Virtual Tripping » South America

The Falklands Islands and her capital Stanley here on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:22:21 +0000

This is a picture taken from flickr of Hanging Out Gentoos
This is a post about the Falklands Islands which are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, you will find these islands about 250 nautical miles (290 miles or 460 km away from the mainland coast of South America. There are basically 778 islands with the two main islands being East Falkland and West Falkland and the 776 are more smaller and lesser islands. The capital,of this country is known as Stanley, and it is on East Falkland. These islands are really a self-governing British Overseas Territory, where the United Kingdom are responsible for defending and offering foreign affairs to the Falkland Islands.

Photo by Liam Q

This is a picture taken from flickr of Settlement on West Point Island.

Photo by Liam Q

This is a picture taken from flickr of Seyhan under the Whalebone Arch.
So what have i learn’t about the Falklands, well, it has been under the re-establishment of British rule in 1833, and have always enjoyed it’s own history, but sadly for islander’s, it’s neighbour Argentina has always claimed the sovereignty of the islands. Even though the locals have rejected the claims. So back in 1982, the pressure exploded and Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. This war lasted up to two months and became known as a long undeclared Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. So what happened, well the war was resolved, when the British, defeated the Argentine forces and they withdrew. But it was a sad and tradegic time for all involed in this war and a number of deaths came out of this, which should never have happened in the first place. But even thought the British won the war if you can same it was a win, is that currently the Falkland Islands are on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. But there has been some good news for the Falklands, is that since the war, there has been strong economic growth in both fisheries and tourism.

Photo by Strange Ones

This is a picture taken from flickr of the Kelp Goose.

Photo by Skinnyde

This is a picture taken from flickr of San Carlos War cemetery.

Lets fly to the Caribbean and visit the island of Curaçao, near Venezuela, South America.

Mark — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:00:19 +0000

Visit Curacao

Curacao Beaches Caribbean

Photo by green.thumbs

Photo by henri_hovi

Welcome to the Island of Curaçao, you will find this island in the southern Caribbean Sea, not to far off the Venezuelan coast. So what have i learn’t about this country, well it is a small country with a population of 142,180, taken from the 2010 census. It basically is one main large island and plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao known to the locals as “Little Curaçao”. It has become an constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital city is known as Willemstad. Now being a caribbean island these two islands are beautiful, especially the beaches, as you can see in the list of beaches below on this page.

Photo by RHTRAVELER

Photo by ebodie

Now for all you geography learner’s out there Curaçao is the largest island and most populous when it comes to the three ABC islands which are known as for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. The land area of Curaçao is 444 square kilometres or 171 square miles. Now this country has become a very important destination for tourists, especially the dutch. The island relies alot on it’s main industries which are oil refining, tourism and financial services. They do also have Shipping, international trade and other activities related to the port of Willemstad, and this helps to make a contribution to the economy. So the country, Curaçao, is coping well with being a constituent country. So if you get a chance to visit the islands then Curaçao, is a must for all the family.

Photo by Meindert Arnold Jacob

Photo by henri_hovi

Below is a list taken from Wikipedia of the most well-known beaches of Curaçao are:

Photo by Noodlefish

Photo by Breuls

This is the giant city of São Paulo, Southeast Region of Brazil, South America.

Mark — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:16:03 +0000

Sao Paulo – The Best

São Paulo City _ Brazil

Photo by Márcio Cabral de Moura

São Paulo, or in English it is Saint Paul, this is the largest city in the South American Country of Brazil, and has got to be one of the most famous and well-known cities in the world. So it should not come to any surprise, when i say that it is also the largest city in the southern hemisphere, and the world’s eighth largest city by population. Now it is not just the city that is big, but when you head into metropolis this is the anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, it is ranked as being the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas but not only that, but the whole metroplitan area is among the five-largest metropolitan areas on the planet. But it does amaze me that this is not the capital city of Brazil that is Brasília. But it is the capital of the state of São Paulo, this is a highly populated Brazilian state and because of this it gives alot to the country when it comes to commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. And because the city of São Paulo continues to maintain a strong international influence, it has now become known as an Alpha World City.The name of the city honors Saint Paul.

