Hi Folks!
We are back, sorry for the delay in posts – but been a hectic few months in Chimu land!.. Our new website will be on its way soon!
One of our intrepid clients has agreed to let us use his recent blog to South America, the highs the lows and what he thinks of us!
We think it is the best insight to a Chimu Adventures tour – EVER. Ray’s blog is coming soon – let us know what you think!
The Chimu Team
Chimu Adventures, Australia’s leading travel specialist to Latin America and Antarctica, has sponsored the LATA Foundation in building a fresh water fountain in Mexico. The project, run in conjunction with local NGO, New Life Mexico aims to provide safe drinking water to 500 people per day. It will be positioned in a secure location outside a medical clinic in Puerto Vallarta and will mainly be used by people who live below the poverty line. They do not have access to clean water and cannot afford bottled water. The design is tried and tested and requires low maintenance, yielding 1,168,000 cups of water per year. The fountain has 6 spouts and will also be used fill around 1,000 bottles every day.
Chimu Adventures sponsors a range of different projects accross Latin America. Please contact us at info@chimuadventures.com if you require any more information.
Win Antarctica on the MS Expedition!
Chimu Adventures has launched their ‘win a trip to Antarctica’ competition on their website. The prize includes a birth on an 11 day cruise to Antarctica on the MS Expedition including all meals, excursions, guides, lectures, port transfers and one night accommodation in Ushuaia, Argentina. Total prize value is GBP 4,929. To be eligible for the price, all people have to do is sign up to the monthly newsletter. For more details email info@chimuadventures.com, or click HERE.
Brazil and Panama have made the top 10 countries to visitin 2011 from Lonely Planet’s new book Best in Travel 2011. Lonely Planet has drawn on the knowledge, passion and kilometres travelled by its staff, authors and online community to present the Top 10 Countries to visit in 2011.
BRAZIL
Famous for samba, football and cinematic scenery, Brazil has always been known for celebration (Carnaval being the most obvious manifestation of this national joie de vivre). Yet, Brazil rings in 2011 with even more cause for jubilation. Winning the bids to host both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is undertaking a flurry of new projects, with billions of dollars earmarked for infrastructure (there’s even discussion of building a high-speed rail line between Rio and São Paulo). Despite the strong Brazilian real, travellers should benefit from the addition of thousands of new hotel rooms, while increased competition from low-cost airline carriers (including Azul, established by the Brazilian-born founder of JetBlue) should make travel across this vast country more affordable.
Panama City
PANAMA
The belly button of the Americas, Panama has rhythms that hip-hop between modern and primitive, such as the line of skyscrapers and container ships set against clear seas and dense, dark rainforest not so far away. For many, the culture of commerce has defined this tiny tropical nation, best known as the world’s most famous shortcut. Yet its treasures – from millennial indigenous cultures to a biodiversity that astounds – run far deeper. Panama was always there, but who knew? On the world map and in the ether of sentiment, Panama occupies a continental crossroads where the 21st century meets the dawn of the ages.
Source: SMH.com
Antarctica is home to an amazing range of wildlife that has developed some incredible adaptations in order to survive the harsh conditions they face.
There are no mammals or birds that spend all year living on Antarctica. Penguins are the closest to permanent residents, and emperor penguins are the only animal on Earth that can survive temperatures as low as -50 °C.
Penguins are believed to have evolved from flying birds more than 40 million years ago. To live in the marine environment, they became more streamlined, developing waterproof feathers, short strong legs and webbed feet. Penguins walk upright because their legs are closer to their backs than their stomachs, which assist streamlining. Their flippers are wings that have become flat and broad, with the elbow joint and wrist nearly fused to make strong paddles.
To keep warm in the extreme cold, penguins have adapted in two ways; their physical appearance, and the way their bodies process energy.
Like all animals that live in very cold climates, penguins have large bodies and small appendages (feet, wings or flippers). By keeping feet and flippers close to the body, it is easier to keep warm. They have an amazing number of feathers (approximately ten per square centimetre), which are packed tightly together.
Penguins in Antarctica
The physiology of a penguin has also adapted to the extreme cold. When it consumes food in winter, in converts most of the energy into keeping itself warm. However, when a penguin is a chick, it is kept warm by its parent’s body, and instead uses its energy to grow as fast as it can. As it grows older, it relies on its energy less for growing and more for warmth.
The colouration of penguins provides the perfect camouflage while they’re in the water. From above the water, predators find the penguins hard to see because they blend in with the dark depths of the ocean, and from below, predators see the penguin’s white stomach, which blends in with the surface of the sea and underside of icebergs.
Out of the water however, penguins are very conspicuous. Luckily for them, their only land predator is the leopard seal, which is deadly in the water but heavy and slow on the ice.
