The small village of Tortuguero is tucked away in the northeastern corner of Costa Rica, within a vast protected national park. It is one of the most important nesting sites for sea turtles in the Western Hemisphere. Each year, thousands of endangered green turtles arrive en masse to lay their eggs on the long, isolated stretches of beach. Here, you can witness one of nature’s most marvelous ancient reproductive rituals.
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If you have a craving to get up close and personal with Argentina’s stunning mountains, waterfalls, and lakes, look no further than El Chalten. A small settlement amongst the rugged peaks of Patagonia, it’s a magnet for trekkers who flock to the town in the summer. Close to Chile’s border, El Chalten is situated in the heart of the spectacular Los Glaciares National Park.
Every year, visitors add considerably to the town’s current population of …
There’s a strange fact about Costa Rican people – while they’re enormously proud of their beautiful country, they cringe when you mention the capital.
“To be honest, it’s not somewhere we’re really proud of,” one tour guide told me. “If you only see San Jose, you haven’t seen our country.” An Uber driver taking me to the apartment I’d rented was equally discouraging. “Maybe you can take some day trips out of town to the …
Rainy season. Two words that are almost sure to make you rethink your holiday plans. Like Costa Rica in soggy September, when anyone visiting this small Central American country is bound to need a raincoat. So why go to a place knowing you’re likely to get drenched, when you can pick other months that promise glorious sunshine?
The crowds, that’s why. I’d far rather run the risk of rain rather than face a flood of …
Ushuaia, known as the city at the end of the world, is situated at the southern-most tip of Argentina and is famous for being the gateway to Antarctica. Most people make tracks to the far-flung city to join one of the cruises which sail across Drake Passage and explore the vast frozen continent. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to be taking a cruise, Ushuaia is worthy of a visit – as I recently discovered …
As the chef proudly leans across the counter to hand me my lunch, a few pieces of chopped tomato plop onto the floor.
He smiles sympathetically, knowing that by the end of the meal, I’ll be a mess. There’ll be sauce on my shirt, avocado on my jeans, and a splodge of mayonnaise on the floor. I expect he’s already alerting the cleaners: “get ready, a foreigner is eating a completo.”
The completo is practically …
If I ask you to describe a sommelier, you’ll almost inevitably picture a man. White and middle aged, perhaps a little portly, and with a slightly intimidating air.
The exact opposite of Karla Abarca, who gives a huge grin as she swirls some wine around in her glass, raises it up with her tattooed arms, and takes a big, appreciative gulp. She’s a tiny powerhouse, young and lively, cheeky and irreverent, and she giggles when …
For an area famous as the driest place in the world, Chile’s Atacama Desert boasts a surprising amount of activities involving water. Which is fabulous when the temperature tops a sizzling 35 degrees (91deg F) and you’re dying to cool off in a lagoon or a refreshing river.
The Atacama, in the north of the country, is a place full of contrasts, and my favorite is the unusual opportunities to get wet in the desert. …
Deep inside the jungles of Colombia, archeologists have discovered an extensive array of ancient rock paintings, hailed as the “Sistine Chapel of the Ancients.” These glyphs represent a significant milestone in the study of pre-Columbian history and offer a new window into the lives of people who lived during the Ice Age. This discovery, made in the Serranía de la Lindosa and nearby areas, including the Chiribiquete National Park, was led by a British-Colombian team …
Costa Rica is, of course, a paradise for nature lovers. It, therefore, makes sense that many people only wish to spend a minimal amount of time, if any, in the gritty capital of San Jose before heading to the beaches and tropical rainforests.
Surrounded by volcanoes, coffee plantations, and cloud forests and situated in the central valley, San Jose is the capital and largest city in Costa Rica. If you travel independently in Costa Rica, …
Colombia — The land of drug runners, cartels and kidnappings, right? You might be thinking of the Colombia of old. This diverse gem nestled at the top of South America with coasts kissing both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea has successfully emerged from underneath a less than desirable reputation a few decades ago due to rampant drug trade and violence.
Now, tourists have been dipping their toes back into the country, enjoying some of …
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is an subterranean church located 200 meters underground in the Andean mountains of Colombia, carved out of solid rock salt. The Salt Cathedral has become a top tourist destination and an important place of pilgrimage in Central and South America.
The history of the Salt Cathedral goes back to the Muisca indigenous people who occupied this region before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The Muisca extracted salt from …
Situated in the desolate beauty of Chile’s Atacama Desert, a colossal hand emerges from the sandy surface. This iconic, larger-than-life sculpture known as “La Mano del Desierto” or “The Hand of the Desert” has been an intriguing spectacle for many who traverse Chile’s Route 5. The Hand of the Desert is an imposing, 11-meter (36 feet) tall sculpture that depicts a right human hand, rising eerily from the desert sands, palm facing up towards the …
Mankind has always sought to leave a mark on the world, a testament to our existence, beliefs, and art. Among the most puzzling and fascinating imprints of our ancestors are the ancient geoglyphs—colossal figures etched into the earth’s surface. These gigantic artworks depict a variety of figures, from geometric shapes to animals and humans, spread across diverse geographies. They are enigmatic remnants of ancient civilizations, their purpose, construction, and symbolic meaning often shrouded in mystery. …
