The last leg of our holiday started in Santiago, continued in Buenos Aires and then to Iguazú Falls, and finally in Rio de Janeiro.

Ushuaia, Argentina is a resort town located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the southernmost tip of South America, nicknamed the ‘End of the World.’ The windswept town, perched on a steep hill, is surrounded by the Martial Mountains and the Beagle Channel. We spent a couple of days here before joining the cruise.

Patagonia is an area that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers in the west and deserts, tablelands and steppes to the east. Patagonia is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west,…

Chile is situated along the western seaboard of South America. It extends approximately 2,700 miles from its boundary with Peru, in the north, to the tip of South America at Cape Horn, a point only about 400 miles north of Antarctica. This huge country only has a population of 20 million people.

Cloud Forest Perched above the pristine 2,000-acre Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve in central Costa Rica, Villa Blanca is a cloud forest hotel that transcends the ordinary. At 4,500 feet, it is a place where you can walk in the clouds, and feel the gentle swirl of mist and mystery surround you. The individual chalet…

Tortuguero National Park is situated in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic Coast, or more precisely the Caribbean Sea. Despite its remote location, reachable only by aircraft or boat, it is the third-most visited park in Costa Rica.

Of all the Central American countries, Costa Rica is generally regarded as having the most stable and most democratic government. Its constitution of 1949 provides for a unicameral legislature, a fair judicial system, and an independent electoral body. Moreover, the constitution abolished the country’s army, gave women the right to vote, and provided other social,…