South American ports of call... - Page 2

**Ally** · 08-14-2006, 02:17 AM

Colonia del Sacramento lies across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires to the west of Montevideo, and is the main water thoroughfare for visitors from Argentina to access any part of Uruguay. It is a resort city, a port, and the trade centre for agricultural produce. The only Portuguese settlement along the Rio de la Plata, it has stone houses and cobblestoned streets in an historic area reminiscent of old Lisbon with winding streets and colourful houses. The historic quarter, Barrío Historico, on a small peninsula jutting out into the river, was named a UNESCO heritage site in 1995. Sights include Plaza Mayor with several interesting buildings and museums, Puerta del Capo - the restored city gate and drawbridge and thr fortifications of Bastion del Carmen.

Founded as Nova Colonia do Sacramento in 1680 by Manuel de Lobo, it was the focus of struggle between the Spanish, who founded the settlement at Montevideo in response, and the Portuguese over control of the area. In the 17th century it operated as a contraband port, smuggling British goods into the Spanish colonies across the Rio de la Plata.

Montevideo, on the Río de la Plata on the southern coast, is home to nearly half of Uruguay's population and is the nation's only major city. As Uruguay's cultural, political and economical centre, the spacious and well laid out city boasts a good number of monuments, museums and impressive architecture. Landmarks include the Cerro (hill) after which Montevideo (Spanish for "I see a hill") is named; the mausoleum of José Gervasio Artigas, the Uruguayan national hero; the Cabildo, formerly the seat of the national legislature; and an ornate cathedral (1790-1804). Furthermore, there are sidewalk cafés, fine restaurants, chic shops, casinos and miles of clean beaches. Many tourists visit the nearby beach resorts like Punta del Este.

Montevideo was founded by the Spanish governor of Buenos Aires in 1726 to secure the area against Portuguese infiltration from Brazil. It changed hands frequently during the Spanish-Portuguese rivalry of the early 19th century, until, partly through British intervention, it became the capital of independent Uruguay, established in 1828 as a buffer state between Spanish Argentina and Portuguese Brazil. It was besieged for nine years (1843-1851) during Uruguay's civil war but at the same time became one of the principal ports of South America. Large numbers of Europeans, especially Spaniards and Italians, migrated to the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nueva Palmira is a port city of 7000 people at the mouth of the Rio Uruguay north of Buenos Aires and west of Montevideo. The area has some nice river beaches and the city has a Casino and an interesting Paleontological Museum with remains and fossils of the primary and secondary era.

Punta del Este is a resort town on Uruguay's south coast, to the east of Montevideo. From here it is possible to visit Montevideo itself, enjoy the facilities of the resort or explore Uruguay's sandy beaches, tropical swamps, and interior forests.

**Ally** · 08-14-2006, 02:20 AM

Near the Peruvian frontier, Chile's northernmost port of Arica lies below the El Morro Hill, the site of a major Chilean victory over Peru, backed by desert sand dunes. Travel to the top and see the museum there. At the foot of El Morro look out for the iron San Marcos Cathedral built by Eiffel of Paris fame! In nearby Azapa Valley is San Miguel Archaeological Museum, with its famous mummies from the ancient Chinchorro culture. Lauca National Park's stunning lake and volcanic mountain scenery high on the altiplano, habitat of vicuna, llama and alpaca, can be reached on a shore visit.

At the southernmost point of the South American continent, in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the mighty Andes extends as a few rocky islands into Drake Passage, the Antarctic strait connecting the South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans. Horn Island's shingle beaches and steep cliffs support a variety of birds, including kelp geese, steamer ducks, and black-bowed albatross. Storms, strong currents, and icebergs make passage around Cape Horn extremely hazardous. During the era of sailing ships, hundreds of vessels were wrecked while "rounding the Horn". The Dutch navigator Willem Cornelis Schouten, the first European to sail around the cape (1616), named it after his birthplace, Hoorn, Netherlands. Shore excursions to Tierre del Fuego are possible.

