Are you planning a trip to the Amazon and want to learn about the plants and animals that you might see? Or do you want to learn about the history of exploration in the Amazon - from the adventures of the explorers to the knowledge that they gained?

In the over 20 years that I have been involved in travel to the Amazon, here are some of the books that I have found to be fascinating reading sources.

You may be pondering where to go on your next vacation, since it's getting close to summertime in the northern hemisphere. Let's take a look at what your interests are and see what places you might consider.

Buenos Aires and wine are probably the things that most people think about when the subject of Argentina comes to mind. Since almost a third of the countries' population lives in Buenos Aires and the wines of Argentina have become so renowned, it is easy to understand why, but the country has so much more to offer visitors.

​Leadership in destinations within the Amazon Basin has its rewards. With over 50 programs throughout Brasil, many of them in the Amazon Rainforest and surrounding regions such as the Pantanal, we cover most remote areas in South America’s largest country. Amazon Adventures has been bringing guests to Brazil’s most distant and isolated corners for over 25 years. We pride ourselves of being recommended by some of the most important travel media outlets as International Travel News, National Geographic Adventures, Brandt Guides, Fodors, USA Today and Frommers, among others. 

In September we had the opportunity to visit Southern Patagonia as a hosted buyer in ATTAs  (www.adventuretravel.biz) AdventureNext event in Magallanes to Reconnect, Reactivate and Regenerate. This was our first trip to the region in 3 years for obvious reasons and this time was special because the Reconnect part was with some of our best, decades old friends and industry partners in the region. In Torres del Paine, Rio Serrano hosted the event, Hotel Lago Grey hosted a magnificent gourmet evening event and Hotel las Torres displayed their famous Bar Pionero Mixologist in a Sustainable Bar Tending lecture and hands on class.

I recently visited Caño Cristales, along with some other sites near the town of La Macarena, on a trip with some other agents that was sponsored by Procolombia.

Of course everyone wanted to see Caño Cristales because it is a wonder of nature, famous for a unique aquatic plant which lives in this river that spans 100kms, and changes its color into red only once a year between July and November.  But the purpose of the trip was also to highlight some of the other newly-developed attractions in the area that can be visited all year round.

Looking for somebody knowledgeable about Patagonia to help you to plan a trip there? Jorge was one of 32 people from around the world selected to be hosted at an Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) event in September called AdventureNEXT Patagonia – Magallanes. The event is designed for a diverse set of industry professionals to have the opportunity to gain insight on travel trends and tools, build business relationships, and work together to reactivate the adventure community after the terrible effects of the pandemic.. Together they will share ideas and case studies on how the travel industry can regenerate the planet.

Over the years, I've been asked many times if it is safe to travel to South America. I had one American guy who was planning a family multisport trip, but he had read that somebody was killed in Peru, so he decided that he didn't want to travel there or to Ecuador, Chile, Argentina or Brazil because they were too close to Peru and it wasn't safe.

I recently read an article in "Travel Weekly" where a travel consultant said:

When most people think about Peru, they think about the Incas - just like people associate Mexico with Mayans. But if you travel around Peru, you will see that there were other interesting cultures that left their mark on the country.

Did you know that there are 16 World Heritage sites in Argentina and Chile and 1 across the border in Uruguay? Ten are Cultural Heritage sites, five are Natural Heritage sites and two have Intangible Cultural Elements. Below are the sites: