Nicholas Gill's Blog

Posted by Nicholas Gill

Luxury hotel chain Orient Express have announced that they have opened Las Casitas de Colca hotel, in the Colca Canyon near Arequipa, Peru. The lodge has 21 bungalows (150 squared meters each) with under floor heating, a small pool and a 650 squared-meter spa. A total investemnet between $4.5-5 million.

Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world after Peru's nearby Cotahuasi Canyon, is slowly being improved and more than 140,000 are expected to visit in 2008. The canyon is one of the best places in South America to see the Andean Condor, is home to dozens of hiking routes and unspoiled Andean villages, and a Thermal Bath complex.

The company also runs the Hiram Bingham luxury train(Cusco to Aguas Calientes), the Hotel Monasterio(Cusco), and the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge (Aguas Caliente), and the Miraflores Park Hotel (Lima).

Posted by Nicholas Gill

The International Herald Tribune is reporting that more than 70,000 people have been infected with dengue fever since January in the Brazilian state of Rio and more than 80 have died. After two Portuguese tourists contracted the disease, foreign embassies including the United States have begin issuing warnings against travel to the popular resort city and its surroundings.

The disease, which is spread through bites of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, has no vaccine. Symptoms include "high fever, a rash, nausea, vomiting and severe headaches and joint and muscle pains." The disease lasts about one week and the only treatment are pain relievers, rest ,and fluids.

The Brazilian government has sent in 1,700 members of the armed forces to help anti-disease efforts around the state. Officials recommend that visitors wear trousers and long-sleeve shirts, and that they spray insect repellent on uncovered skin three times a day.

Rio de Janeiro is often the entry point for exploring Brazil and one of the most heavily touristed cities in South America.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

The founder of JetBlue Airways, David Neeleman who was born in Brazil and holds dual citizenship, announced plans for a new Brazilian airline last week in Sao Paulo. The airline will begin small, with just a few jets, but will rapdily expand with 36 Brazilian made jets with a cost of $1.4 billion.

Considering that air travel in Brazil is 50 percent more expensive than in the United States, the idea is sure to be a welcome one. Like JetBlue, the Brazilian airline will have leather seats and live television in each seat back. The airline is expected to launce in early 2009 and expand by one plane per month.

Brazil actually has two other airlines, GOL and TAM, however, the new airline is expected to offer btter prices and serve new markets. Apart from flights to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, all Brazilian air space is wide open.

Jet Blue turned heads in the US by using new jets and offering better than expected service, while still managing to be a low-cost air carrier.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

Aqua Expeditions' new M/V Aqua riverboat has begun plying the waters of the Amazon Basin in the Pacaya-Samira National Reserve near Iquitos, Peru.

This luxury floating ecolodge offers 3-7 night cruises in ne of the largest national parks in the entire Amazon Basin, Pacaya Samira, which is just up river from the port of Iquitos. Rarely has river travel in the amazon been so comfortable or posh. The 12 air-conditioned suites measure between 230 to 240 square feet and were designed by noted Peruvian architect Jordi Puig. A seven night itinerary starts at $4550 per person/double occupancy.

Itineraries make stops all along the rivers that are explored. Activities are similar to any other eco lodge such as monkey and wildlife watching, fishing in the rivers, spotting pink river dolphins, night excursions to search for caimans, and visit indigenous villags. Pre and post trips in the Amazon or elsewhere in Peru are also offered. quite a step up from my local river boat experience on the Rio Napo from Coca, Ecuador to Iquitos.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

City of God (Ciudad de Dios, 2003), directed by Katia Lund and Fernando Meirelles’s, brought viewers into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s chaotic, tragic slums. It was a world of drugs, crime, murder, betrayal, and hope. The film drew accolades from around the world and the movie was held as Brazil’s Pulp Fiction, among other things.

Now Paulo Morelli has released what can be considered a spiritual sequel, City of Men (Ciudad de Hombres, 2008), based on a successful Brazilian TV miniseries of the same name. The main characters, Luis Claudío (Ace) and Wallace, grew up together in a Rio favela, or shanty town. Ace, who is already a father, turns 18 and sets off to find his own father that he never knew.

