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The ���ϳԹ��� Trip-Finder: Central and South America
By Kathy Martin

ANTARCTICA: Cruising the Peninsula

The Route: An epic ten-day to four-week ship voyage along the Antarctic Peninsula,
with trips via Zodiac or helicopter to visit penguin colonies. You’ll
also cruise the Falkland, South Shetland, or South Georgia Islands.
.

When To Go: November-February

Difficulty: Easy

Travel Advisory: Outfit your camera with a polarizer or UV skylight filter for
screening out glare from the snow, ice, and water, and remember
to bracket your exposures: Light meters tend to act up in
these bright conditions.

High/Low Points:


• Putting away your wristwatch after the first few days of 24-hour
  sunshine.

• Accidentally kneeling in penguin guano on your quest for the perfect
  rookery photo.
  

  Luxe Factor: Boat accommodations

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  Abercrombie & Kent / 10 / $4,995-$11,500
  Marine Expeditions / 40 / $3,490-$5,795*
  Overseas ���ϳԹ��� Travel / 6 / $3,490-$5,590*
  Quark Expeditions / 3 / $3,680-$16,990
  Society Expeditions / 8 / $4,800-$11,785
  Zegrahm Expeditions / 3 / $4,350-$11,990

Classic

ARGENTINA: Riding Horseback with Andean
Gauchos

The Route: Ten to 16 days of riding across vast ranchland and coastal
sand dunes alongside professional gauchos on estancias in northern Patagonia or
central Argentina


When To Go: September-June



Difficulty: Moderate

Travel Advisory: You don’t need advanced riding skills, since there’s no set distance
to cover each day. But you do need to be in
fit condition to keep up with the gauchos and your fast
criollo horse.

High/Low Points:


• Rehashing the day over a campfire and cups of maté with
  Argentina’s legendary cowboys

• Climbing back into the saddle after gorging on red meat and
  wine at an asado, a traditional Argentinean barbecue
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  Boojum Expeditions / 2 / $2,975-$3,275
  Equitour /on demand / $2,470
  FITS Equestrian / 4 / $1,300

BOLIVIA: Climbing Illimani

The Route: A one- to four-week ascent to the brilliant, glaciated, 21,201-foot summit
of Illimani, the highest peak in Bolivia’s Cordillera Real. Most trips
start with preliminary climbs on nearby peaks.



When To Go: May-October

Difficulty: Strenuous

Travel Advisory: Consider Illimani a superior training climb for the Himalayas or Mount
McKinley. It offers serious high-altitude experience without the extreme challenge of
freezing temperatures and dicey weather.

High/Low Points:


• Summiting Illimani and remembering that it’s almost 1,000 feet higher than
  McKinley

• Missing the view across Lake Titicaca to the Amazon Basin because
  of dense cloud cover
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  
  American Alpine Institute / 5 / $3,850
  Aventuras Patagonicas /1 / $2,400
  Colorado Mountain School / 1 / $2,770
  Mountain Travel-Sobek / 1 / $2,450
  Southwind ���ϳԹ���s / on demand / $1,565
  Summits ���ϳԹ��� Travel / 1 / $1,895

Classic


BRAZIL: Paddling the Pantanal Wetlands

The Route: A five- to 14-day paddle aboard two-person canoes or kayaks into
the world’s largest wetlands, a flooded alluvial plain that’s home to
650 species of birds, with time for shore hikes and swimming

When To Go: April-October

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Travel Advisory: Biting bugs are a concern. The lightweight mesh netting of a
mosquito bog jacket and pants–available at outdoor shops for about $45–protects
better than repellents and lotions.

High/Low Points:


• Slipping your canoe–and your telephoto lens–silently into the viveiros, nesting areas
  for flocks of wading birds

• Witnessing firsthand how the wetlands are threatened by slash-and-burn operations in
  the jungle
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Tourist hotels

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  All ���ϳԹ��� Vacations / 3 / $2,800
  Mountain Travel-Sobek / 3 / $2,790
  Safaricentre / on demand / $1,100
  Southwind ���ϳԹ���s / 1 /$1,495-$1,595

ECUADOR: Climbing Snowcapped Volcanoes

The Route: A ten- to 24-day climbing expedition on two to six volcanoes,
including 19,347-foot Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano, and 20,561-foot Chimborazo,
the highest peak in Ecuador

When To Go: June, October-February

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

Travel Advisory: These ascents are nontechnical, but some climbing experience is recommended. You should at least have your crampon and ice-ax technique down.

