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)

The Lost City of the Incas

I'm going to start this blog with my favorite tourist place in South America: Machu Picchu. A lot of people know about Incas, but for the ones that don’t, they were a group of people that lived in the Andes in South America around 1200’s. The Inca population mostly built their cities and fortresses on the highlands at the Andes Mountains. The biggest one is Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu was build around 1430’s and it means in Quechua “Old Mountain” and it is located in the Urubamba Valley, near Cuzco in Peru. Cuzco is known in South America as the “Navel of the World” because it was the center of the Tawantinsuyo, which was the territory of the Incas from Colombia trough Argentina. The ruins of Machu Picchu are divided into two main sections known as the Urban and Agricultural Sectors, and it is composed of 140 structures or features, including temples, sanctuaries, parks, and residences that include houses with thatched roofs.

Personally, I think is one of the best places of visit in South America and the main one in Peru. I had the opportunity to visit it, and I assure you that is really amazing. From the moment you take the train to get to Urubamba Valley, you can see how the Incas lived. That experience meant a lot to me because it was very shocking to see these huge rocks located almost perfect that you can’t even insert a thin knife blade. Know that my ancestors did it without having the materials needed for that is something that I’m very proud of.

There are tons of things to learn and you can get there by train from Cuzco, or if you don’t want to spend money you can go by walking through “The Incas Road” which may take you 4 days to get there, but it will be definitely an adventure. Lodging options are available to anyone, which range from $20 to $300, depending on where you want to stay and what your budget is.

Here is a link of a video that has very nice shots of Peru.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEI9UW_zVU4