Coquimbo is near the northern city of La Serena and one of Chile’s regional capitals. It lies between the Atacama Desert and the central valley, rich in agriculture and is an important distribution centre for fruit from the Elqui Valley. Some of the elaborate woodwork handcrafted on the buildings here by early British and American settlers still remains and these wooden buildings are among Chile’s most interesting historical structures. From here you can visit La Serena (cathedral, churches and museums), the mountain-top Tololo Observatory and the attractive Elqui Valley (orchards, vineyards, mines and cochineal factories). By boat visit Isla Pajaros, to view the colonies of cormorants, boobies and Magellanic penguins that reside there.

South of Puerto Montt in the Chilean Fjords, Chacabuco is the site of a famous victory in the Latin-American wars of independence, when, in 1817, South American patriots defeated Spanish royalists. This busy little port is abuzz with river ferries and local colour and is linked to the old port of Puerto Aisen by the longest suspension bridge in Chile. Travel inland to Coyhaique to glimpse the impressive Chilean Patagonia landscape - picturesque towns and beautiful natural landscapes, mixing the fiords with the high snowy mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes and lagoons.

Strategically positioned almost midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, on the Brunswick Peninsula at the southern end of mainland Chile and the Chilean Fjords, Punta Arenas commands panoramic views over the Magellan Straits. Located on the western side of the Strait, Punta Arenas is the capital of the Magallanes region and the bustling center of one of the world's largest sheep farming areas. As the best and largest port for thousands of miles, it provides a base for South Atlantic fishing boats and Antarctic research vessels. The city centre features the impressive mansions of the sheep barons of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Palacio Sara Braun and several good museums. Nearby is Fuerte Bulnes is a replica of a wooden fort from 1843 and the Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos on Isla Magdalena where you will find a colony of 60,000 Magellanic penguins.

Founded in 1848, Punta Arenas was originally a military garrison and penal settlement. It provided a convenient location for shipping en route to California during the Gold Rush. In the early years, the economy depended on wild animal products but the successful introduction of purebred sheep from the Falkland Islands changed the economy and by the turn of the century, there were nearly two million animals in the territory.

Lying to the north of the famous Chilean Fjords on Chile's Pacific coast, Puerto Montt began life when settled by German colonists in the mid 19th century and is still reminiscent of an alpine village. Puerto Montt’s picturesque fishing port boasts a superb market, specializing in local crafts such as handmade boots, copper work, ponchos, and woollens. Its setting amid forested hills, fjords, lakes and snow-capped Andes peaks has made it a popular resort. Sights in the town include its oldest building, Iglesia Cathedral, built in 1856, the Campanario and the Regional Museum. Nearby is the little fishing port of Angelmo, the wooded Isla Tenglo and the Parque Provincial Lahuen Nadi.

It is also a stepping stone to Chile's glorious Lake District: from here you can travel via the pretty lakeside town of Puerto Varas, beneath towering Osorno Volcano, and Petrohue - and on by boat across emerald Lake Todos Los Santos to Peulla, deep amid a stunning canvas of lakes, rivers, waterfalls, forests and mountains.

The first German colonists arrived to this area in 1852 and have remained to the present day a small but influential percentage of the 130,000 inhabitants. The town spreads along a narrow seaboard and climbs the slopes enclosing it to the north. Since 1985, the city has experienced considerable growth and development, fueled by more than 30 salmon farms, in addition to forestry, fishing industries and service companies. New hotels, restaurants, cafés and shops have opened.

**Ally** · 08-14-2006, 02:21 AM

Located on a 1,706-foot plateau, with the Andes as a backdrop, Santiago blends 18th & l9th century buildings, sleek skyscrapers and Spanish colonial cathedrals. Due to its geographic location, Santiago is one of the few capital cities in the world which has easy access both to ski slopes and beaches. It is in fact possible to visit the modern ski resorts as well as the famous beach resort of Vina del Mar or picturesque Valparaiso, Chile's main port, in just one day.

