So, where are we going?

We tango for 10 nights in Buenos Aires before catching a hydrofoil across the River Plate to Uruguay where we spend time in the capital, Montevideo, and Punta del Este which has to quote Lonely Planet ‘many beaches, elegant seaside homes, yacht harbour, pricey hotels and glitzy restaurants which make it one of South America’s most glamorous resorts and easily the most expensive place in Uruguay.’  This will obviously be the hard part of the trip!  It’s then back into Argentina to marvel at Iguazu Falls from both Argentina and Brazil before heading on to Mendoza for wine tasting and horse riding on an estancia (ranch).  We then stay in another ranch in the south, this time a traditional Patagonian one before transferring to the Los Glaciares National Park where the Glaciar is the size of the New Forest.  We’ll then be ready for some warm weather in Peurto Varas with its volcanoes, lakes and nature reserves. We spend three nights in the capital, Santiago and we finish our Chilean experience at the desert in San Pedro de Atacama where temperatures can drop well below sub-zero at night but rise to 30 degrees plus during the day and we see the highest geyser field in the world.  In Peru we’ll stay in Lima before heading into the Amazon rain forest.  Our ‘room’ here has dividing walls built from cane which are only 2.5 meters high and the side looking out to the forest doesn’t have a wall to allow ‘intimate contact with the rain forest’. There’s cold water only and limited electricity.  We’re then back in the land of luxury with 8 nights in Cusco to visit Machu Picchu and other Inca ruins.  Ecuador’s next on the list with stops in Quito, Riobamba and Cuenco, for the Devil’s Nose train ride, before our flight to Bogota.  In Colombia we’ll have a short stay in Cartegena before heading off to the Isla del Providencia, a mountainous Caribbean island, where we’ll chill for 10 days before heading home from Bogota on 26 April.

So, in summary it’s one continent, 7countries, 14 internal flights, 85 nights, 20 hotels and a rather jolly time!