Photo by marciofleury

Photo by Aguinaldo Rocca

So you could say that the other cities in Brazil all lead to the beating heart which is São Paulo. And i don’t mean this has a joke, you see the the metropolis of São Paulo, really does seem to be the face of the country, where as the cities like Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte and many more seem to be the brians and the organs of Brazil, there is just no doubt, that when it comes to culture, economy and politics, it is outstanding, locally aswell as internationally. You will find there are several important monuments, parks and museums such as the Latin American Memorial, the Museum of the Portuguese Language, São Paulo Museum of Art, the Ibirapuera Park and the Paulista Avenue, which is the most important financial center of São Paulo. The city holds many high profile events, like the São Paulo Art Biennial, the Brazil Grand Prix Formula 1 Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Fashion Week, and the São Paulo Indy 300. So if you are looking for entertainment then this is the city for you. It is also a growing city and again i am serious, for example you will find the São Paulo Stock Exchange, the Future Markets, and the Cereal Market Stock Exchanges which are the second largest stock exchange in the World, in market value. And it does not stop there, you also have several of the tallest buildings in Brazil, including the building Mirante do Vale, Italia, Altino Arantes, North Tower of the UNSCOM the United Nations Centre Enterprise and many others.

Photo by rilo 2006

Photo by ernanibaraldi

Now they say that if you live within the city of São Paulo then you will be known as paulistanos, while if you live outside the city, but within the metropolitan area, and the whole of the state, then you will be known as a paulistas, that also includes the paulistanos. But the reason why i say that this city is the beating heart of the country, is because when you read the cities motto in Latin, it says: Non dvcor, dvco, which translates as “I am not led, I lead.” which it has shared with the battleship and the aircraft carrier that are also named as Non dvcor, dvco. But the city is also colloquially known as “Sampa” or “Cidade da Garoa” which in English means the city of drizzle, it is also known for its unreliable weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, architecture, gastronomy, and multitude of skyscrapers. So this is a big city with alot to offer, especially places to stay, eat, drink and be merry. Bars, pubs, clubs, cafe’s, retaurants, snack bars, supermarkets, shops, Cinema’s and so on and so on. But do not forget the weather will be unreliable weather at times.

Photo by ernanibaraldi

This is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it is the Machu Picchu in the Urubamba Valley in Peru, South America.

Mark — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:22:43 +0000

Michael Palin in Machu Picchu – BBC

Photo by reflectification

Photo by jasonpearce

So what is the Machu Picchu, means in English “Old Peak”. This happens to be a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located 2,430 metres or 7,970 feet, above sea level. You will find it located on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, and it is 80 kilometres or 50 miles northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Alot of the archaeologists of today, believe that Machu Picchu is an estate, which was built for the Inca emperor Pachacuti 1438–1472. This is known as the “Lost City of the Incas”, it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World. The archaeologists, discovered that the “estate” was built around 1400AD, but for some reason they abandoned it as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Meaning that the Spanish may have caused them to leave, because they wanted to discover the countries of South America and take home with them the riches that they had found. Even though the locals new about this place, it was not until 1911 when it was brought to the outside world’s attention by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Nowadays the site of Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. Alot of the buildings have now been reconstructed so to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like.

Photo by crashadventures

Photo by Mark & Andrea Busse

This picture from flickr was taken at Cusco, Peru.

Photo by guillebot

They are still restoring the site and buildings and this has been going on since 1976. Now going back to the Spanish, they never found this particular site and because of this it is a highly significant and relatively intact cultural site. The site of Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. And in2007, it was voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

Photo by Hav n Knit Lover

Photo by meganpru

The site was built in the classical Inca style, and it had polished dry-stone walls. There are three primary buildings on the site and they are known as the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. You will find these particular buildings in the area known as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. Good news has arrived at the site, because back in September 2007, the country of Peru and Yale University, almost reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Yale has held since Hiram Bingham removed them from Machu Picchu in the early 20th century. In November 2010, a Yale University representative agreed to return the artifacts to a Peruvian university. That is brilliant news because it makes the site even more attractive to tourists and brings Machu Picchu, back to life again. Well done for that. This is the reason why i like writing posts on virtualtripping.com, because you can learn from this site and with the help of Wikipedia, Google Earth, Youtube and flickr, it brings us even more closer together. I really enjoy writing about these amazing and stunning sites.

Photo by jimmyharris

This is a picture taken from flickr of View over Machu Picchu towards Huayna Picchu.

This is Argentina in Southern America on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 10:22:24 +0000

Argentina is the second largest country in South America, it runs from Bolivia in the north right down to Cape Horn. And from the Andes mountains right the way down to the Atlantic ocean, not to far away from the Falklands Islands. The high Andes range in the west contains Mount Cerro Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas. The Andes mountains overlook a plateau region called Patagonia. In the east -central part of the country lies fertile plain known as the Pampas. Argentina has four geographical seasons they are Swamplands and sub-tropical forests in the north-east, to the west of the country they wooded foothills and valley’s of the Andes, to the central part of the country they have the Pampas (temperature fertile plains) and finally to the south of Argentina they have the cold semi-arid plateaus of Patagonia.