The early reviews say that the film doesn’t live up to its predecessor, but still has the same beautiful shots of Rio and Brazil. Worth a look if you are interested in slum life in Rio.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

Just when we thought the Caral-Supe ruins of Caral near Barranca on the coast of central Peru north of Lima were the oldest ruins in Peru and the Americas, something new is discovered.

The 5,500 year old set of ruins, 206 miles northwest of Lima in the Andean foothills, was not recently discovered, but new excavations revealed hidden layers buried in the earth. Previous carbon dating showed the site to be 3,000-3,500 years old.

The Sechin Bajo archaeological complex has been being excavated by a team of German and Peruvian archeologists since 1992. Similarly to Caral, Sechin Bajo holds a circular, sunken plaza, built of stones and adobe. The main plaza is belived to be a ceremonial space.

In an adjacent structure, built around 1800 B.C., archeologists uncovered a two meter high 3,600-year-old adobe frieze depicting the iconic image of a human sacrificer standing with open arms, holding a ritual knife in one hand and a human head in the other, an image also found in the Moche Lord of Sipan Tombs near Trujillo.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

On Februaray 9th after two years of sitting dormant, Ecuador's 5,029 meter (16,575 foot) Tungurahua volcano erupted and blanketed several nearby villages in Ash. thousands have had to be evacuated from their homes surroudning the volcano, in villages of Puela and Choglontus.

Tungurahua, which means Throat of Fire in Quechua , stands proudly above a collection of 10 villages with a total population of 20,000. Ecuador's volcano lined Central Cordillera is home to the highest mountains in the country, many of them volcanoes.

This stratovolcano has been active since 1999, but major eruptions have only occured on a few occasions. When erupting, tour guides in nearby Baños are ready to take you to viewpoints for the best photos of Tungurahua volcanic cone spewing lava.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

Fears of terrorism canceled this years Paris to Dakar Ralley in France and North Africa, however, the event has now been moved to Chile and Argentina for 2009. The South American nations will host the 2009 Dakar Rally between January 3-18 with Buenos Aires as the start and endpoint, organisers said this past Monday.

This years event was cancelled for the first time since it began in 1979 due to security concerns after four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania on December 24. The 2009 rally will feature 6,000km of special stages over a 9,000km-long course, details of which are set to be unveiled soon in Buenos Aires.

Given the huge dunes, the Andes, forests, lakes, pampas, and altitude, the race is going to be quite a bit different. The terrain is far more varied and dramatic than North Africa. Currently similar rallys, such as the Atacama Rally and Las Pampas Rally, are held in the countries.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

National Geographic reports that ruins uncovered in Peru's southeastern jungle are believed to be that of the legendary lost Inca city of Patiti. The city, believed to have been built by the Inca warrior Inkarri while retreating from Spanish Conquistadors, has been described as "an archaeological fortress" by the local media.

The ruins are said to cover 430,000-square-feet in an area known as Lobo Tahuantinsuyo. Historical reports describe Patiti as a stone settlement adorned with gold statues and it has long been searched for by explorers from around the world. A missionary in the year 1600 reported seeing Patiti up close, calling it a "city of gold." The location was thought to have been somewhere east of the Andes Mountains in the rain forest of southeastern Peru, southwestern Brazil, or northern Bolivia.

This is not the first account of the finding of Patiti, however. Officials from Peru's INC are expected to make a full report of the site.

Posted by Nicholas Gill

The South American Explorers, then the South American Explorers' Club, began with a single simple clubhouse in Lima, Peru in 1977. Then it expanded with another in Quito, Ecuador and in the last decade new clubhouses have opened in Cusco, Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina. This year, the non-profit organization is celebrating their 30th anniversary.

More than a clubhouse, these are tremendous resources for travelers that should be on every continent. They are a home away from home, a library, book exchange, luggage storage, trip report safehouse, and house of scholarly and not so scholarly resources. There are weekly events and lectures on culture, activities, and history in every clubhouse. Pub quizes, online forums, movies, a kitchen with free tea and coffee. If you want to know how to hike to Vilcabamba, the last Incan city, you ask them and they'll tell you how and where to find the map if they don't have one. If you want to volunteer or take a language class, ask them where and how.

If you plan on spending an extensive amount of time in South America, a membership is highly recomended (plus comes with a subscription to their excellent magazine).

For more information visit their website.