Viña del Mar in Chile

3 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© panoramio.com - Andrew Latham/cc-by-sa-3.0

© panoramio.com – Andrew Latham/cc-by-sa-3.0

Viña del Mar ( meaning “Vineyard of the Sea”) is a city and commune on central Chile‘s Pacific coast. Often referred to as La Ciudad Jardín (“The Garden City”), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile’s fourth largest city with a population of 324,836 (according to the 2008 census). Viña del Mar is also part of the Greater Valparaíso area, the country’s second largest metropolitan area (pop. 935,602, 2017 census), after the Metropolitan area of Santiago. The Greater Valparaíso Area is home to five municipalities: Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Concon, Quilpue and Villa Alemana.   read more…

Cabo Blanco in Peru

2 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Ministerio de la Producción de Perú

© flickr.com – Ministerio de la Producción de Perú

Cabo Blanco is a fishing village in northwestern Peru, 3 km northwest from El Alto, Talara, Piura. It was famous in the past among big-game fishermen and today is a noted surf break. The village takes its name from the light coloured nearby mountains.   read more…

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil

29 July 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Julius Dadalti/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Julius Dadalti/cc-by-sa-4.0

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses) is a national park in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José. Protected on June 2, 1981, the 155,000 ha (380,000-acre) park includes 70 km (43 mi) of coastline, and an interior composed of rolling sand dunes. During the rainy season, the valleys among the dunes fill with freshwater lagoons, prevented from draining due to the impermeable rock beneath. The park is home to a range of species, including four listed as endangered, and has become a popular destination for ecotourists.   read more…

Empanada

5 May 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  20 minutes

© flickr.com - Oskari Kettunen/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Oskari Kettunen/cc-by-2.0

An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spain, other Southern European countries, Latin American countries, and the Philippines. The name comes from the Spanish empanar (to bread, i.e., to coat with bread), and translates as ‘breaded’, that is, wrapped or coated in bread. They are made by folding dough over a filling, which may consist of meat, cheese, tomato, corn, or other ingredients, and then cooking the resulting turnover, either by baking or frying.   read more…

Ceviche

21 April 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Picanteria karol/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Picanteria karol/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ceviche, cebiche, sebiche, or seviche is a dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings, recognized by UNESCO as an expression of Peruvian traditional cuisine and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, although different versions of ceviche are part of the culinary culture of various Spanish-American countries along the Pacific Ocean where each one is native: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. In Peru it is also considered a flagship dish and cultural heritage.   read more…

Theme Week Patagonia – Río Gallegos

30 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Base Aérea Militar Río Gallegos © Arcibel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Base Aérea Militar Río Gallegos © Arcibel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Río Gallegos is the capital and largest settlement of the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz in Argentina. Located in the department of Güer Aike, it has a population of about 98,000, according to the 2010 census (INDEC), a 24% increase from the 79,000 in the 2001 census (INDEC). The city bears the name of the Gallegos River, and sits on its estuary 2,636 km (1,638 mi) south from the Argentine federal capital Buenos Aires.   read more…

Theme Week Patagonia – Neuquén

29 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Plaza de la Mujer © panoramio.com - martin moran/cc-by-sa-3.0

Plaza de la Mujer © panoramio.com – martin moran/cc-by-sa-3.0

Neuquén is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers which form the Río Negro, making it part of the ecoregion of Alto Valle del Río Negro. The city and surrounding area have a population of more than 340,000, making it the largest city in Patagonia. Along with the cities of Plottier and Cipolletti, it is part of the Neuquén – Plottier – Cipolletti conurbation. Founded in 1904, it is the newest provincial capital city in Argentina.   read more…

Theme Week Patagonia – Viedma

28 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Viedma sign © David/cc-by-sa-4.0

Viedma sign © David/cc-by-sa-4.0

Viedma is the capital and fourth largest city of the Río Negro Province, in northern Patagonia, Argentina. The city has 80,632 inhabitants (2020), and is located on the southern margin of the Negro River, about 30 kilometres off the Atlantic Coast, and 960 km from the city of Buenos Aires on the National Route 3.   read more…

Theme Week Patagonia – Rawson

27 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Government of the Chubut province © Gobierno del Chubut - chubut.gov.ar/cc-by-4.0

Government of the Chubut province © Gobierno del Chubut – chubut.gov.ar/cc-by-4.0

Rawson is the capital of the Argentine province of Chubut, in Patagonia. It has 24,616 inhabitants in 2010, and it is the chief town of the Rawson Department.   read more…

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