This is a picture taken from Google Earth of the country of Argentina in South America, surrounded by her neighbours of Bolivia in the north, Uruguay to the west and Chile to the east.

Almost ninety percent of the population of the country lives in towns and cities. The World bank classifies Argentina as a “upper-middle-class developing country”. The manufacturing of the country is her cars, electrical equipment, food products, crude oil and textiles, the country is very rich in natural resources like natural gas, petroleum, ores and precious metals. Brazil and the USA dominate most exports from Argentina. Other exports are meat, wheat, maize, hides and skins, vegetable oil and wool. In 1991 Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay set up an alliance, known as Mercosur, aimed at creating a common market. In 2001 there were serve problems that almost lead to the break down of the union, but by 2003, some how they managed to keep the market up and running.

This is an Ariel view of the capital city of Beunos Aires in Argentina.

This is a picture taken from panoramio of the naval port, Buenos Aires(capital city), Argentina.

The earliest people were American Indians, but roughly 86% of people are from European ancestry. Spain took control of the country in the 16th century and managed to hold on until 1816, when Argentina declared herself independant from the Spanish, after numerous battles. Argentina went on to suffer with instability and periods of military rule. In 1982 Argentina decided that the Falkland (Malvina’s) Islands belonged to them and invaded the small country. At the time it was under the British. who immediately went to war with the Argentineans after many talks and discussions. The British defeated the Argentinians and the Falkland Islands stayed British. Civilian rule was restored in 1983 and by 1994 had adopted a new constitution. And with her allies and neighbours surrounding the country Argentina, like Brazil is moving forward.

This is a picture taken from panoramio of a busy street in the city of Beunos Aires.

This is an Ariel view of the los puma’s rugby stadium Estadio Jose’ Amalfitani commonly known as VELEZ SARSFIELD stadium, but it is mainly used for football the team is known as the velez sarsfield an Argentinian first division team.

This is Copiapó it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region in Chile.

Mark — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 11:35:34 +0000

Welcome to Copiapó, it is a city in northern Chile, you will find the city about 40 miles east of the coastal town of Caldera. Copiapó was founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó is located about 800 km north of Chile’s capital, Santiago. It is by the Copiapó River, in the valley of the same name. Over recent years, the Copiapó River has dried up, this is due to mining and agricultural activity in the region. But it is also because the town is surrounded by the Atacama Desert and doesn’t get much rain, normally it is about 12 mm of rain per year. But even so the population of this city has grown from 9,128 in 1903, 11,617 in 1907 and, as of 2002, there are 129,091 inhabitants.

So what is so special about the city of Copiapó, well it is in a rich silver and copper mining district. And has a bronze statue of Juan Godoy, discoverer of the Chañarcillo silver mines in the 19th century. There is also the Copiapó-Caldera railway line, that was built in 1850, and became the first one in South America. The first section between Caldera and Monte Amargo was inaugurated on July 4 of 1850 in honour of the nationality of William Wheelwright, the American business man responsible for the project. Nowadays you will find that the original wooden railway station is now a National Monument.

But the other main reason why i wrote about Copiapó is for the sad, but also fantastic news after disaster that happened on the 5th August 2010, what happened was a copper/gold mine collapsed, sadly leaving 33 miners trapped underground. It is an extraordinary story, about these miners surviving underground for 69 days until their rescue on 13 October 2010, a record period of time. They were kept alive by finding food and fluids down a tube, aswell as finding an area where they could continue to breathe and live the best ways they could, know one knew what was going to happen and all the families gathering at the mine just hoping and preying, but due to the thanks of the U.S.A, specialists and the chilean rescue team, they managed to progress and bring all 69 miners out WoW, what a story. Also i have learn’t that Copiapó was, until the annexation of Antofagasta and Iquique during the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), Chile’s northernmost city and main mining city. So this city is starting to become very famous.

The city of Manaus in Brazil, South America.

Mark — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:03:29 +0000

This is about the Brazilian city of Manus, it is the capital of the state of Amazonas. You will find this city inbetween the rivers of the Negro and Solimões. Manus is actually the highest populated city within the Amazonas state, this is according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination. The city actually belongs to the mesoregion Center Amazonense and microregion Manaus and it is situated in the north of Brazil and is 1,932 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the federal capital, Brasília.

