
Sitting and sampling a glass of Malbec in the tasting room at La Rural winery in Mendoza, Argentina, I’m definitely feeling rather small. And I don’t just mean metaphorically small, owing to the fact that my technical knowledge when it comes to wine encompasses exactly two concepts, “red” and “white.” I mean literally small, owing […]
From across the dance floor, the couple’s eyes lock as the bandoneon strikes up: a plaintive, homesick wail. They march right up to each other, clasping hands. Their lips are dangerously close, so close that a single dream seems to tremble behind their rapt, exalted eyelids. Suddenly, their legs are moving—now in flurries of impossible […]
Her story was known everywhere even before it was finished, and no wonder—since it sprang not from mere life, but from the timelessness of Latin American myth. The humble, illegitimate birth near Los Toldos, on a dusty ranch on the Argentine pampas. The scandal at her father’s funeral, when her mother was briefly allowed to […]
A lone rider, silhouetted against the bleak expanse of the endless pampas. Night is falling; he works quickly to corral the last cattle inside the estancia’s huge pastures. No division exists between himself and the horse he sits. His only possessions he carries with him: mate gourd, saddle, poncho, ornate silver knife. In the failing […]
Walking the tree-lined streets of Buenos Aires, you may notice a certain unmistakable smoky scent. A scent that barely registers in your conscious brain but immediately sets your stomach on high alert. You may notice your belly suddenly growling for meat, as though you hadn’t fed it for days. Your mouth goes a little dry […]
For wilderness and adventure lovers, it’s hard to find a place more beautiful and full of unique destinations than Patagonia. The region spans the southernmost parts of Argentina and Chile and contains a variety of landscapes from lush grassland to beaches to icy glaciers. Most people that head down there will probably want to take […]
The Argentine National Immigration Directorate (DNM) has launched a new online method of payment to enable payment of Argentina’s Reciprocity Fee via credit card. Travelers can now pay this fee through the Provincia Pagos payment system. All tourists or business travelers must pay the reciprocity fee ($160 for U.S., $75 for Canadian, and $140 for […]
Latin America is one of the best places to hike, so much so that the problem is picking one out of the many possible treks that are available. Here are five of the most popular, each in a different country, to help you in your choice. You can´t go wrong with any one of them but each […]
LAN’s BIG DEAL Mid-Year Sale offers big savings on LAN flights to South America. Fly round-trip to Ecuador for $499, Peru for $599, Chile for $829, and Argentina for $899 when you book by June 18, 2012. Prices are based on departures from Miami, and for travel between September 1 and November 30, 2012.
Like all mega-metropolises, Buenos Aires, Argentina is home to neighborhoods as varied as their names indicate. There’s Recoleta, Retiro, La Boca, and Puerto Madero. There’s the microcenter, downtown, and Abasto. Upon first arrival, I loved the cobblestone streets and graffiti artwork. Each day, I would visit a new barrio and experience an incredibly different vibe. After three weeks of […]
