Archipielago de Colon

El archipielago de Colon or Galapagos Islands is group of 13 large volcanic islands and 6 small ones, which are located 1050 kilometers from the coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands are famous for its numerous endemic species and the studies that Charles Drarwin did there, which led him to establish his theory of evolution by natural selection. The islands were discovered by coincidence in 1535, when the Dominican friar Fray Tomas de Berlanga was heading to Peru by boat and a huge strong storm dragged his ship all the way to the islands.

The Galapagos Islands are unique because of its beauty is different from any other simple Island. The Galapagos Island have 21 volcanoes all over the island, of which 8 are active. Because of these volcanoes, the islands are constantly changing. I think the principal attraction of the island, besides its beautiful scenarios, is the different types of animals that live there. It is the only place in the Ecuador line where whales can be found and where penguins live ( I just imagine them in cold places... not sunbathing). But the famous animal is turtle, because thy are huge. These turtles can weigh around 881 pounds and can be about 3.2 feet. You can even do diving if you want, but you must say hi to the vegetarian sharks ;).

You can only get to the Galapagos Islands by sea or air and the best time of the year to go is between December and June. I have been there some years ago and... wow! I wanna go back just because I wanna ride one of those huge turtles, sad that they don't even let you touch them.... But seriously is Island is incredible and I think that is the best place to go for people that love exotic animals and beautiful beaches and South America.

Kerepakupai merú

Angel falls is the English name for the most beautiful water fall in Venezuela. It was called like that because in 1920 an American pilot named accompanied a gold digger to the very limits of the Venezuelan Amazon Forest. They didn’t found gold, but instead they found the biggest waterfall in the world, which was named after the pilot’s name.

The Angel falls have a height of 3,212 ft and a plunge of 2,647 ft, which make it the biggest waterfall in the world and one of the principal tourist attractions of Venezuela. The Angel falls shares the credit of its beauty with the impressive Tepuyes, huge sandstones towers formed by erosion many years ago.

For the ones that what to visit this beautiful waterfall, the trip is a little difficult. The falls are located in an isolated jungle region of Venezuela, so you would have to take a flight from Caracas or Ciudad Bolivar to go to Canaima camp, where is the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls by small round by boats which take approximately more than 3 hours. The other option is go by plane and to see the waterfalls from the sky, but sometimes on cloudy days there will be no chance to see them.

The best time of the year to go to the waterfalls is between June and December, when the rivers are deep enough for the wooden curiaras used by the Pemon guides. During the dry season, which is between December and March, there is less water seen than in the other months. I think that Angels falls is a great place to visit for the ones that love tropical weather and are interested in visit the beautiful Venezuela. Important fact if you are single and male: many people say that the most beautiful women are from Venezuela, so you take the opportunity to travel and see ALL THE BEAUTY of Venezuela ;).


Here is a video for the ones that want to see a little bit more of the Angel falls:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryJ0sF8iZvc

River of January

I think it sounds better in Portuguese. Rio de Janeiro is one of the principal cities of Brazil and with no doubt one of the most stunning and fun cities in South America. There are three things that come to my mind every time that I think about Brazil. The first one is soccer, the second one is the beautiful beaches that it has and the third one is the Carnival. Rio de Janeiro has three of them and more to offer to anyone that wants to visit this amazing city.

The whole country, not only Rio, transform for the Carnival. The Carnival is actually a catholic tradition that was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese and it takes place on the second week of February. The carnival is famous because of its parade full with music and color, where the schools of samba dance to celebrate the Carnival.

It doesn’t matter if it is winter or summer; Rio de Janeiro is beautiful at any season of the year. If you decided to go on summer, you can enjoy its gorgeous beaches Ipanema and Copacabana. Also you can visit at any time of the year the most important symbol of Brazil that is the “Cristo Corovado” which was built in remembrance of the independence of Brazil. This is the biggest statue of Christ and it has 125 feets.

As in many other countries in South America, the transportation system is a little bit crazy, but it offers a variety of options depending on the amount of money you want to spend. The transportation system includes busses, trains, trams, taxis and even cycle paths all over the city. One requirement only: Lear Portuguese!... or at least buy a dictionary.

Here is a link of a video of some picture of the 2010 Carnival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgKCMO2v1I0

The end of the world

When I say the end of the world I'm not talking about 2012, but about Tierra del Fuego or Land of Fire in the Patagonia, Argentina. When I was searching for cool places in South America to put on my blog I thought that the Patagonia was one of the amazing ones.

“Tierra del Fuego” means in spanish "Land of Fire". At first it was named “Tierra del humo” or “Land of Smoke”. In 1520 when the explorer Ferdinand Magellan visited those lands he thought that he saw flames coming from the ground naturally, but the truth is that the Yaghan( the Indians that lived in Tierra del Fuego) used the fire wood from the trees to keep the place warm and that's why they named it Tierra del Fuego.


Tierra del Fuego have amazing forests, mountains, valleys and lakes which draws attention to every visitor that would like to enjoy the tranquility of nature. Tierra del Fuego is one of the last places in South America that hasn’t be destroy by the pollution or by the human hand, and that’s why the view of Tierra del Fuego is breathtaking to anyone.

Argentina is a wonderful country. They have the tango, good meat and beautiful places. I think that Tierra del Fuego is a wonderful place to relax and to actually enjoy nature. You can fish there, go camping, see museums and see the wildlife. I would recommend it for people that would like to live for some days in a quiet and cold place, but there is one requirement: LEARN SPANISH! (joke)