Carlos Fida
I specialize in South American travel, and our team at Morris Columbus Travel can help you make your next trip incredible. Give them a call to get started.
The Art of Traveling in South America
A few months ago, I touched on daring our clients to explore the wonders of South America. Larry Gelwix and I have discussed the issue at large during our weekly travel show on KNRS radio. For many thousands, and even more, South America is still “Terra Incognita,” lands to be discovered. Unknown lands.
In the minds of many travelers who have ventured beyond the United States, there is a misconception about South America, especially in terms of languages, food, and vistas. I asked many of our clients if they had ever visited South America. The answer is always “YES, I have been to Mexico.” INCORRECT! What about food? No tacos, no enchiladas, no tortillas, no chilaquiles breakfast, no pozoles. Not in South America. The diversity is mind boggling, starting with different nuances in the Spanish or Portuguese languages. Each country and each region within those countries offers multiple choices in terms of landscape. These include the Andes, which cross South America from north to south, the fertile pampas in Argentina, the desert coast along the Pacific coast from Peru to Chile, and the Nazca Lines and Lake Titicaca in southern Peru.
The Ballestas Islands (called the Little Galapagos) are off the coast of Peru. Also commonly unknown are many other islands, such as Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and the Robinson Crusoe Islands, both part of the Chilean territory. The Galapagos Archipelago is close to Ecuador, and Cape Horn, at the bottom of Chile and Argentina, is only 36 hours sailing to Antarctica.
One of my favorite places is Patagonia, a land of adventurers and colonizers, where emperors ruled, discoverers walked, and navigators like Magellan walked and left indelible marks in the annals of history. Next year, Larry and I will host a group to this destination.
I lived in Patagonia for many years. I would like to quote Charles Darwin as his words express my feelings about this land that extends from half of Chile and Argentina to the southernmost end of the South American continent. Darwin wrote in his journal: “Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man. The plains of Patagonia are boundless…and hence unknown: they bear the stamp of having thus lasted for ages, and there appears no limit to their duration through future time.”