annual celebration dates back to the Aztecs, who believed the gates of heaven open at midnight on October 31 to allow the spirits of dead children to reunite with their families for 24 hours – dead adults return on November 2. Altars are decorated with candles, buckets of flowers, handmade art, fruit and traditional foods such as the ‘pan de muerto’ loaf, and there are often carnival-like processions with costumes. Suggest clients head for Oaxaca or Merida for particularly fabulous celebrations. Patagonia’s spectacular Torres
del Paine national park in Chile hits peak season in December and January. Clients will thank you for suggesting October or November instead, bringing shoulder-season prices and photo opportunities with the beautiful combination of flowers bursting into bloom while the Andes are still snow-capped. On the opposite side of the
The number of whales has been steadily increasing – you can expect about 70 more whales each season
continent, it’s prime whale- watching time at Argentina’s Peninsula Valdes. This is the time southern right whales gather to feed before beginning their migration north. Latin Routes’ Martin Johnson says: “The number of whales has been steadily increasing by approximately 7% year on year, and you can expect about 70 more whales each season. The best way to see them is on one of the whale-watching trips that leaves from the town of Puerto Pirámides.”
TOP: Summer: Inti Raymi, Peru
ABOVE LEFT: Spring: Semana Santa, Guatemala
LEFT: Autumn: Peninsula Valdes
RIGHT: Winter: Rio Carnival
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travelweekly.co.uk 11 February 2016
w WINTER There’s no choice about this one. The season to visit Antarctica runs through our winter, with cruises operating from November to March when it’s summer on the white continent, with – relatively – warmer temperatures and longer days. A wide variety of weather – sun, rain, sleet and snow – should be expected at any time during the season, and the temperature can change by the hour. It’ll all seem worthwhile, though, as clients cruise past epic icebergs and spot colonies of penguins, seals lazing on ice floes and nine types of whales. While Europe shivers, it’s party time in Latin America. It’s so popular that prices can be high, but Carnival in Rio is one of the world’s biggest parties, lasting four days. Journey Latin America’s Laura Rendell- Dunn says: “To join the main festivities you must head to the Sambodromo, the main arena where the various samba schools show off their flamboyant
costumes and jaw-dropping samba steps. With direct flights from London to Rio, you can leave Heathrow at 10pm and be checking into your Copacabana hotel by 7am the next morning.” This is by no means the only
festival at this time of year. Bookish types could head to Colombia for the Cartagena Hay Festival. Set in the beautiful colonial old town, it holds talks and readings, with translations so it suits both Spanish and English speaking audiences. There are film screening and music concerts too. For something more unusual,
suggest a visit to Easter Island for the Tapati Rapa Nui cultural festival. This remote island, famous for its carved stone ‘moai’ heads, holds festivities for the first two weeks of February, with highlights including triathlon, horse-racing, dance competitions and even the Haka Pei, where competitors slide down the island’s steepest slope on banana tree trunks.
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