Cruise Resort & World Travel, Inc

I just returned from Chile, Patagonia, Argentina, and Brazil, home of truly amazing sights, vastly different topographies, and spectacular cultures. Although we traveled in November, the first signs of spring were beginning to show in South America and while the weather was still a bit cold it didn’t deter us from seeing everything South America had to offer.
Our tour started in Chile where the wine country outside of Santiago produces some of the world’s best wines. Sprawling vineyards and old mansions dotting the landscape make for some truly fantastic views while wine tasting. Forty-five minutes outside of Santiago the port city of Valparaiso, a UNESCO world heritage site, is home to a variety of different birds and beautiful ocean vistas. Valparaiso also boasts beautiful vineyards in the small, resort town of Vina del Mar.
Small flights are necessary to get around when visiting Chile because many parts of the country are difficult to drive to including Patagonia and the desert areas. The flights were all jets, no need to worry about small planes. So we flew to Puerto Montt, a port city on the Chilean side of Patagonia, where we did the famous ‘Lake Crossing” and crossed over by boat to the Argentinean side of Patagonia. Snow capped mountains surrounding small lakes and quaint resort towns made the views unforgettable. We entered the Nahuel Huapi National Park in the midst of Patagonia in a town called Bariloche. There the Llao Llao Resort was wonderful offering its guests various activities including golf, hiking, spas, and various other outdoor activities.
After crossing the Andes Mountains we arrived at Buenos Aires, the Paris of South America. There we found an extremely cosmopolitan city filled with wonderful restaurants and great night life. Restaurants were empty until 9:30pm, but the food was well worth the wait. The meat was tasty and the local dishes were absolutely delicious. The new waterfront areas of Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires are now open and filled with Museums and cafes along walkways as small yachts sail in and out of the waterways. We took in a gaucho show at a nearby ranch, watched a tango show, and toured many nearby neighborhoods flooded with antique and art fairs.
Iguazu Falls was the highlight of the entire trip, a visit to the Argentinean and Brazilian side of the falls is a must. Standing only three feet away from the wildest waterfall in the world produces an indescribable feeling of awe. Between the falls and unpredictable rainforest weather, raincoats are a must!
Our last stop was Rio, home of Carnival. We toured the site where they make and assemble all of the Carnival floats and even had a private samba show. We sampled great Churrasco cuisine, caught some rays at Copacabana beached, and explored the upscale Ipanema beaches. The food was great, however, the tourist restaurants were large stuff & grunt buffets – not so good on the food. At 100 degrees the difference from the chill of Patagonia was welcomed. Before we left Rio we got the opportunity to tour the slum areas of Favellas. I was last there twenty-five years ago and the government had since installed electricity and running water.
If you prefer to hike in Patagonia, explore wonderful cities, sit at the beach, or be pampered at luxury resorts there is something for everyone in this wonderful region. What’s great about the region is that these sights can be seen all at once or broken up into several different trips depending on your personal traveling preferences