Outside Magazine, February 1995

The Outside Trip-Finder: Central and South America

By Meg Lukens Noonan

ANTARCTICA: Skiing The Ellsworth Mountains

    The Route: A two-week wilderness ski tour into Antarctica's highest range, pulling food and supplies on sleds, with instruction in polar navigation and survival.

    When To Go: December, January

    Difficulty: Strenuous

    Travel Advisory: Planes are subject to visual flight rules, so expect delays. Buy an open-date return ticket and avoid making urgent commitments close to your return date.

    High/Low Points: Being aware that "first tracks" may well mean first tracks ever. Trying to catch some z's in the 24-hour-a-day sunlight.

    Luxe Factor: Camping

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Adventure Network International / 2 / $14,500

Classic
BELIZE: Sea-Kayaking the Cays

BRAZIL: Diving The Rio Negro

    The Route: A 12-day riverboat cruise in the Amazon jungle, with daily dives into flooded forests and tea-colored tributaries to view piranhas, anacondas, caimans, and dolphins.

    When To Go: September-November

    Difficulty: Moderate

    Travel Advisory: You need basic open-water scuba certification for this trip, even though many sections of the river are only chest deep.

    High/Low Points: Losing your Tarzan-movie phobias of giant anacondas and piranhas. Feeling creepy and reptilian as you drift among prehistoric creatures.

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Mad Dog Expeditions / 2 / $8,500

Classic
COSTA RICA: Rafting The Pacuare

    The Route: A three- to 12-day run of the Río Pacuare through the deep, heavily vegetated gorges of eastern Costa Rica; some trips also run the upper Pacuare and Río Reventazón.

    When To Go: Year-round

    Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

    Travel Advisory: Go now. A hydroelectric dam, to be built by the government in 1998, will flood the lower gorge, the Indian villages, and the surrounding rainforest.

    High/Low Points: Jumping out of the raft and floating through the high-walled Dos Montañas canyon. Hitting the eight-foot waves of Indigestion rapid 25 yards from where you ate lunch.

    Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging; Tourist hotels

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Adventures Costa Rica / On demand / $290
    Costa Rica Experts / Weekly / $305
    Mountain Travel-Sobek / 4 / $1,995
    Nichols Expeditions / 1 / $1,700
    The Northwest Passage / 2 / $1,250
    Serendipity Adventures / On demand / $350

ECUADOR: Mountain-Biking The Northern Highlands

    The Route: A nine-day inn-to-inn pedal through the high foothills of 19,000-foot Cayambe, Ecuador's third-largest volcano, and the cloud forests of the Intag Reserve.

    When To Go: July-February

    Difficulty: Moderate

    Travel Advisory: You'll be riding at altitudes of 10,000 to 11,000 feet for five days. Expect to be sucking serious wind until your body adjusts.

    High/Low Points: Making the switchback-filled two-hour descent from the cool grasslands into the steamy Intag cloud forest. Grinding out the last five miles on cobblestones.

    Luxe Factor: Rustic lodging

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Condor Adventures / 2 / $1,990
    Pedal Andes / 12 / $990
    Southwind Adventures / 6 / $1,795

New
GUYANA: Paddling The Ireng River

    The Route: A 15-day dugout canoe voyage, guided by a field botanist and Patamona Indians, into the virgin rainforest and savanna of western Guyana's Pakaraima Mountains.

    When To Go: February

    Difficulty: Moderate

    Travel Advisory: In the bush camps you'll sleep in hammocks covered by a communal tarp; if you're a fitful sleeper, you can arrange to have a cot on terra firma instead.

    High/Low Points: Feeling the mist of the 300-foot-high Kurutuik waterfall from the dark pool below. Waking up to find your new campmate is a three-foot-long great blue earthworm.

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Holbrook Travel / 1 / $1,117

PANAMA: Trekking The Darien Gap

    The Route: A rugged two-week traverse from the Atlantic to the Pacific, crossing the Continental Divide through a dripping jungle wilderness teeming with birds and snakes.

    When To Go: December-March

    Difficulty: Strenuous

    Travel Advisory: Plan on being soaked for most of the trip; you'll need jungle combat boots with drainage holes and light, waterproof/breathable outerwear.

    High/Low Points: Having your body painted with a ceremonial blue pigment by a Choco Indian girl. Returning to work two weeks later, still sporting a blue tint.

    Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Adventure Center / 4 / $1,190-$1,250
    Journeys International / 1 / $2,590
    Lost World Adventures / 3 / $2,590

Classic
PATAGONIA: Hiking The Paine Circuit

    The Route: A nine- to 18-day pack-animal-supported circumnavigation of the 9,000-foot spires of the Cordillera del Paine massif, camping beside magnificent glaciers and alpine lakes.

    When To Go: October-March

    Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

    Travel Advisory: The trail gets too tough for pack horses near Lago Dickson, so you'll have to carry your 35-pound pack for three days over steep pitches and scree-covered slopes.

    High/Low Points: Reaching the top of Paine Pass and gazing down 2,000 feet at the Patagonia ice cap and Grey Glacier. Pitching your tent in a 40-mile-per-hour wind.

    Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    American Alpine Institute / 2 / $2,060
    Lost World Adventures / 1 / $2,450
    Outer Edge Expeditions / 1 / $3,390
    Sierra Club Outings / 1 / $2,755
    Southwind Adventures / 4 / $2,395
    Wildland Adventures / 8 / $1,645

PERU: Climbing Huascarán

    The Route: An 18- to 25-day expedition to the 22,205-foot summit, one of the most challenging peaks in the Western Hemisphere because of its Himalayan-scale 10,000-foot rise.

    When To Go: May-September

    Difficulty: Strenuous

    Travel Advisory: Applicants must submit a climbing résumé showing a minimum of two years' experience on snow and ice and at least one climb above 12,000 feet.

    High/Low Points: Counting the 30 other 20,000-foot peaks you can see from the summit. Watching your freeze-dried fettuccine tumble from 19,500-foot Camp Two.

    Luxe Factor: Camping

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Condor Adventures / 2 / $2,950
    Mountain Travel-Sobek / 1 / $2,450
    OTT Expeditions / 1 / $3,035
    Southwind Adventures / 5 / $2,695

Classic
VENEZUELA: Trekking And Canoeing In The Gran Sabana

    The Route: An 11- to 18-day expedition, including a trek from the savanna to the tabletop mountains and a dugout canoe trip to the foot of 3,212-foot Angel Falls.

    When To Go: June, September, October

    Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

    Travel Advisory: Take clothes you never want to see again; nothing you put on your back will survive this muddy, wet jungle terrain.

    High/Low Points: Strapping in for the wild, exhilarating bush plane flight from Ciudad de Bolívar past Angel Falls. Winning the biggest-blister contest at the day's end.

    Luxe Factor: Camping; Rustic lodging

    Outfitters / Departures / Price
    Condor Adventures / 3 / $1,995
    Lost World Adventures / 7 / $2,450
    Mountain Travel-Sobek / 3 / $2,395
    Southwind Adventures / 7 / $2,850

See also:

Trip Finder Directory

Copyright, 1995 Outside Magazine






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