I wish I was part of the 41 million international tourists that visited and enjoyed several countries in Latin America. It held my fascination ever since my school days.
What is Latin America?
All the territories south of America where the Spanish and Portuguese languages replace the English are called Latin America. Actually, the whole part of South America and Mexico plus Central America, and the Caribbean islands are called Latin America.
If you want to know the names of each and every country and territory of Latin America, here they are:
Central America
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Caribbean countries
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Haiti
South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
French Guiana
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Now, can you imagine the varied landscape of Latin America, the culture, the food and the language that are part of this vast territory of Latin America? It is the diversity that attracts the tourists and I am no exception.
What kinds of tourists are attracted by the Latin America?
Tourists who go just to see and enjoy a different geography than their mother land are the ones who would love to spend quality time on the South American continent more particularly Latin America. On the other hand, people who are proud to be seen standing in front of the Notre Dame or sitting on the shores of the river Danube would naturally prefer traveling to the Europe.
Latin America is too rich in diverse nature that it is difficult to give an overall description of it. You must visit each and every country listed above to fully understand what Latin America is.
Shall we visit a few of them today? As I name some of them, I am not going to highlight the places you can see and the things you can do in each country; I am just going to briefly hover over some of my favorite countries of Latin America, Will do a detailed tour of them individually later.
My first choice is Chile.
It held my fascination because of several English novels that I read and they were centered on ‘revenge’ and ‘dons’ and the place of the story was Chile. Which youth would not be fancied with such tales? In addition, the Chilean women are said to be ravishing. I hope I am justified of my ranking Chile at the top of the Latin American visit?
If you look at the map of South America, you can identify Chile at its western extreme at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. To its east stands the Argentina and in the north of Chile is Peru that would come next in my next list because of the Andes mountain range and one of the world’s wonders ‘Machu Picchu’.
Chile is unique in its climate as it is said to possess as many as 12 different climatic conditions including that of a desert because of the presence of Atacama Desert. The capital of Chile is Santiago.
Chile’s political territories include:
Juan Fernández Archipelago,
Easter Island,
Sala y Gómez,
San Ambrosio,
San Félix,
The last three of the above are small islands called islets and they are volcanic. I want to visit the Easter Island for the 900 odd statues belonging to the 13th Century.
Peru would be my second stop in Latin America.
Apart of from the Andes mountain, the Machu Picchu, there is the mysterious Amazon rain forest that is my long term wish to enter. We have all read so much about the surprises of Amazon forest that at least once in our life time, we should pay a visit to it.
As a history postgraduate, I remember reading the Inca civilization flourished in this region and in part of the modern Colombia, another fascinating country in South America.
I have short listed the places that I want to visit in Peru whose capital is called Lima and here is my list:
- Inca trail and the Machu Picchu,
- The Sacred Valley
- Cusco
The Andes Mountains naturally offer cool climate but the rest of the Peru is arid and hot.
Colombia.
Don’t spell it as ‘Columbia’ and search for it. The correct spelling is ‘Colombia’, which is a country in the South America, at its northern most part. What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Colombia; for me the famous Colombian coffee that I have tasted several times. It is distinctly different from the South Indian coffee by the strong aroma it emits when brewing but the final decoction is not so strong as the Indian coffee.
The major part of Colombia comprises of rain forests and the Andes Mountains. Its capital is Bogota situated at a height of 2640 meters which means 8660 feet! Wow! That is a really a high altitude capital city.
The climate is tropical, mountainous and desert.
My fourth choice is Panama
I am sure you have read about the famous Panama Canal that cuts across the Central and South American country Panama and this man made canal links the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean. Imagine such a facility for the ships whose journey is drastically reduced consequently escalating maritime trade because of the Panama Canal.
Panama itself is an isthmus connecting the North and South America.
Panama’s tax haven is well known and is extensively utilized by the investors to park their riches. This paved way for the richest people to visit this small Caribbean country and that’s why the Panama city is said to comprise of several busy casinos and high-end restaurants and hotels.
Panama is a very busy and attractive tourist country because of its isthmus location and thus can experience the geography of two different and major oceans of the world. The urban life is said to be similar to Miami; vibrant and hectic with the backdrop of modern skyscrapers and multi-cuisine restaurants.
I read that the National Geographic channel is committed to promoting the tourism in Panama by telecasting extensive guides to Panama next only to Costa Rica.
My fifth stop would be Belize in Latin America and the rest of the countries follow Belize. I have collected enormous data related traveling the Latin America that I will post on this blog in due course.
Till then, Adios, Amigo!