It is this lack of land predators that has made penguins the most successful animal species in Antarctica. There are around 24 million penguins in Antarctica and the sub Antarctic islands.
Ballet dancer Carlos Acosta takes us on tour round his home town of Havana and what you should do on a Cuban Highlights tour.
Where to tap your Cuban heels
Everything in Havana inspires dance. There is music wherever you go. Always music. That’s why people say that even when we Cubans walk, we walk as if we are dancing. One of the best ways to listen to music is simply to find it on the streets. You’ll hear all kinds, especially salsa and son [a combination of Spanish and African rhythms] and son montuno, which is real country music. Look out for the musicians (treseros) playing the Cuban tres guitar, a rhythm instrument which has three double strings.
If you want to dance on your Cuba Discovery tour, head for La Casa de la Música, which has two branches – one in Central Havana and one in the Miramar district They have live concerts most days, pack a lot of people in and the atmosphere’s great. One thing you can be sure of, whether you’re a beginner or if you know how to dance, is that you’re never going to be left out. There’s always someone who’s going to pull you on to the floor and be your partner. And
Capitolio Building in Havana, Cuba
that’s important because that’s how you learn.
Where to refuel
Try paladares, small family-owned restaurants. A famous one is La Guarida, which was the setting for the film Strawberry and Chocolate, nominated for an Oscar. Also very nice is La Divina Pastora a restaurant on the other side of Havana Bay – not very touristy, there’s music playing and it gives you a fantastic view of the city.
Watch the pros
If you want to watch dance, the Gran Teatro de La Habana is a great place – it’s the home of Ballet Nacional de Cuba and you can catch contemporary works and flamenco too. It’s where the International Ballet Festival is held every two years. Many of the main figures in dance attend. It’s been around since the 60s and is now a very established, respected festival. Everyone donates their time because of their love affair with Havana. The audiences may not have the money to afford to see the great productions but they are connoisseurs of dance and are very, very warm. If they like the performer, the reception can be overwhelming.
Stretch your legs
One of the best places to go for a stroll is El Prado, a nice avenue linking the centre with the Malecón. The Malecón is the seafront promenade where you go if you want to mix with the locals and people-watch. If you want a bit of peace, go to Parque Lenin on the outskirts where you can picnic and also fish.
Out of town
Pinar del Rio province, west of Havana, is a magnificent landscape. Visit Las Terrazas with its many rivers and ponds where you can also go kayaking, or Soroa, which has a huge orchid garden with many species. This is where you may see the tocororo, the Cuban national bird, sporting the colours of the Cuban flag.
Where to stay
As I have a house there, I never stay in hotels, but I think the Hotel Telégrafo with its mix of period and contemporary features, is one of the most interesting. It’s very central, near Old Havana, so you have plenty of opportunity to soak up the sense of Cuban history.
Chimu Adventures runs fully customizable tours to Cuba, visit out website for more details.
Yes Folks, you heard it first! Chimu Adventures proudly announces its move into Central America and Cuba. With a wealth of tours across this fascinating region, we can take you from Mexico to Panama and everywhere in between!
Based on Chimu Adventures’ fantastic modular based tours, our Central America itineraries offer you great flexibility for the independent traveler and the group alike. All our tours can be customised to maximise your time in the areas you want to go to!. The times of being stuck on a coach tour on a set itinerary are over!
Welcome to Central America – the Chimu way!.. please keep your eye out for information on our website www.chimuadventures.com or here via the Travel to South America blog!
Argentine airline Aerolineas Argentinas announced that by the end of this year it would begin flying from Buenos Aires to Cusco, with a stopover in an Argentine province that has yet to be determined.
The state-run airline, the largest domestic and international airline in Argentina, expressed its interest in covering this route at Expo Perú in December 2009.
Machu Picchu - Cusco's biggest attraction
Aerolineas Argentinas official Jorge Lopez said the company’s interest has not changed due to the recent adverse weather conditions, particularly heavy rains in many Cusco areas.
“We are still keen to fly to Cusco because it is a favourite destination for Argentine citizens and a major attraction in world tourism,” he told Andina.
“The progress of this project will depend on the company’s future performance and its criteria for prioritizing investment projects, including that of Cusco,” he added.
The project would be great news for Long – haul visitors to South America from Australia and New Zealand in particular. Greg Carter of Chimu Adventures says this would give a chance for tourists visiting Argentina to have a quick stop over in Cusco to see the world famous Machu Picchu ruins – “Usually, visitors flying into Buenos Aires that want to see Machu Picchu, have to endure another flight to Cusco via Lima which can be quite long and not always have desirable connections. However, with this new flight from Aerolineas Argentinas, travellers have the opportunity to fly to Cusco in a lot shorter time giving greater access to the ancient ruins.”
