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South America
Brazil
For hundreds of years, Brazil has symbolised the great escape
into a primordial, tropical paradise, igniting the Western imagination like
no other South American country. From the mad passion of Carnaval to the immensity
of the dark Amazon, it is a country of mythic proportions.
Perhaps it's not quite the Eden of popular imagination, but it's still a land
of staggering beauty. There are stretches of unexplored rainforest, islands
with pristine tropical beaches, and endless rivers. And there are the people
themselves, who delight the visitor with their energy and joy.
Samba, carnaval, and football - these are the mental postcard
images, albeit cliches, for people dreaming of traveling to South America's
largest and most influential country, Brazil.
Brazil is an enormous country steeped with colossal extremes - the extremely
rich and the painfully poor, densely packed cities and sparse remote villages,
hedonism and desperation, unexplored tropical forests and clearcuts as far as
the eye can see.
With these extremes, Brazil offers a bit of everything for the patient traveler.
According to many travelers, Brazil's allure is perhaps its tenacious energy,
witnessed by many at perhaps its most famous festival, Carnaval, where millions
of tourists (and millions of the city's inhabitants) come to party like it's
1999. Other travelers claim Brazils beaches are some of the best on the earth,
where not only tourists but locals flock as part of the daily ritual. Conversely,
some of the more intrepid travelers, attempt to explore the dark heart of the
Amazon river, an amazing tangle of waterways and forests that covers two and
one-half million square miles across nine South American countries.
Whatever gets you excited about Brazil, it's true that travelers (and Brazilians
themselves) tend to have a mad love affair with this dramatic country.
Argentina
Recently Argentina has been steeped with economic problems.
But for travelers wanting quality amenities, such as lodging and food, at bargain
basements prices, now would be the best time to go. Argentina and specifically
Buenos Aires, is said to be a little bit more like Europe than like the rest
of its Latin American neighbors. Argentina's honeypot for many adventure travelers
is its dramatic untouched wilderness of Patagonia.
Bolivia
Bolivia holds many treasures for the traveller. One is able to
encounter many different fascinating landscapes there for a fraction of the
price they would elsewhere. The Salar de Uyuni trip takes you through the salt
flats in the high altiplano, by colored lakes with flamingoes, martian looking
landscapes, and Dali-esque landscapes. Copacabana, Bolivia's main entry point
to Lake Titicaca, is a small town where one can catch a ferry over to Isla del
Sol, the 'birthplace' of the Incas. Rurrurenabaque is well known for its pampas
and rainforest tours.
Peru
It's the multiple layers of great civilisations that make Peru
so intriguing. You can wander around colonial cities that have preserved the
legacy of the Spanish conquistadors, visit the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco,
explore the lost city of Machu Picchu and ponder the enigma of the Nazca Lines.
It also has some of the most spectacular and varied scenery in South America.
The Peruvian Andes are arguably the most beautiful on the continent and the
mountains are home to millions of highland Indians, who still speak the ancient
tongue of Quechua and maintain a traditional way of life.
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