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Traveling South America

By on July 1, 2011 in World Travel
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Travel to South America and is in all its natural splendor. The fourth largest among the continents, South America occupies about 12% of the earth’s land surface. Due to its tropical climate, there is a package of cap or hat when traveling in South America. A pair of shoes is also necessary, as there will be a lot of hiking and nature shooting to participate.

Among the nations that are part of the South American tour travelers are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Guyana, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Suriname and French Guiana.

Famous for its natural land and water resources, travelers in South America will surely fall in love with its mountain ranges, falls and lakes.

One of the most famous falls in the region is the Angel Falls, reputed to be the highest in the world. Located in the southeaster part of Venezuela, the falls drops at 3212 feet from the mesa of Auyántepuí, which is found in the Guiana Highlands. Named after its discoverer James C. Angel, the waterfall holds a magic that few travelers in South America can resist.

Another famous travel site in South America is the Iguacu Falls, sometimes called the Iguazu Falls, which is located in between Argentina and Brazil. Rising at 200 feet, it is separated by a rocky cliff and island. One of its fascinating features is the way the water merges into one fall during the wet season and separates into two during the dry season.

Lake Titaca in Peru and Bolivia is another travel site in South America that should be in the must-see list of any tourist. Considered to be the largest lake in South America with its width of 56 kilometers and depth of 174 feet. It is also the world’s highest navigable lake, becoming a major transportation route between Peru and Bolivia. Other lakes that travelers in South America should note down are the Lake Poopo in Bolivia Argentino and Nahuel Huapi in Argentina and the Valencia in Venezuela.

Another body of water that is famous in South America is the Orinoco River Delta, which can be found in Venezuela near the Atlantic Ocean. It is longest river in the region stretching to about 2560 kilometers.

Sturdy shoes are needed if travelers intend to visit the Andes mountain ranges in South America. Spreading at about 7200 kilometers, it is one of the longest mountain ranges in the world. South American travelers should also not miss the Aconcagua peak, which lies in Argentina. The Aconcagua peak is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, rising at a sheer height of 22,834 feet.

In addition to land and water resources, South America also offers travelers a peak into some of the most unique creatures in the world. Llamas, for instance, can be found in packs at plateaus called antiplano that stretches from Bolivia to Peru. This animal provides meat, milk and wool.

The tapir, which can be found in the forests and grassy places in South and Central America as well as in Asia, are nocturnal animals with short legs and flexible snout, which they use to roll up leaves and other vegetations. However, the species found in the Andes and Panama has been said to be nearly extinct.

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The Panama Railroad

By on June 29, 2011 in Discover Panama
Panama Canal Railway locomotive sits in a stat...

Hundreds of years before the completion of the Panama Canal because of water travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as possible across the Isthmus of Panama, people dreamed of a way to cross the isthmus to avoid Thousands of miles of otherwise inevitable trip to South America. Britain and France, attracted by the prospect of building a canal or railroad across the peninsula, had to abandon ambitious plans because of the magnitude of the problems associated with this activity. When the U.S. took possession of Oregon and California, is the need for a road on the east coast to west coast became increasingly clear. Perpetuate the need for such a route were the requirements of U.S. Post Office and the swarm of “forty-niners” travel from everywhere to seek their share of the recently discovered gold in California.

Reassured by the claim by a group of engineers that the construction of a railroad across the isthmus was feasible, a group of visionaries led by William H. Aspinwall incorporated the Panama Railroad Company. The company formally entered a contract in 1850 with what was then called the Government of New Granada for the privilege of constructing a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama.

Facing dense jungle terrain, swarms of insects, muddy swamps and rivers along with the probably contraction of merciless disease, workers began construction in May 1850 with the optimistic expectation of a six month completion time. As illness and death tolls skyrocketed, laborers were shipped in from all over the world, many destined to meet their demise in the unforgiving jungle.

Less than two years into the project, finances were drained as a mere seven miles of track were complete. Work stopped and the project seemed to be a failure. But the well-timed arrival of two ships that were forced ashore by a hurricane while carrying thousands of gold seeking Forty-niners changed everything. Lured by the prospect of riches at the end of their journey, the Forty-niners did not care that the railroad only stretched seven miles across the fifty mile wide isthmus; they would take seven miles if they could get it. The high fares charged by the trainmen brought in enough money for work to resume. Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges, the railroad was completed in five years, with the first train traveling from ocean to ocean on January 28, 1855.

The successful construction of the Panama Railroad gave Panama the long term upper hand as the site for construction of the much anticipated canal, with the eventual construction of the Panama Canal situated parallel to the railroad. The present day railroad is the result of a complete relocation and reconstruction of the railroad, which was completed in 1912.

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