The majestic Andean Mountain Range can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Stroll around Plaza de Armas or visit any of the markets. Chile is one of the two places in the world producing lapis lazuli. Points of interest in the city are a zoological park, the 16th-century cathedral and the Presidential Palace, built in the early 19th century. Among the many museums here are the National Historical Museum, with collections from the pre-Columbian, colonial, and more recent periods and the Art of the American Peoples Museum, with a collection of Chilean folk art.

Numerous villages located in the countryside around Santiago invite the visitor to relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility of country life. Tourists may also visit the vineyards and try the delicious Chilean wines. Santiago was established in 1541 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in an area inhabited by the Picunche people. When Chile achieved independence in 1818, it became the nation's capital.

Valparaiso, main port and second city of Chile, was once the centre of 19th century British naval and commercial activity on South America's Pacific coast. Its setting is dramatic beside the sweeping curve of a great bay screened by a circle of hills, with the modern lower city and rambling upper section linked by steep zig-zag roads and ancient funiculars. Little of the city's colonial past survived the pirates, storms, fires and earthquakes but some remnants of the old colonial city can be found in the El Puerto area surrounding the church of La Matriz. Close by is attractive Vina del Mar, among South America's most popular and vibrant beach resorts. Mainly Valparaiso is now the gateway to Santiago located on a 1,706-foot plateau, with the Andes as a backdrop.

Founded in 1542, Valparaiso was a small port trading with Peru until Chilean independence when it became a Pacific commercial and banking base for US and European ships rounding the Horn. The port started to decline with the advent of steamships and the Panama Canal and then the shift of banking to Santiago and the new container port at San Antonio.

**Ally** · 08-14-2006, 02:22 AM

Cayenne lies on the Ile de Cayenne between two river estuaries on the tropical coastal strip of French Guiana. The port of Dégrad des Cannes, on the estuary of the river Mahury, has become the major port. The city feature a seafront avenue that leads you to the French Institute of Tropical America and the Pasteur Institute. Sights of interest include the Church of the Holy Saviour and a prefecture on the Place d'Armes.

Founded in 1643 by the French, it became a centre of French penal settlements in Guiana. In 1852 Napoleon III decreed that convicts with sentences of more than seven years were to be sent to French Guiana, and Cayenne became known as the city of the condemned. The prisons were closed in 1945.

In addition to being the site of France's satellite launching base, French Guiana is perhaps best known for the infamous penal colony to which convicts and undesirables were deported from France. For a long time the small archipelago Isles Du Salut (the Safety Islands) was known by the name of "Devil's Island" and was named by refugees fleeing the jungle diseases of the nearby mainland. Here you can explore the old prisoners’ and wardens’ quarters, the tiny church with its paintings of convict life, and a surprising wildlife population, including agoutis, hummingbirds, turtles and macaws. You can also visit the Kourou Space Centre.

The three islands - Devil's Island, Ile Royale and Ile St. Joseph - are about one hour by boat from the mainland. Their notorious convict settlements were built in 1852, with each one of the islands serving a different purpose. Ile Royale was the the administrative centre and its prison cells housed less dangerous criminals while the more troublesome were kept on St. Joseph. Political prisoners like Alfred Dreyfus were held in isolation on the almost inaccessible Devil's Island. The prisoner who became most famous was Henri Charrière, who was immortalized in the movie "Papillon" for supposedly being the only convict who managed to escape. Of 80,000 prisoners sent to the islands, some 50,000 died here.

**Ally** · 08-14-2006, 02:24 AM

Callao has one of the few good natural harbours on the Pacific coast and is the port for Lima, the ancient capital of Peru. Travel deeper into the country from here to visit the Incas ancient capital at Cuzco and Machu Picchu high in the Andean foothills. Founded in 1537, Callao was the main port for shipping the gold and silver taken by the Spanish conquerors from the Inca Empire. Consequently the port was frequently assaulted by pirates and European enemies of Spain and was pillaged by Sir Francis Drake in 1578. The Real Felipe fortress withstood a number of sieges by Spanish forces during the wars of independence and after Simon Bolívar landed here in 1823, it was also the scene of the final surrender of Spain.