High/Low Points:


• Boasting to friends that because of the equatorial bulge Chimborazo’s summit
  is the farthest point from the center of the earth

• Realizing the hand-loomed rug you just bought in Guano won’t fit
  into your pack
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  Alpine Ascents International / 2 / $2,100
  American Alpine Institute / 6 / $1,490-$2,190
  Aventuras Patagonicas / 1 / $2,000
  Colorado Mountain School / 1 / $2,395
  Mountain Madness / 2 / $1,920
  Summits ���ϳԹ��� Travel / 1 / $1,995

NICARAGUA / HONDURAS: Paddling the Rivers of Mosquitia

The Route: A five- to 12-day canoe or kayak trip along the jungle
rivers and rainforest waterways of the Mosquito Coast, in the company
of monkeys, macaws, and mott-motts

When To Go: January-July, November

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Travel Advisory: You’ll wear river sandals on the water, but bring jungle-grade footwear
for shore hikes. Military jungle boots with a Panama sole that
sloughs off mud are your best bet; the Mosquitians actually wear
soccer shoes.

High/Low Points:


• Watching transfixed as a jaguar glides through your camp
• Taking only quick dips in the cool river for fear of crocs
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  BattenKill Canoe / 3 / $1,750
  Holbrook Travel / 1 / $1,948
  Nantahala Outdoor Center / 1 / $1,250
  Outland ���ϳԹ���s / on demand / $1,195
  Tofino Expeditions / 2 / $1,895
  Wildland ���ϳԹ���s / 12 / $650-$1,825

New

PATAGONIA: Traversing the Continental Ice Cap

The Route: A rugged 16-day crossing of the only ice cap outside the
polar regions, with optional ascents of 9,385-foot Gorra Blanca Peak and
other mountains that have rarely or never been climbed

When To Go: November-March

Difficulty: Strenuous

Travel Advisory: Ski mountaineering experience is required. The ice cap itself is fairly
flat, but you’ll cross crevasses and ice slopes and deal with
volatile weather, including Patagonia’s notorious 60-mph winds.

High/Low Points:


• Enjoying the rare sight of the backside of the Fitzroy Massif,
  from the 4,730-foot-high camp at Marconi Pass

• Having to chop ice blocks to make a windscreen for your
  camp after a long day on the glaciers
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  
  Southwind ���ϳԹ���s / 5 / $2,495

Classic

PERU: Trekking in the Cordillera Blanca

The Route: A one- to two-week trek among hanging glaciers, fluted ice faces
and cornices, and multicolored lakes in the world’s highest tropical range,
with a close look at Quechua Indian village culture

When To Go:April-October

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

Travel Advisory: Skip this trek if you’ve had problems with altitude sickness. Acclimatization
time is built in, but you need to feel in top
shape to cross three high passes above 15,000 feet.

High/Low Points:


• Counting up to a dozen 20,000-footers from 15,585-foot Punta Union Pass
• Negotiating the tour-bus masses on your Machu Picchu extension after blissful
  solitude at the high camps
  
  

  
  Luxe Factor: Camping

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  Forum Travel International / 13 / $764
  Journeys International / 13 / $1,225
  Safaricentre / 23 / $1,650
  Southwind ���ϳԹ���s / 6 / $1,495-$1,595
  Wilderness Travel / 3 / $2,295-$2,795
  Wildland ���ϳԹ���s / 8 / $885

New

PERU: Rafting the Cotahuasi River

The Route: A 13-day exploration of a Class V river in a 16,000-foot
desert gorge just north of fabled Colca Canyon, along the Incas’
travel route from Machu Picchu to the ocean

When To Go: June

Difficulty: Strenuous

Travel Advisory: This is a first commercial descent, so expect delays and disruptions
and be prepared for anything. One departure piggybacks onto a run
down the intensely technical Class V Colca.

High/Low Points:


• Hiking up rugged canyons to rarely explored Inca cliff dwellings
  and unexcavated ruins

• Balancing on wet, slippery rocks while lugging the 14-foot rafts around
  unrunnable whitewater
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Tourist hotels

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  Earth River Expeditions / 2 / $2,150-$3,300

VENEZUELA: Casting for Amazonas Peacock Bass

The Route: A ten-day fishing safari for powerful, trophy-size �貹��ó�� (peacock bass) in
the Casiquiare watershed, deep in the Amazon-Orinoco Basin, with overnights in
jungle camps and aboard a riverboat

When To Go: December-March

Difficulty: Moderate

Travel Advisory: Hard-core anglers, take note: Several IGFA world records are held by past clients of this trip, and the outfitter’s log doesn’t even record fish weighing less than ten pounds.

High/Low Points:


• Clinging desperately to your rod as a tenacious 25-pound lunker makes
  acrobatic leaps at the end of your line

• Dashing from your mosquito-netted cot to the outhouse in the middle
  of the night
  

  Luxe Factor: Camping; Boat accommodations

  Outfitters / Departures / Price
  
  Lost World ���ϳԹ���s / weekly / $2,950

* Includes airfare from U.S.

See also:

Copyright, 1996 ���ϳԹ��� Magazine