Ecuador

Kirstine Dawson discovers rich culture and unique wildlife  in Ecuador.

Straddling the Equator, from the Andean highlands and Amazon rainforest, to beautiful sandy beaches and the unique flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador has it all! It is the striking geographical and cultural contrasts between regions that makes Ecuador such a fascinating destination.

Amazon Jungle

A trip to the Ecuadorian jungle is a unique experience. Located near the Andes, this tropical humid forest is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world and has a large number of flora and fauna species. 

Typical South American mammals such as the sloth, honey bears, tapirs and armadillos are found in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Jungle lodges range from simple, yet comfortable to first class accommodation, both including programs and excursions with plenty of opportunities to experience the rainforest at its best. 

Stunning Quito

One of the most beautiful cities in the world. 
Quito is in a spectacular setting 2,825 metres above sea level and surrounded by snowcapped mountains. This vibrant gateway to Ecuador is no more than a day’s drive from the Amazon Jungle, active volcanoes, indigenous markets and tropical beaches, making it an ideal stopover en route to the Galapagos Islands. 

Strolling around the Old City with its lovely colonial churches and crowded cobblestone streets, you’ll discover that it’s one of the best preserved areas in South America and also a World Heritage Site. Visit the open-air Indian market at the foot of El Panecillo hill and then climb to the top for amazing city views.

The Chimborazo

It was not that easy to reach Quito with all these strikes everywhere ! Backpacked for at least a one year travel, I find myself in a deserted parisian subway station, a telescreen spatting "No traffic" (thanks, Douve !) he and her client accept my intrusion. Then, the impossible journey begins, and I spare you all its details : I arrive at the airport with only one quarter to take off time. At this point, *** happens again : due to the strikes, the flight Paris-Madrid is delayed, what means I am very unlikely to get the connexion for Caracas. I call Stef and tell her to change her flight ticket in order not to arrive before me, as agreed.. and finally, the flight to Caracas is held back in Madrid for a few persons... and me ! Stef has already changed her ticket, what means one more day in solo in Quito for me.

Incredible Galapagos Islands

To discover the Galapagos Islands is to discover nature in its most pure and pristine condition. 

It’s an environment of unique and incredible life forms, almost marooned on a volcanic reef 960 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador. 

Ferns the size of trees, birds with bright blue or red feet and of course, giant tortoises, iguanas and seals are plentiful. Come and experience this true wildlife sanctuary!  

Haciendas in Ecuador
Experience the traditional hospitality found at an Ecuadorian hacienda. 

Travel north to the outskirts of Otavalo, or south towards Cotapaxi National Park.

Travel back in time and imagine your accommodation as a full working ranch, bustling and active in local village life. All have now been restored into unique and comfortable guest accomodation, and it is a complete treat to be a guest at any of the haciendas below.

Cuenca Rainbow, Ecuador

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Cuenca, Ecuador

Just as I was giving up on having interesting light for this shot, the clouds to the West opened up and poured golden light over the entire scene, and created an unbelievable rainbow.

I didn't even have to move to get the rainbow to line up with the cathedral. 

The connexion Caracas-Quito is a bit shaking (hey, Aeropostal !) and my sleeping bag did not make it through, though well fixed (or too much for a mere sleeping bag...). At last, I arrive at the hostel and I fell easily asleep at 1 in the morning (8 AM Paris Time) to wake up 5 hours later with the sunrise !

Accomadation

1)Vieja Cuba

This cosy and elegant hotel has a vibrant Cuban ambiance. Featuring comfortable rooms and excellent service, it is located in the tourist centre of Quito, close to restaurants, shops and not far from the Old Town. 

Price Guide from $73 per person

2)Patio Andaluz Hotel

This boutique hotel is situated in the heart of the old town of Quito, handy to the museums and sightseeing. The classic colonial style and friendly service at the Patio Andaluz will provide you will a memorable stay.

Price Guide from $109 per person

3)Swissotel

Located in the beautiful residential and commercial area of La Floresta, in the heart of the city. The first class service and accommodation, along with European elegance, makes it perfect for the discerning traveller.

Price Guide from $135 per person

Argentina

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls is one of the top of the list ‘must see’ attraction you won’t want to miss! 

Quite simply, there are no other waterfalls on this planet that match up to the sheer magnificence, size or indeed, water volumes that tumble over the Iguazu Falls. There is nothing quite as enchanting as waking to jungle noises and the roar of the Falls.

Situated within the Iguazu National Park on the Argentine side, it is the only hotel in the area offering incredible views of the waterfalls from guest rooms.