The colonial city of Arequipa is located 75 miles inland from the port of Matarani on the south-western coast of Peru. This city lies in a beautiful valley at the foot of the dormant El Misti volcano surrounded by other mountains. It is a popular tourist centre, with bathing resorts, hot springs, and Inca remains in the vicinity and features fine Spanish buildings and a variety of old and intersting churches - all built from a pearly white volcanic stone. Santa Catalina Convent is particularly worth a visit - a restored miniature walled colonial town. From here it is a 150 mile drive to Lake Titicaca and 350 miles to Cuzco and Machu Picchu.

Matarani is located on the south-western coast of Peru and gives access to the colonial city of Arequipa 75 miles inland. From here it is a 200 mile drive to Lake Titicaca and 400 miles to Cuzco and Machu Picchu.

Trujillo is located in the coastal desert, 340 miles (550 km) northwest of Lima. Founded in 1534, it is the second oldest Spanish city in Peru and now one of Peru's largest cities. Today much of its colonial charm is still retained in its old churches, balconied homes and courtyards with overhanging flowering baskets. It features some magnificent colonial mansions, an imposing Plaza de Armas featuring a sculpture of the liberation of Peru and a 17th century cathedral. Several historic mansions are open to the public including the House of Emancipation, where Peru’s independence from Spain was claimed. The Archaeological museum offers a fascinating display of ancient pottery.

Close to the city are the Moche ruins of the Pyramid of the Sun, a former imperial palace and mausoleum, and the Pyramid of the Moon dating from the 1st to 7th centuries. Nearby you can visit the ruins of Chan Chan, capital of the pre-Inca Chimú empire, the largest adobe complex in the world, dating from the 14th century. The city consisted of 10 walled citadels, or quadrangles, each containing pyramidal temples, cemeteries, gardens, reservoirs, and symmetrically arranged rooms. Other sites worth visiting are Huaca el Dragon, dating from AD 1000 to 1470, and El Brujo, a ceremonial centre for 10 cultures. You can also visit the picturesque village of Huanchaco with its famous "totora caballitos" reed boats and good surf beaches, cleaner northwards from the village.

The Peruvian port of Salaverry on the Pacific coast leads the way to Trujillo, the nation’s second largest city, beautifully situated before the Andean foothills. Close to Trujillo are the Moche ruins of the Pyramid of the Sun, a former imperial palace and mausoleum, and the Pyramid of the Moon dating from the 1st to 7th centuries. Nearby you can visit the ruins of Chan Chan, capital of the pre-Inca Chimú empire, the largest adobe complex in the world, dating from the 14th century. The city consisted of 10 walled citadels, or quadrangles, each containing pyramidal temples, cemeteries, gardens, reservoirs, and symmetrically arranged rooms. Other sites worth visiting are Huaca el Dragon, dating from AD 1000 to 1470, and El Brujo, a ceremonial centre for 10 cultures. You can also visit the picturesque village of Huanchaco with its famous "totora caballitos" reed boats and good surf beaches, cleaner northwards from the village.

**Ally** · 08-14-2006, 02:26 AM

Caracas, Venezuela's capital, occupes a high valley in the coastal mountains and is served by the port of La Guaira. Dating from 1567, the sprawling city is a cosmopolitan compound of new and old. Its high-rise skyline is punctuated by neoclassical buildings and interesting museums and landmarks. Don't miss the city view from Monte Avila.

The shady Plaza Bolívar, one of many squares and public gardens in Caracas, contains a bronze equestrian statue of 'the Liberator' Simón Bolívar, the South American statesman and revolutionary who was born in Caracas. The gilt-domed Capitol Nacional has with some impressive paintings, the Central University of Venezuela (1721), and the National Pantheon, where Bolívar is buried, are nearby. Churches include the Cathedral (1674) with a beautiful façade and gilded altar, San Francisco with colonial altars, San Agustin (oldest in Caracas) and Santa Teresa. There are also some excellent museums.

