The America's
(Please click on the photographs for more information)
Argentina
Being an airline hub for South America I would imagine many travellers only experience of Argentina will be Buenos Aires, a capital city grand in stature. Similarly, Ushuaia which lays claim to being the southernmost city in the world is a gateway to the Tierra del Fuego National Park and cruise excursions into the southern oceans.
Flying between the two will see you gazing down on the endless miles of fertile land which make up the pampas followed by the mountains of Patagonia. Seek local recommendations in Buenos Aires for a quality steak restaurant that is not to be missed along with a bottle of obligatory Malbec.
Being the largest country in the western hemisphere and laying claim to having the longest coastline of any country in the world, there are a lot of wide-open spaces to admire in Canada considering the population is only 38 million. Alas for now I can only add Ontario to places visited along with Toronto and Niagara, a magnet for visitors to the eastern seaboard. I did work in Goose Bay in the wilds of Labrador for 6 weeks back in the early nineties, but that was in my old VHS video days.
Ecuador
Named after the equator by the Spanish colonists, Ecuador can lay claim to the amazing fact that its highest point Mount Chimborazo is the closest point on earth to the moon and sun! Check out the video section below showing water emptying from a sink just metres either side of the equator.
Other memories include arriving at the Amazon rain forest lodge in darkness to a loud chorus of insects and frogs while the cloud forest is a bird watcher's paradise with the captivating hummingbirds. As with most South American countries, the legacy of the Spanish conquest is very much in evidence.
The Galapagos
Although not a territory in its own right being part of Ecuador, it's a place that deserves its own entry, there is nowhere else like Galapagos. It's a place you learn about at school when the visit by Charles Darwin and his study of tortoises, Iguanas and finches gave rise to the theory of natural selection.
This is where the animals are not frightened by humans while spending 8 nights on a small vessel waking up each day to a new island was a real thrill.
Each island is slightly different in its inhabitants and also in its terrain as are volcanically formed over millions of years so are at different stages of creation or erosion. You can only land at certain spots and are escorted by a park guide throughout your stay adhering to strict rules on access.
Let's hope that with travelling getting more popular, these rules can always be adhered to in what can only be one of the most fragile ecosystems around. Definitely one of mother earth's crown jewels. Check out the video of the waved albatross courtship display.
Peru
Trying to consolidate photos of Peru is hard as there is so much to see, be it tracing out the Inca empire, admiring the natural beauty of the Andes or trying to understand the Peruvian enigma, the Nazca lines. Throw in giant sand dunes, deep canyons, thermal baths, the world's highest navigable body of water and even an earthquake of 5.4 magnitude in our case, there will be lots of talking points.
You may like to try the coca tea to help with the altitude change as you head to Cusco or the delicacies of guinea pig or alpaca steaks which may not sit well with some but are the norm here. Who wouldn't return with some sort of woollen item? Take in the Inca Trail and you will be in on a real treat.
In some ways I was more amazed by the Inca ruins along its length then Machu Picchu itself, probably as unexpected as watching a weather inversion at dawn after camping at 4,000 metres which was something special.
USA East - Iconic Cities
The story of the United States of America is captivating and can be followed through the great cities of the east such as Boston, New York, Washington and Chicago which were key in the country's meteoric rise to becoming the world's largest economy.
USA West
Driving through the wide-open spaces of western America for miles with no sign of human life, I started to appreciate the power of dreams. Why else would the early settlers keep on going day after day simply based on the talk of a promised land where fortunes could supposedly be made? Today we have a land full of natural beauty and world-famous cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
