LATIN
AMERICA The oxcarts of Costa Rica are an eye-opening phenomenon of a culture that can make art out of
necessity... transforming humble oxcarts into brightly and elaborately painted jewel boxes with wheels like Mayan mandalas that roll in whirls of color like exotic pinwheels. Legend has it that the inspiration to paint his wagon came about a hundred years ago to a campesino (farmer) in the famous artisan village of Sarchi, where they still proudly own the tradition, and where you can watch artists painstakingly at work at a custom that, since the arrival of trucks and cars, is now definitely more about art.
The Falls are the main attraction of Iguazú National Park in Argentina, a torrent of 275 cascades
that crash down a ragged semicircular gorge called Devil’s Throat... but the mist that rises from all that turbulent water sustains another natural wonder: the rainforest that sprawls over an area as large as Luxembourg. It is home to a multitude of exotic and endangered species (over 400 bird species alone), where you can wander in search of howler monkeys, ocelots, toucanets, tiger-cats, giant anteaters, or the rare Harpy Eagle, the largest eagle on the planet, and a formidable jungle predator.
The highest lake in the world, Lake Titicaca in the Andes of Peru, is home to a tribe that
actually lives on the water. The Uros Indians live on floating islands fashioned from totora reeds, and they commute among the dozens of island villages in reed boats – giant woven baskets with prows shaped like animal heads. It’s thought that the tribe adopted this way of life to put watery distance between themselves and their ancient adversaries, the Incas, but who remembers? What matters is the sensation when you first set foot on a woven man-made island and experience a precarious life that has lasted centuries.
Call your travel agent or Tauck at 800-468-2825
www.tauck.com 79
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