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EXPLORE: Experience South America & the Polars like a traveller, not a tourist

On World Tourism Day, Chimu Adventures reveal why they love to travel in the Polar regions and South America.

On World Tourism Day, Chimu Adventures reveal why they love to travel in the Polar regions and South America.

Today, the 27 September marks World Tourism Day. Established by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in 1980, the day aims to raise global awareness on the significance of tourism’s huge benefits and equally huge challenges – culturally, politically, financially and socially.

With the significance of this day in mind, don’t just be a tourist, travel!

“Tourists don’t know where they have been, travellers don’t know where they are going.”

Paul Theroux, Travel Writer & Novelist

It is this wanderlust mentality that fuels Latin America and Polar specialists, Chimu Adventures. It is why we enjoy sharing our experiences with our clients and why we encourage them to go on life-changing journeys, not just holidays.

Read on as we reveal the top five reasons we love to travel to Latin America and the Polar regions:

 

BECOMING AN EXPLORER

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Having the good fortune to be able to travel allows us to channel our inner explorer. Antarctica, for example, was once the preserve of only the most intrepid and it is barely more than 100 years since the first humans set foot on the continent.

You don’t have to be a polar legend such as Scott or Shackleton to travel to this isolated region now, but be sure to pack your adventurous spirit on such expeditions. This destination is wild, unpredictable, beautiful and completely alien to your everyday existence.

 

WONDERFUL WILDLIFE

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The first rule of Chimu, know which end of the Earth you will find your penguins and your polar bears!

Louis Armstrong’s words hold true to this day; it really is a wonderful world and witnessing such creatures reign supreme in their pristine, natural habitat is an absolute privilege.

Antarctic scientists are of the belief that very carefully monitored tourism in the polar regions can be beneficial as visitors go home as ambassadors for the protection of the highly fragile environment and its wildlife.

 

CULTURAL IMMERSION

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Apart from that of the animal kingdom, society ceases to exist in Antarctica. Most expedition cruises depart from the very south of South America (either Ushuaia in Argentina or Punta Arenas in Chile) so to get your culture fix in a continent that is brimming with it, spend some time before or after exploring South America.

The alluring city of Buenos Aires will have you sipping a glass of rich Malbec over a tango show while a trek in the Sacred Valley of the Incas allows a glimpse of rural and remote Peruvian life.

 

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD

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And the best way to bond in a new culture? Over the food, of course! Even if you don’t share a word of the same language, appreciation and a sense of belonging can be conveyed via a good meal.

A street food tour in Rio will take you stomping through the backstreets in search of the best small bars and restaurants which are favoured among locals.

Switch the scene to Patagonia where, to the backdrop of Torres del Paine National Park, the aroma of a traditional barbeque punctuates the air as you become hypnotised by the flames in anticipation of the shared feast to come.

 

LIVING FOR TODAY

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Above all, we love to travel because it makes you live in the moment.

When you are standing out on the deck of your expedition ship in Antarctica feeling the icy winds whip through your body; when you are summoned from slumber by the announcement of a polar bear sighting on shore at 3am; when you learn a key phrase which evokes a smile of acknowledgment from a stranger; when you get that first taste of a dish which you would never be able to re-create.

These are the times when there is nothing else. It is said that being present is the key to happiness and, we must say, travelling makes us pretty damn happy.

 

What travel experience has made you live in the moment?

 

Written by Frances Armitage at Chimu Adventures.

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