Price Guide from Per person 
(twin share)
Sheraton International Hotel
Garden View Room $674
Falls View Room $809
Tropical Das Cataratas $660

Authentic View in Argentina

"Three Galaxies and a Comet"

This image reveals the majestic scene along the Southern Milky Way. The image shows beautiful stars and dark nebulae. The image spans a 100 degrees wide and is a compilation of 13 images taken with a camera angle of 100 x 100 degrees. Seen in the foreground is the terrain of Patagonia, Argentina. This images allows us to get a better look at the Southern part of our very own galaxy.
However, the image also allows us to see two irregular shaped galaxies. We see two satellite galaxies the Large and Small Magellanic clouds. These are dwarf galaxies, the large is 180,000 light-years away and spans about 15,000 light-years. The small also spans about 15,000 light-years and is about 210,000 light-years away.
Lastly, the image reveals the tail of the McNaught Comet.

The Cotopaxi Blues

Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 75 kilometres (50 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America.[2] It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m.

Cotopaxi has an almost symmetrical cone that rises from a highland plain of about 3,800 metres (12,500 ft), with a width at its base of about 23 kilometres (14 mi).[3] It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at the height of 5,000 metres (16,400 ft). The mountain is clearly visible on the skyline from Quito.[2] It is part of the chain of volcanoes around the Pacific plate known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The volcano is the subject of 1855 and 1862 paintings by Frederic Edwin Church.

Perito Moreno Glacier

The Perito Moreno Glacier is the longest and widest glacier in the world outside Antarctica and truly is a spectacular sight. This is one of ‘those places’ that you need to visit once in your lifetime.Enjoy your full day tour to the Perito Moreno Glacier. Experience the movement of the surrounding glaciers and listen for the enormous pieces of ice that break away and fall with a thunderous noise into the lake every now and then.Transfer to Puerto Bandera and board a catamaran for your cruise on Argentino Lake. Cruise amongst the stunning icebergs, before reaching the Upsala and Onelli Glaciers, the largest in the National Park. Enjoy a short stop at Estancia Cristina where you will find yourself surrounded by a typical natural Patagonian forest.

Price Guide from $740 per person twin share  

NorthWest

The Northwest is one of the most attractive regions of Argentina. 
With its gorges and small towns full of beautiful colonial architecture.  

Your 4-day tour will take you to the Humahuaca Ravine, visiting a local Quechua village, its cobbled streets lined with adobe houses. Also visit Cafayete via the stunningly scenic Lerma Valley.

Evolution with dinosaurs

Paleontological Museum in Trelew, Argentina:

It was a surprise to find a full-featured, well put-together dinosaur museum pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and even more of a surprise to find it showing a BBC Horizon documentary from 2002 about the hunt for dinosaurs in the empty spaces of Patagonia.

The programme detailed how researchers in Trelew were searching for the “missing link” from the mid-Jurassic period that could help explain if dinosaurs developed according to Darwinian theories of evolution.

Getting to Argentina

Air                                                                                                                                                   Argentina has excellent worldwide air connections, with Aeropuerto Internacional Ezeiza (35km/22mi outside Buenos Aires) the main international airport. A departure tax of USD $23.50 (plus 21% IVA) is payable on international flights; the tax is USD $5.00 (plus 21% IVA) on flights to Uruguay. Note that all taxes and costs will be up in the air until the monetary crisis sorts itself out. 

Land
If you're arriving at the Ezeiza airport, you have several options for getting into Buenos Aires. If you're alone your best bet is taking a comfortable shuttle bus (they're right outside the customs exit) for about USD $8.50; avoid these companies' taxis as they're overpriced. For taxi service head to the city's booth (just behind the shuttle bus stands); a ride into the centre should be around USD $15.00. Avoid taxi touts. Penny-pinchers can take a slow, uncomfortable local bus (less than USD $1.00, up to 1-1.5 hours).

BRAZIL

Introduction:

Brazil can provide a holiday adventure like no other, pulsating with the energetic tropical vibe of a sexy, joyous people living in romantic cities such as Rio de Janeiro or in the immense dark heart of the Amazon.

This is a great country for backpackers on a shoestring budget seeking a cheap vacation as it's possible to survive on less than US$20 a day. If you have enough money to enjoy yourself, budget about US$50 a day for food, travel, accommodation and entertainment.

History:

The Brazilian currency is called the "real" and its ongoing devaluation since the late 1990s has made Brazil holiday tickets increasingly cheap for travelers.

Brazil uses metric measurements and tourists should be cautious about electricity supplies as the current is mostly 110 or 120 volts. Currents vary from 100 to 240 volts and power surges happen occasionally, so be careful with any electrical appliances you bring into Brazil during your holiday travel through South America.

Climate

Brazil's climate is mostly warm and comfortable throughout the year but the south of Brazil is very hot and sticky from December to February and experiences non-stop rain from June to August.

