From Polar Bears to Penguins – Driving North to South across the Americas
|
|
Through the lens |
A swampy paradise – Tranpantaneira – Dangerous Jobs for Women. (Map this!)
The Pantanal is a tropical wetland in Brazil, a swampy paradise for birdwatchers and nature lovers. During the rainy season, a large part of the Pantanal is inaccessible due to flooding. The Transpantaneira road is a gravel road 147 kms long with almost as many bridges spanning it.
Posted in Argentina, Picture of the Day, Videoblog on Nov 7th, 2008
|
|
Bossetti Falls |
The Iguazu Falls – Should I jump? – Panormama and the election
Throughout this trip, we had been looking forward to visiting Iguazu falls on the Argentina-Brazil border. And not only did they not disappoint, they exceeded our expectations. The Iguazu falls are formed by the immense Parana river thundering over the earth’s surface in the shape of 275 waterfalls. It envelops the San Martin island, flowing over it, around it, through it. It creates the poetically named “Garganta del Diablo” or “Devil’s Throat”, such a churning maelstrom of water, vapor and mist that it sometimes obscures itself. It forms waterfalls of every shape and size, from thin streams intertwining like lace to a wide deluge forming an orangish velvet curtain.
|
|
Humberstone, Chile |
Nitrate crisis – Crumbling buildings – Magnificent ruins
I have found ghost towns fascinating but until now I have never had the opportunity to visit one. The closest I ever got was old abandoned warehouses, which are species of mini ghost town unto themselves. The northern part of Chile has quite a distribution of ghost towns, mostly related to the nitrate industry that operated in the Atacama desert from the latter part of the 19th century to the early part of the 20th. The development of the Haber process in the 1910’s provided for a more economical way to make fertilizer and the nitrate industry went into decline and eventual extinction.
The worst hike – The Colca Canyon – Andean Condor – Reward for diligence. (Map this!) You know that you are on the worst hike in the world when You start the off not feeling well and know that you probably shouldn’t be hiking in the first place. Your expectations of an easy hike are […]
|
|
Beef |
Foreign markets – The need to buy. (Map this!)
There’s something about markets that is appealing. Visiting the colorful village markets of foreign lands give us a whiff of a foreign life with unfamiliar customs and exotic goods. The sights and smells overwhelm the senses. But for me the most powerful stimulant is the acquisition of the wares on display.