The city was founded in 1567 as Santiago de León de Caracas and became one of the most prosperous Spanish colonial settlements in South America. It was sacked by the English under Sir Francis Drake in 1595. In 1810 under Bolívar's leadership it became the centre of the first revolt in the war of independence against Spain (1810-1821) and became the capital of the Venezuelan Republic in 1829. During its history the city has suffered several earthquakes - in 1812 over 12,000 people were killed and most of the city was destroyed, and 277 people were killed and many buildings damaged in 1967.

Outside of Caracas you can visit the Parque Nacional El Avila where you can take the cable car to the top of Monte Avila for the views of Caracas. Also worth visiting is the mountain town of Colonia Tovar, founded in 1843 by German immigrants and now offering delightful landscapes, old architecture and an interesting museum.

La Guaira, on Venezuela's Caribbean coast, is the country's main port. Founded in 1567 it had a delightful old colonial quarter and excellent beaches nearby but the area was severly damaged by flash floods and landslides in 1999. In the main it is home to the commercial port and international airport for nearby Caracas. Venezuela's capital occupies a high valley in the coastal mountains and is reached by taxi or tour bus by a straight but steep climb through long tunnels. Outside of Caracas you can visit the Parque Nacional El Avila where you can take the cable car to the top of Monte Avila for the views of Caracas. Also worth visiting is the mountain town of Colonia Tovar, founded in 1843 by German immigrants and now offering delightful landscapes, old architecture and an interesting museum.

Maracaibo is Venezuela's second largest city and the oil capital of the country. Discovered in 1499 by a sailor in Columbus' crew on his second trip to America, the city is located on Lake Maracaibo in the west of the country and it has a hot climate. The city was founded three times in 1529, 1535 and in 1574 and carries an Indian name. Sights in the city include the Plaza Bolivar around which are the Cathedral, Casa de Gobierno, Asamblea Legislativa and the colonial Casa Morales. Adjacent is the 19th century Teatro Baralt. Paseo de Maracaibo is a park with lakeside walks and views of the Rafael Urdaneta Bridge.

There are still some villages in Maracaibo Lake where you can see the "palafitos" (huts built on stilts) in the northern part of the city. In the southwest is the Catatumbo Delta, a swamp full of wildlife.

One of the main ports on the Orinoco river, Puerto Ordaz is sited 170 miles inland from the sea at the junction of the Orinoco River with the Rio Caroni. It is to be part of the new metropolis Ciudad Guayana made up of San Felix, Ordaz, Palua, Matanzas and newly built areas. Here you can visit the iron-tinted waterfall in the pretty Parque Cachanay, the cataracts of Parque La Llovizna, Guri Dam and the old forts of Los Castillos.

Further afield you can visit exotic National Parks with their incredible wildlife and waterfalls including the Canaima National Park. Here more than a hundred forest-shrouded tepuis, table mountains, form the upper reaches of Venezuela’s Orinoco River Basin. Much of the park’s flora and fauna on the tepuis is endemic, and the secluded mesas soar more than 5,000 feet above the surrounding forest forming a backdrop to the fantastic Angel Falls, which can be viewed by plane.

The town of Coro is on the north coast of Venezuela, 200 miles (320 km) west of Caracas and opposite Curacao and Aruba. Now a World Heritage site, it boasts some beautiful colonial buildings and shaded plazas. Spanish, Dutch, and local traditional influences are apparent in more than 600 historic buildings and churches. The city's cathedral, built in 1583, is one of the two oldest churches in Venezuela; its tower walls include gun slits for defence against pirate attacks. Other buildings of interest include the restored Convent of the Salcedas dating from 1620, the 18th century Arcaya House, the House of the Iron Windows (also 18th century) and the Bishop's House. The town is surrounded by sand dunes that are designated a national park.

Founded in 1527 it was originally called Santa Ana de Coriana after the local Coros Indians. The settlement was the site of the trading station of the German Welsers, who rented western Venezuela from the Spanish from 1528 and 1546. It was also the base for expeditions in search of Eldorado, the legendary country of gold.