Photo by United Nations Photo

Photo by KidMoxie

Manus was created in 1669, back then it was as a fort, that was to protect the then city of São José do Rio Negro. But it was around 1832, that the fort was then created into a town, it was named “Manus” which in indigenous peoples language mean’t “mother of the gods”. It was in tribute to the indigenous nation of Manaós, and then finally, it became an official city on October 24 of 1848, and it was back then named “Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro”, which in Portuguese means “The City of the Margins of Black River”. Only on September 4 of 1856 did it revert to its current name, and it was also known as the Heart of the Amazon and City of the Forest at the start of the century and it’s economic engine that keeps the city going is it’s Industrial Pool of Manaus.

Photo by KidMoxie

Manus happens to be the largest metropolitan area and within the north of Brazil and back in 2008, the records showed that there was a population of 2,006,870 with the city population of 1.71 million people, this makes Manus the eighth most populous city of Brazil. The city at the moment is starting to flourish with the economy doing ok. The city of Manaus alone represents 10.89% of the population of the whole Northern Brazil and 49.9% of the population of the Amazon.

A Virtual Trip to Venezuela, South America

Mark — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:21:28 +0000

This is a post about the northern South American country Venezuela, officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It is a tropical country in a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea. This country possesses recognized borders with Guyana to the east of the Essequibo river, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Leeward Antilles lie just north, off the Venezuelan coast. Its size is 916,445 km² with an estimated population of 26,414,816. And the capital city is Caracas. The colors of the Venezuelan flag are yellow, blue and red, in that order: the yellow stands for land wealth, the blue for courage, and the red for independence from Spain. Former Spanish colony, which has been an independent republic since 1821, holds territorial disputes with Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela. In 1895, has the dispute became larger and more concerning over the Essequibo river border, it was then submitted to a “neutral” commission, which was composed by United Kingdom, USA and Russian representatives and without a direct Venezuelan representative, which in 1899 decided mostly against Venezuela’s claim. Some information provided by Wikipedia, to learn more about Venezuela please refer to the link at the bottom of this post.

This is a satellite image picture taken from Google Earth of central and northern South America.

This is a satellite image picture taken from Google Earth of Venezuela, South America.

This is a satellite image picture taken from Google Earth of the capital city Caracas, Venezuela, South America. The capital and largest city within Venezeula is Caracas. It is located in the north of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). The valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2200 m (7400 ft) high mountain range, Cerro ?vila; to the south there are more hills and mountains. Some information provided by Wikipedia.

This is the Venezeula National Anthem on Youtube.

This is a sky view taken from panoramio of the capital city Caracas, Venezuela.

This is a panoramio picture of the great Angel Falls in Venezeula.

This is a panoramio picture taken of Colonia Tovar in Venezuela.

The north-eastern South American country of Colombia.

Mark — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:58:02 +0000

This is a post about the north-eastern South American country of Colombia and her capital city Bogota. Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth largest in South America. It is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by Panama and the Caribbean Sea; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country in South America to touch both Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Information provided via Wikipedia.
To learn more about Colombia, please refer to Wikipedia.

This is a satellite image of Colombia, South America on taken from Google Earth.

This is a satellite image of the capital city of Colombia, Bogota taken from Google Earth.

This is a photo taken from Panoramio of the capital Bogota, Colombia.

This is a panoramio picture of our lady of lord’s church in Chapinero, Bogota, Colombia.

This is a panoramio picture taken of a beautiful villa and garden in Villa de Leyva, Colombia.

This is a panoramio picture taken of the town Cumaribo in Colombia.

This is a panoramio picture taken of the mountains, hillsides and valleys near the town of Vjes, Colombia.

Welcome to Peru.

Mark — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:07:40 +0000

This is a post about the wonderful and gorgeous country of Peru, east of South America. The capital city is Lima and it has a population of estimated 29,180,900 in July of 2008. It is bounded by Colombia and Ecuador in the north and Bolivia and Brazil in the east and Chile towards the south.
In the north of the country you will find it very forestry with the equatorial rainforest, where it is quite amusing to say that in the south-west of Peru you will find more mountainous areas, ie like the Andes mountain areas. In the south-east of the country you also have a large lake known as Titicaca. The rest of the country is made up with slopes, plateau areas and valleys. Finally you have the coastal plains which is arid and mostly desert, but it is cooled down by the Peru Current or Humboldt Current.
To learn more about this country please refer to Wikipedia.

This is a satellite image taken from Google Earth of Peru, South America.

This is a satellite image taken from Google Earth of Lima the capital city of Peru.

This is a Youtube video of the national anthem of Peru.

Here is a picture taken in Lima city, Peru, from Panoramio.