Category Archive: South America

Pre-Columbian Archaeology in Chan Chan, Peru

    When it comes to Pre-Columbian artifacts, Peru is awash in them, and probably nowhere more so than Chan Chan, the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America.  The archaeological site, locate near Trujillo, dates back to the 9th century when it was built by the Chimu as the imperial capital.  At one time over 30,000 people lived in the adobe city of Chan Chan, before being conquered by the Incas. Later, Spanish conquistadors, including Francisco Pizarro, took over. Today the adobe city of Chan Chan is a UNESCO world heritage site, added to the list in 1986. Although much is being done to preserve the area, it is still threatened by the occasional tornadoes, earthquakes, rain and erosion, as well as the odd looter that thinks stealing precious artifacts is a good idea. There are also several other ruin […]

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Flavors of Peru

Food, glorious food — It’s one of the many things that I enjoy about traveling!  Visiting a new country or region often means discovering a new food, spice, or other dishes.  Sometimes those discoveries are not something I’d want to try again, but fortunately, more often it’s a tasty delight that I long for once I’ve returned home. If you’ve discovered food that you love while on your Peru holidays, take some time to look around your neighborhood – you may be surprised to find a Peruvian restaurant or store located nearby.  While you may not be able to re-create the [amazon_textlink asin=’1555663273′ text=’Machu Picchu’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’travelingwithmj-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’23c447e1-3838-11e8-8745-db452247356f’] experience at home, you can rekindle your love affair with the cuisine of this South American country.  Fair warning – If you fell in love with the food while visiting Peru, […]

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Adventure & Luxury in the Galapagos

Adventure travel doesn’t have to mean roughing it, and there’s probably no better example than  Galapagos cruises, which mash up education, adventure, and luxury into vacations of a lifetime. The Galapagos Islands are located about 525 miles west of [amazon_textlink asin=’1742207855′ text=’Ecuador’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’travelingwithmj-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8e8ec20e-3836-11e8-bd8d-395d4538e8e2′] and are a volcanic archipelago hovering around the equator.  The islands are home to a national park, a whale sanctuary, and biological marine reserve, and are a part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The Galapagos are home to about 23,000 people and far more wildlife species. There are 18 main islands offering a variety of experiences and leisure activity:  swimming, snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, and explore.  This is also an amazing spot for photographers with postcard-perfect island scenes as well as unique native life.  But a visit to the islands also offers far greater […]

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Travel to Argentina to Visit your Wine

If travel, just for the sake of travel, seems too decadent for you, how about this excuse:  I have to pop down to Argentina to visit my vineyard and check on my wine. OK, I might be overstating things just a bit, but with the Algodon Wine Estates Barrel Ownership program you can combine your love of travel with your love of wine. Algodon Wine Estates is located in Mendoza, Argentina, an area known as the Napa Valley of South America, and home for production of some top wines.  Now, you can get a barrel of your own.  Purchase it solo, or get together a group of friends, then choose your grape or varietal preference:  malbec, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, bonarda, or chardonnay. Here’s how it works — You choose your grape or varietal, and then choose a  French or […]

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