The famous five-day Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is usually held in February (starting at midnight on the Friday before Ash Wednesday). The Carnaval is celebrated in cities and towns throughout Brazil but none can match the Rio experience.

Although this giant street party is the biggest magnet for tourists, summer is an expensive and uncomfortable time to holiday in Brazil as the sticky heat can be unbearable and many Brazilians are on vacation, making accommodation scarce or crowded and tickets a little more expensive.

Many tourists believe the best time to buy airline tickets for perfect weather and cheap vacations in Brazil are September, October, April and/or May.

Rio is also the ultimate party town every New Year's Eve, when about a million people congregate around Copacabana Beach. There is nightlife everywhere but popular areas are Ipanema, Leblona and Leme. Since the 1990s, Lapa in the old quarter of Rio has restored its former glory as a nightlife haven for all forms of traditional Brazilian music. If you hope to impress a member of the opposite sex while in Rio, learn at the least the basics of samba before you begin your holiday.

Places of Attraction

The city's fanatical beach culture is centred on Copacabana Beach, a 4.5 kilometre stretch of white sand backed by high-rise apartments. Small bikinis are the norm and women in one-piece bathers are usually assumed to be tourists. Beware the water currents and don't take valuables or more money than you need to the Rio beaches.

A must-see is the famous Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio from Corcovado hill. The statue is 30 metres high and weighs more than a thousand tonnes, overlooking one of the world's great vistas. Most hotels have organised tours to the Corcovado and a taxi from the centre of town will cost about US$18.


Interesting Places to Visit

Apart from the sexy salsa-swinging nightlife, there are countless outdoor holiday activities in Brazil including windsurfing, surfing, fishing or swimming along the coast and rivers, or hiking to explore the remote jungle areas where native wildlife abounds.

Some tributaries of South America's interior Amazon basin are still unexplored. Intrepid travellers can find primitive locations in Brazil where dangers and adventure travel abounds.

Belem is the gateway city to the Amazon and is also a common route for travel into the rainforests.

The Federal Republic of Brazil is enormous, covering 8,514,215 square kilometres of the South America land mass with a population of 175 million.

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and huge areas remain unpopulated, although settlement is beginning to decimate some of the interior jungles.

About 30% of the world's surviving forest can be found in the Amazon basin of South America, which holds about one fifth of the world's fresh water.

Brazil's balmy north-east has almost 3,000 kilometres of virtually uninterrupted white beaches from Sao Luis to Salvador.

The country has three time zones plus daylight saving in different locations.

Just over half the people are of European descent and most of the remainder are of mixed blood with strong African connections dating back to the slave trade. About 200,000 are native Indians, concentrated inland.

Travellers to Brazil should learn at least a few Portuguese phrases before buying airline tickets for their South America holiday adventure.

In 2004 more than half the Brazilian population was aged under 21, so expect a young society.

Communication within the Country:

The most adventurous and educational way to cross the border into Brazil is via a slow boat journey down the Amazon from Peru or on the Rio Paraguay from Paraguay into Brazil.

It can be worthwhile buying a Brazil Airpass ticket if you're planning several airline flights within the country, although these are purchased outside Brazil before your holiday and you should check the airline ticket's fine print regarding strict regulations on flight changes and timing.

Tickets for domestic and international route buses are fairly cheap and most buses are of a high standard. Airline tickets inside Brazil are expensive.

Necessary Careness & Medicals:

A dengue fever epidemic has hit Rio de Janeiro in early 2008, killing almost 70 people and infecting about 50,000 others. Forty of the dead are children aged between 5 and 12. Dengue causes high fevers, severe headaches and joint pains, and military troops have been spraying insecticide in hard-hit districts to reduce the number of mosquitoes which carry the disease. Rio suffered serious dengue outbreaks in 1986, 1995 and 2002.

Wash everything before eating, buy bottled water for drinking and use liberal doses of insect repellent as there are plenty of tropical diseases flying around which could spoil your South America vacation.

Pharmacies in Brazil, which are known as "farmacia", are mostly open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm. The age, authenticity and quality of drugs should be closely monitored, particularly in regional areas. Staff usually don't speak English and sometimes don't have professional training.

Brazil travel tips 

Visa is the most reliable credit card to have during your holiday in Brazil. Cambios (money exchangers) are widespread but it's worth cashing up to get through weekends when many close their doors.

It's also sensible to get as many small notes as possible at cambios as change is often scarce during your travel and small bills provide a cheap way to satisfy the never-ending demands for a tip.

Almost every service provider you encounter during your travel in Brazil will expect a tip, although taxis are an exception and restaurants mostly include a service charge on your ticket.

Be prepared to haggle and beat down the price for most purchases during your Brazil vacation, whether you be looking for a hotel room or shopping at the markets.