My trip to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile was great. Here’s a summary of what we saw and did.
Brazil
We arrived to Rio de Janeiro, met our tour group, and took a bus tour of the city. We visited Ipanema and Copacabana beaches and took a cable car to the top of 1,300-foot Sugar Loaf Mountain.
The day’s highlight was visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue, which offered a view of the city at 2,300 feet. We also visited the Cathedral, a modern church, and ate at the restaurant where the Girl from Ipanema song was written.
Our last day in Rio, we took a Guanabara Bay cruise in the morning to enjoy views of Rio from the harbor. In the afternoon, we visited Rio’s botanical gardens.
Leaving Rio, we flew to Iguassu Falls and were treated with breathtaking views. We even rode a zodiac boat to the base of the falls and got soaked.
The Argentina side of the falls was much drier and offered views from the top of the falls. By lunch, we boarded a plane and departed for Buenos Aires.
The day’s bus tour took us to the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried, the colorful La Boca District, the president’s pink palace, and other attractions.
Today was spent entirely on a Gaucho ranch in Estancia Santa Susana, about 1.5 hours outside of Buenos Aires. We spent the day drinking wine, eating steak, and watching the cowboys ride horses.
We arrived to Santiago and had the afternoon to explore the city on our own. In the evening, we attended a dinner show and celebrated our tour guide’s birthday. Fernando was one of the best guides we’ve ever had.
Our bus tour of the city took us to the government palace (above), San Cristobal Hill, a Precolombian Art Museum, and their main plaza called Plaza de Armas. In the afternoon, I lead a smaller group to the fish market and back to the Plaza de Armas for more people watching.
Departing Santiago for the coast, we drove through Chile’s wine country to the historic port of Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar. Filled with resorts and palm tree-lined avenues, it’s known as the “Pearl of the Pacific.”
Fittingly, our last day was spent at a winery an hour south of Santiago. The Undurraga Winery, one of Chile’s oldest, included a tour of the vineyard and cellars. We drank a lot of wine on this trip, so Undurraga was a good bookend.
More Photos
For the complete collection of photos and videos that Cameron and I took during this trip, simply turn to our South America set in Flickr. Images my also be explored on a map interface if you want to know where they were taken. In closing, I want to thank my folks for organizing yet another great Pearce family vacation.