Cruise passengers on the popular Buenos Aires – Santiago route are also set to benefit as Chimu Adventures will be unveiling a promotional Machu Picchu side trip package, including return Buenos Aires to Cusco flights, when the flight becomes operational.
Chimu Adventures offers Buenos Aires stopover tours as well as Cusco and Machu Picchu tours, the famous Inca trail to Machu Picchu and longer Andes & Amazon tours. Visit www.chimuadventures.com for more details.
The MV Ushuaia is a steel hulled, ice-strengthened vessel built originally for oceanographic research. She was recently converted to passenger voyages. Navigation and communication equipment has been newly upgraded and cabins were refurbished to provide comfortable accommodations for Antarctic expedition cruises.
MV Ushuaia
The Ushuaia holds 80 passengers which places her well amongst other expedition ships. Small enough to land all passengers on shore at any one time, she is also larger than the 50 passenger vessels allowing her to carry passengers at a lower cost. The Ushuaia has more than ample deck space for all passengers to view the passing scenery, as well as a large bridge where passengers can watch the ships captain and crew in action. She carries a sufficient fleet of zodiacs to allow passengers to get ashore quickly.
Unlike many other expedition ships the Ushuaia has a dining room large enough to seat all passengers in one sitting, as well as a lecture theatre with capacity for all guests. Cabins are basic, but neat and tidy. Lower deck C cabins are the most economical and have a shared bathroom between two cabins. The next cabin category is a B cabin which benefits from a porthole also with shared facilities. A cabins have a porthole and private facilities. These 3 cabin types all are bunk bed style. Superior cabins and suites are located on the upper deck and benefit from large windows, and double or twin beds (some of these cabins can take 3 passengers comfortably). The Ushuaia is not a luxury ship but she is very comfortable and well built for Antarctic conditions. The crew onboard the Ushuaia have served on her for many seasons, and the expedition leader and captain have around 500 voyages to the white continent between them. With the boom in Antarctic tourism, it is difficult to find these days a more experienced crew, with first hand knowledge of sea and ice conditions, as well as having the intimate knowledge on where to go and when. All cruises depart from the city with the same name – Ushuaia, on the southern tip of the South American continent.
Chimu Adventures sells the Ushuaia on the Images of Antarctica 11 day Peninsula cruise. Prices start from $AUD 4,795 and we do have availability for the coming season in 2010/11.
She is deservedly one of our preferred ships for Antarctic Peninsula cruises, and one of our most favoured for Chimu Adventures Antarctica passengers.
The MS Expedition was built as a as a car/passenger ferry in 1972 by Helsingör Skibs & Maskinbygg, and went by the name MS Kattegat. She worked in various ferry routes before in 2008, $15 million dollars was invested in the refurbishment and retrofit to ensure that the ship is suited for expedition travel. With a focus on top of the line safety,
MS Expedition
comfort and the unique demands of polar travel, the M/S Expedition was transformed into one of the world’s leading Antarctica expedition cruise with deals of 25% off available.
The 120 passenger MS Expedition is large enough to provide stability, speed, spacious cabins and ample public space, yet she is small enough to manoeuvre in remote areas and get you close to the action. Ship stabilizers ensure a smooth ride in rough waters allowing you to enjoy more of your time at sea.
Cabins
To ensure that an extraordinary experience, the maximum number of guests to 120. The brand new top-of-the-line cabins provide a variety of affordable doubles and triples, higher end double cabins and luxurious suites. Singles are also available in all cabin categories. All rooms provide outside cabins with views (window or porthole) and full private en-suite bathrooms.
Amenities
Unlike many expedition ships, where public space is at a premium, the M/S Expedition has multiple large public areas to enjoy during sea crossings and in between land excursions.
Amenities include:
Polar Bear Pub
Expedition Lounge / Albatross Bar
A barbecue deck
Top 360° view observation deck
Fitness center/sauna
A fine dining room serving international cuisine and large enough to accommodate all passengers in one sitting
M/S Expedition – Technical Specifications
Built: Helsingor Skibsvaerft, Denmark 1972
Ice class: Swedish/ Finnish 1B
Length: 105.23 metres (345 feet)
Breadth: 18.63 meters
Max Draft: 4.71 metres
Gross Tonnage: 6336 grt
Cruising Speed: 16 knots
Stabilizers: Fins, Type Brown/AEG
Passenger Capacity: 120 passengers max
Current Life saving & Rescue equipment: Covered motor lifeboats 4 pcs capacity of 192 people. Life rafts total capacity 260 people
Right now there is an unbeatable deal of 25% off all departures for the 2010/2011 season. Prices start from $AUD 3,765.