About two months have elapsed since I returned from my 49 day Odyssey to South America. Instead of going crazy and visiting many countries, I limited my trip to only two – BOLIVIA, April 28-May 17(19 nights)and BRAZIL, May 17 – June 15(29 nights). I really prefer an in-depth visit to most countries in order to gain some familiarity with the people, culture and physical geography.

For this trip, I believed I planned it just about right, as I was able to take in the highlights of each country without going overboard.

In Bolivia, I visited four different areas - La Paz, Bolivia’s Capital city and Lake Titicaca - which are part of the vast high elevation plain know as the Altiplano - as well as The Amazon Basin including Rurrenabaque and Madidi National Park, and Samaipata, a small mountain resort in Southern Bolivia.

In Brazil, I limited myself to six different places – The Pantanal, the world largest continuous marshland, Foz Do Iguacu – site of the majestic Iguassu Falls; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil’s world famous city and a must see on any first time visitor’s trip to Brazil; the magical Ouro Preto, a small colonial city located in central Brazil; Salvador, the colorful capital of the State of Bahia in Northeastern Brazil, and last (but certainly not least), l visited Barra Grande, a small and quiet beach resort in the state of Bahia.

If you were to ask me, what were my most memorable moments on this trip – that would be a very difficult question to answer, as there were so many; however, if I had to choose the three most memorable moments, they would be as follows:

•   On my last night in Pantanal, I went on a night tour of Rio Miranda. The guide took me to a place on the riverbank. Looking up into the tree, he shined his highbeam flashlight into the canopy. Lo and behold, sleeping on one of the branches was a Ringed Kingfisher. Needless to say, the bright light woke up this beautiful creature and he flew off!
•   I had read all about Iguassu Falls, yet I was totally unprepared for the majesty and power of Igassu. Truly an astonishing manifestation of nature, one really has to experience the falls first hand in order to appreciate this natural wonder.
•   Upon arriving at the small resort town of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca, I learned that my stay coincided with the Fiesta de la Cruz, a very colorful festival celebrated throughout Bolivia, but especially popular in Copacabana. Many of the locals were clad in very gaudy outfits – there were parades throughout the town, dancing, drinking and much festivity. All I can say is Wow!

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